Edgar Davids

Edgar Steven Davids (born March 13, 1973 in Paramaribo, Suriname) is a Dutch professional football player. He plays in the midfield position and is known for his hard work ethic. He is in his second stint at Ajax, having joined them as an 18-year-old. He has also played for A.C. Milan, Juventus FC, FC Barcelona, Internazionale and Tottenham Hotspur.
Davids suffers from glaucoma, which requires him to wear protective goggles during football matches. His dreadlocked hair and distinctive goggles make Davids one of the most recognisable footballers of his generation.

Don't Believe the Truth

Don't Believe the Truth is the sixth studio album by Oasis, released on May 30, 2005. It reached #1 in the UK Albums Chart with first week sales of just under 238,000. The album entered the U.S. charts at #12, the highest any Oasis album has reached there since 1997 with Be Here Now, although its chart stay was brief. The album went triple platinum in the UK in the first week of 2006, and is the ninth fastest selling album there. As of July 2007, Don't Believe the Truth has sold approximately 4 million copies worldwide.

Every member of the band contributed to the writing of tracks for the album, and the album is the first where all duties were divided between the bandmembers. On some of the tracks regular bass player Andy Bell handled guitar, while Gem and Noel contributed bass to other songs. Don't Believe the Truth is the first Oasis record to feature the drumming of Zak Starkey, who replaced Oasis' longtime member Alan White.

Liam also had a larger impact on the album by his developing songwriting. Noel has said that this album is his favourite of Oasis' last four, because all members have contributed to it. This, he claims, has given it a different feel to a typically Noel-written Oasis album.

The band embarked on a massive world-wide tour and started off at the London Astoria for their Don't Believe the Truth Tour, visiting 26 countries and playing to 1.7 million people.

Boca Juniors

Club Atlético Boca Juniors is a popular Argentine sports club, best known for its football team. Its home base is the neighbourhood of La Boca, in Buenos Aires, and it hosts its home games at the Estadio Alberto J. Armando (La Bombonera) at 805 Brandsen Street.

Boca have won a record 17 international titles, an honor they share only with AC Milan, including six Copa Libertadores and three World Club crowns (Copa Intercontinental) and one Copa Oro and Supercopa Masters. The club has also won 22 Argentine professional championships

The club is a permanent fixture in the International Federation of Football History & Statistics Club World Ranking top 30 and has reached the top position of the monthly ranking 6 times (mostly during coach Carlos Bianchi's tenure)

Valencia FC

Valencia Club de Fútbol (also known as Valencia CF or Valencia) are a Spanish professional football club based in Valencia. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, six Copa del Rey trophies, three UEFA Cups, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and two UEFA Super Cups. They have also been UEFA Champions League final runners-up on two different occasions in 2000 and 2001, losing to La Liga rivals Real Madrid in 2000 and German club Bayern Munich in 2001. Valencia are also members of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs.

Valencia were founded in 1919, and have played their home games at the 53,311-seater Estadio Mestalla since 1923. They are soon to move into the 75,000-seater Nou Mestalla in the north-west portion of the city in 2009. Valencia have a long-standing rivalry with Levante, also located in Valencia, and with another club in the Valencian Community region, Villarreal.

Valencia is the third most popular football team in Spain (5,3), only behind Real Madrid (38,2) and FC Barcelona (25,7). It is also one of the biggest clubs in the world in terms of number of associates (registered paying supporters), with more than 45,000.

Spain National Team

Spain's national football team, commonly referred to as La Selección, is the national football team of Spain and is controlled by the Real Federación Española de Fútbol.

Spain has a reputation for underachievement in the FIFA World Cup, with their best finish being fourth place in 1950 despite often being among the pre-tournament favorites. They often start well, but struggle considerably in the later stages, which is frustrating given the team's enormous talent and diligence. Their only senior level tournament victory is the 1964 European Championship, which they hosted. They also won the gold medal when they hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and in the 1999 World Youth Championship in Nigeria. Their current FIFA ranking is 7th.

Italian National Team

Italian national football team (Nazionale italiana di Calcio) is controlled by the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC) and represents Italy in international football competition. They are the current World Champions, having won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Italy is among the top teams in international football and the second most successful national team having won four World Cups (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), just one fewer than Brazil. To this tally they can add one European championship (1968), two Central European International Cup and one Olympic Gold Medal (1936).

The traditional colour of the national team (as well as of all Italian teams and athletes except in motor sports) is light blue (azzurro, in Italian), and therefore national team members are nicknamed Azzurri.

Wallabies

The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies or currently the Qantas Wallabies for sponsorship reasons, the team compete annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the Mandela Challenge Plate with South Africa. On 2 July 2007, after an upset win over the All Blacks in the Tri Nations, Australia took second place, behind the All Blacks, in the IRB World Rankings.

The Wallabies have competed in all five of the Rugby World Cups that have thus far been staged, and are currently the most successful team in the competition's history. They have won the World Cup on two occasions, in 1991 against England, and in 1999 against France, and also lost in the final match in extra time to England in the 2003 competition. The Wallabies are governed by the Australian Rugby Union (ARU). Seven former Australian players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.

All Blacks

The All Blacks are New Zealand's national rugby union team. Rugby union is New Zealand's national sport, with the All Blacks a formidable power in international rugby, achieving a winning record against all nations including the British and Irish Lions and the World XV. The All Blacks compete annually with the Australian rugby team, the Wallabies, and the South African rugby team, the Springboks, in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with Australia. The All Blacks have been Tri-Nations champions seven times in the tournament's eleven-year history, and twice completed a Grand Slam (in 1978 and in 2005), and currently hold the Bledisloe Cup. They are the top-ranked team in the world, and the 2006 International Rugby Board (IRB) Team of the Year. Twelve former All Blacks have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.

The team first competed internationally in 1884 against Cumberland County, NSW, and played their first Test match in 1903, a victory against Australia. This was soon followed by a tour of the northern hemisphere in 1905, during which the team's only loss was to Wales in Cardiff.

The All Blacks completed their first series win over archrivals South Africa ("The Springboks") in New Zealand in 1956. A decade later, they achieved their longest winning streak by winning seventeen Tests between 1965 and 1970. The British and Irish Lions achieved their only series victory over the All Blacks in 1971, but seven years later the All Blacks completed their first Grand Slam (wins over England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales on the same tour).

The 1981 Springbok tour to New Zealand caused large-scale civil unrest due to protests over South Africa's apartheid policy. In 1987 New Zealand hosted and won the inaugural Rugby World Cup. New Zealand toured post-apartheid South Africa in 1996, and achieved their first series win on South African soil.

Early New Zealand national rugby uniforms consisted of a black jersey with a silver fern and white knickerbockers. By their 1905 tour the All Blacks were wearing all black, except for the silver fern, and their All Black name dates from this time. The All Blacks traditionally perform a haka (Māori posture dance) before each match. Traditionally, the haka performed is Te Rauparaha's Ka Mate, though since 2005, Kapa o Pango, a modified version of the 1924 All Blacks haka, Kia Whaka-ngawari, has occasionally been performed.

Springboks

The Springboks (or Springbokke in Afrikaans), as they are commonly referred to, compete in the Tri Nations alongside the New Zealand All Blacks and Australia's Wallabies, as well as competitions such as the Rugby World Cup. Although they did not compete in the first two World Cups in the late 1980s and early 1990s due to sports boycotts of South Africa, they did make their debut in the 1995 World Cup, hosting it as well. They defeated the All Blacks in the final, which is now remembered as one of the greatest moments in South Africa's sporting history.

The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys and have been playing international rugby since 1891, when a British Isles side toured the nation, playing South Africa in their first test on July 30. Today the Springboks are regarded as one of the best rugby nations in the world. The current head coach is Jake White, and the captain, John Smit.

RWC 1995

The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted by South Africa, and had the distinction of being the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country.

Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springbok rugby shirt and cap, presented the William Webb Ellis Cup to South African captain Francois Pienaar to the delight of the capacity crowd at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on 24 June 1995. The victory was not without controversy however, the majority of the New Zealand team were alleged to have been struck down by food poisoning the day before the final.^[2][3]

rwc 2003

The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth rugby union world cup. It was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World Cup Limited. The pre-event favourites were England and New Zealand, with France, defending champions Australia and South Africa all expected to make strong showings.

RWC 2007

The 2007 Rugby World Cup is the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union world championship inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations are competing for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003, beating a bid from England. The competition comprises 48 matches over 44 days. Forty-two matches are being played in ten cities throughout France, as well as four in Cardiff, Wales and two in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The eight quarter-finalists from 2003 were granted automatic qualification, while 12 other nations gained entry through the regional qualifying competitions that began in 2004 - of them, Portugal is the only World Cup debutant. The top three nations from each pool at the end of the pool stage will qualify automatically for the 2011 World Cup.

The competition opened on the 7 September at the Stade de France in St-Denis, which will also be the venue of the final match on the 20 October.

Scotland Football Team

The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872. Although part of the United Kingdom, Scotland maintains its own representative side that competes in all major professional tournaments, but does not compete at the Olympics as Scotland is not a member of the International Olympic Committee.

Some of Scotland's most famous results include defeating the World Cup holders England 3–2 at Wembley Stadium in 1967, and defeating tournament finalists the Netherlands 3–2 in the 1978 World Cup, with Archie Gemmill scoring a famous goal. More recently, in October 2006 and September 2007, Scotland defeated World Cup 2006 runners-up France 1–0, home and away respectively. Scotland have competed at eight World Cup Finals, but have never progressed beyond the first round of the finals competition.

Traditionally England have been Scotland's fiercest rivals, though in recent times senior level fixtures between the teams have become uncommon. Scotland won the last encounter 1–0 in 1999.

UEFA CUP FINAL 2007

Match Report

Andrés Palop saved three shoot-out penalties as Sevilla FC became the second side to retain the UEFA Cup despite twice losing the lead as they finally defeated ten-man RCD Espanyol 3-1 on spot-kicks after a gripping contest in Glasgow.

Trophy retained
The holders, bidding to emulate Real Madrid CF who lifted this trophy in 1985 and 1986, took an 18th-minute lead through Adriano Correia only for Albert Riera to level ten minutes later. Espanyol, who also lost the 1988 final on penalties, were hit by the second-half dismissal of Moisés Hurtado but still managed to take the game into extra time. Frédéric Kanouté – who also scored in last year's final – restored Sevilla's advantage but again Espanyol fought back through Jônatas's deflected drive and it took the drama of a shoot-out, where Palop saved from Luis García, Jônatas and Marc Torrejón to finally end their hopes.

Experienced side
Sevilla coach Juande Ramos started with nine of the team who were involved in last year's final victory and initially it seemed that experience would prove crucial as the holders began the brighter. Espanyol then found their feet and started to pose problems of their own, as David García discovered space down the left and sent in a low cross that was cleverly dummied by Luis García for captain Raúl Tamudo to prod in a low shot that Palop gathered comfortably.

Adriano opener
Moisés was then allowed to advance towards the Sevilla penalty area and hit a low shot that forced the Sevilla goalkeeper to dive to his right and palm the ball behind. Seconds later a goal arrived - but at the other end as Palop caught the resulting corner and swiftly freed Adriano down the left with a searching throw. The Brazilian skipped past the lunge of David García and cut in towards goal before beating Gorka Iraizoz with a calm finish.

Riera response
Suddenly Sevilla were on top and another foray down the same flank almost brought further reward as left-back Ivica Dragutinović's low cross flashed across the face of goal with no one from either side there to meet it. Just as it looked as if the holders were taking control, however, they were pegged back. Riera skipped past Daniel Alves on the corner of the penalty area and, with time and space, produced a shot which took a crucial deflection off the Sevilla right-back and looped beyond Palop's dive.

Palop in action
The second period picked up where the first had left off and both goalkeepers were pressed into service in the opening moments although Palop was the more severely tested, first palming over Tamudo's shot after good work from Iván de la Peña and then denying Riera a spectacular second goal, clawing over the midfielder's thunderous angled volley with the help of the crossbar.

Red card
Espanyol then lost Moisés to a red card and Sevilla began to press back their opponents as they sought to exploit their numerical advantage but Espanyol survived to take the game into extra time, where that defensive excellence continued until Sevilla’s slick passing finally yielded tangible reward with the final kick of the first extra period as Kanouté flicked in Jesús Navas's right-wing cross from close range. That looked to have finally ended Espanyol's challenge but somehow Ernesto Valverde’s men roused themselves yet again.

Jônatas equaliser
With five minutes left, substitute Jônatas advanced to beat Palop with a strike that deflected off Christian Poulsen to take the final to its dramatic conclusion, where Kanouté, Dragutinović and Antonio Puerta all scored in the shoot-out for the winners. Alves blazed Sevilla's third penalty over the bar but it mattered little as Palop saved three times, Walter Pandiani the only Espanyol player to find the net.

Raul

Raúl González Blanco (born June 27, 1977), usually referred to simply as Raúl, is a Spanish football forward. He has been playing for Real Madrid at senior level since 1994, where he is the team captain. He has played more than 100 games for the Spanish national team, and is its all-time leading goal scorer with 47 goals. He represented Spain in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2004 and 2006 FIFA World Cup tournaments. He is the UEFA Champions League all-time leading scorer with 57 goals.

Raúl is also currently 8th highest goalscorer in the history of Spain's top flight, with 203 goals in 524 games. All of these goals were for Real Madrid, making Raúl the club's third highest goalscorer of all time. He is also called 'The Angel Of Madrid' by fans and pundits etc.

When playing, he wears jersey number 7 for both club and country (until Euro 2000 he wore 10 for Spain). He has been wearing the number 7 shirt for Real Madrid since he was 19.

His current contract with Real Madrid runs until 2012(extended to 2 more years)

Steven Gerrard

Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980, Whiston, Merseyside) is an English football player. He is the captain of Liverpool, where he wears the number 8 shirt. He is the England vice captain, for which he usually wears the number 4 shirt. An inspirational and versatile midfielder known for his long-range shots and trademark defence-splitting passes, he is usually employed in the commanding "box-to-box" midfield role, although he has often been deployed as a right-sided midfielder, and occasionally as a second striker. Throughout his career he has won the PFA Young Player of the Year, PFA Player of the Year, European Midfielder of the year, Premier League Most Valuable Player (twice), and UEFA Most Valuable Player. He has also been awarded the MBE for his outstanding contributions in both the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final and the 2006 FA Cup Final in which he greatly inspired his team's comeback.He has been nominated for the FIFA Player of the Year twice, in 2005 and 2006.

Thierry Henry

Thierry Daniel Henry (IPA: [tjɛ'ʀi ɑ̃'ʀi], born 17 August 1977 in Paris, France) is a French football player. Renowned for his pace, he plays as a striker for the France national team and FC Barcelona.

Henry was born and brought up in the tough neighbourhood of Les Ulis, Essonne, where as a youngster he played for an array of local sides and showed great promise as a goal scorer. AS Monaco spotted him in 1990 and signed him up instantly. Handed his professional club debut in 1994, he stayed at Monaco until 1998, where good form earned him an international call-up. Henry then moved to Italian giants Juventus, but after a disappointing season playing on the wing,^[3] he joined Arsenal for a fee of £10.5 million in 1999.

It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a top footballer. Initially, he struggled in the Premiership, but he soon emerged as Arsenal's top goal scorer in almost his every season there. Long-time mentor and coach Arsene Wenger's conversion of Henry into a prolific striker made him Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with over 200 goals. With the Gunners, Henry won two league titles and three FA Cups. He was also twice nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year^[4] and twice received the Barclays Premiership player of the season award.^[5][6] Henry spent his final two seasons with Arsenal as club captain, leading them to the UEFA Champions League final in 2006. In June 2007, after eight years in an Arsenal shirt, the French striker transferred to FC Barcelona for a fee of £16.1 million.

With the French national squad, Henry has also enjoyed success, having won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. Given his accomplishments, he is today regarded by many as one of the best footballers in the world. Off the pitch, as a result of his own experience, Henry is an active spokesperson against football racism.

Teddy Sheringham

Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham MBE (born April 2, 1966 in Highams Park, London) is a veteran English professional footballer currently playing for Colchester United. Sheringham plays as a striker, and has had an exceptionally successful career at club level, winning almost every domestic honour available with his clubs, most notably 'The Treble' with Manchester United. Sheringham has also represented England at international level. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in June 2007

Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Career in the Netherlands

Van Nistelrooy started off as a central defender and was then moved to central midfield for Dutch second division side, FC Den Bosch, but was converted into a centre forward at SC Heerenveen in 1997. In 1998, on his 22nd birthday, he was signed by PSV Eindhoven for ƒ14 million or €6.3 million, a then-record sum of money for a transfer between two Dutch football clubs.

He started his professional career with Den Bosch as a midfielder in 1993 after playing part-time for Nooit Gedacht and Magriet. Played only twice for Den Bosch in his first season, and it wasn't until 1997 that he hit form.

After netting 12 goals in 13 games, Heerenveen came calling and he made the switch, scoring 13 goals in 31 games in his first season.

In first season at PSV scored 31 goals in 34 matches - the highest in the league and second-highest in Europe and was voted Dutch Player of the Year by fellow professionals. He returned to action in March 2001 and was immediately back among the goals, scoring twice to help PSV into the Dutch Cup final.

Van Nistelrooy was tracked by many of the top clubs due to his prolific record with PSV, in his second season at the club he had netted another 29 goals and was again the top scorer in Holland.

He first international goal came in 1999 in a shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of Morocco.

Darren Ferguson, son of Sir Alex, alerted his father to the player's capabilities but PSV Eindhoven stole in to pay Heerenveen £3.4m on his 22nd birthday. Just four months later he made his debut for Holland against Germany.

The transfer initially collapsed in the summer of 2000 when Van Nistelrooy broke down in training with a cruciate knee ligament injury just days after an £18.5million move to Old Trafford had hit the skids after United's medical team had found problems with his medial ligaments.

United were forced to pay PSV an increased price of £19million for the player's services and the forward passed a thorough medical. He signed a five-year contract with the then Premiership champions.

He eventually joined Manchester United for a British record fee of £19million in April 2001.

Manchester United

Manchester United almost signed van Nistelrooy on 25 April 2000 for a fee of £18.3 million. However, the deal fell through when van Nistelrooy failed a medical due to a cruciate knee ligament injury which he suffered in training in March 2000.

However, Manchester United and Alex Ferguson persevered, and almost exactly a year later, 24-year-old van Nistelrooy signed for a then British transfer record, and still the Dutch football transfer record of £19 million on 23 April 2001 from PSV. During his first season at Manchester United, he proved his worth by scoring 23 goals in 32 games, achieving a feat of scoring in a record eight consecutive Premier League games. He also scored ten Champions League goals capping an incredible debut season by being named the PFA Players' Player of the Year.

against Tottenham Hotspur

During the following year, the 2002–03 season, van Nistelrooy scored 25 Premier League goals (including a stunning goal which he started from the half way line against Fulham) and 12 goals in the Champions League (a tournament record) while leading Manchester United to the Premier League title.

Van Nistelrooy started off the 2003–04 season in spectacular fashion, scoring twice in his first two league games. Which added on to his run of form at the end of the previous season meant he equalled the all time top flight scoring in consecutive games record of 10 games. He also managed to score his 100th and 101st goals for the club against Everton at Goodison Park on 7 February 2004, as United earned a 4–3 Premiership victory. In that season he broke Denis Law's European goal scoring record for Manchester United. Van Nistelrooy was famously attacked by Martin Keown in a match against Keown's team, Arsenal, after missing a penalty against the London side for the third time, as well as signing a new contract which would keep him at the club until the summer of 2008 and the age of 32.

In 2004 in a survey on Manchester United's official website Ruud was voted "Ferguson's best bargain buy" by over 10,000 fans worldwide even beating the likes of Roy Keane, Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Peter Schmeichel to the accolade.

Van Nistelrooy missed a large part of the 2004–05 Premiership season through injury, but was still the top goalscorer in the Champions League with 8 goals. He is currently the fourth most prolific scorer in European Cup/UEFA Champions League together with Eusébio, with 47 goals, only behind Alfredo Di Stéfano, Andriy Shevchenko, and current leader Raúl.

At the start of the 2005–06 season, van Nistelrooy returned to form, scoring in United's first four Premiership games. He went on to finish as the second-highest scorer in the Premiership with 21 goals, behind Thierry Henry of Arsenal.

Fabio Cannavaro

Fabio Cannavaro, (born September 13, 1973, Naples, Italy, is an Italian footballer and captain of Italy who currently plays for Real Madrid. He is strong in the air, despite his lack of height, and possesses excellent timing, speed and anticipation, Cannavaro is rated as one of the world's best defenders. He was selected for the FIFPro World XI 2006 team, and is also the current European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year.

Cannavaro has played for his hometown club S.S.C. Napoli (1992-95), Parma F.C. (1995-2002), F.C. Internazionale Milano (2002-04) and Juventus FC (2004-2006) during his career in Serie A, before moving to Real Madrid in the Spanish Primera Divisiòn.

Pavel Nedved

Nedvěd got his international breakthrough when he was part of the Czech national team which went to the final of Euro 96, where they lost to Germany. Nedvěd's performance did not go unnoticed and he transferred from Sparta Prague to Lazio in the Serie A in 1996. At Lazio, Nedvěd won the Coppa Italia in 1997/98, and the last international Cup Winners' Cup tournament in 1999 against Real Mallorca, where he scored the last ever goal of the tournament in a 2-1 win for Lazio.

Nedvěd eventually moved to Juventus in 2001 for a fee of 41.2 million euros, as a replacement for Zinedine Zidane who had transferred to Spain's Real Madrid the same summer. He proved more than an adequate replacement for the Frenchman, his tremendous workrate and guile playing an integral part in Juventus' scudetto-winning teams of 2001/02, 2002/03, 2004/05 and 2005/06.

Nedvěd helped lead Juventus into the 2003 Champions League final against AC Milan, but he was forced to sit out the final because of accumulation of yellow cards, after being booked in the semifinal for tackling Real Madrid midfielder Steve McManaman. At the end of the year, he won the European Footballer of the Year award.

By the time of his first retirement from international football, Nedvěd was captain of the Czech national team. In the Euro 2004 semi-final against Greece, Nedvěd was injured when he slammed his knee into a Greek player while jumping for the ball. Though he continued on the pitch for a while, he was eventually replaced by Vladimír Šmicer. Some observers of the match considered Nedvěd's injury to be a key factor in the Czechs' defeat. The injury also led him to retire from the national team in September 2004. Nedvěd had scored 18 goals in 73 games for the Czechs and played for his country at Euro 96, Euro 2000, and Euro 2004.

He came out of international retirement to play for the Czechs in their 2006 World Cup qualifying playoff against Norway in November 2005. The Czechs won both matches 1-0, first in Oslo and then in Prague, to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the first FIFA World Cup appearance for the Czech team since the partition of Czechoslovakia. Nedvěd chose to remain eligible for national selection, and was named to the Czech World Cup squad. Despite an impressive start against the USA, the Czechs failed to qualify against Italy and Ghana. He then retired definitely shortly after the World Cup, his last international match ending in a 3-1 loss against Serbia.

Andriy Shevchenko

Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (Ukrainian: Андрій Миколайович Шевченко, Andrij Mykolajovyč Ševčenko, born 29 September 1976, Dvirkivschyna, Kiev Oblast) is a Ukrainian football striker who plays for Chelsea in the Premier League.

Shevchenko began his career in the youth team at Dynamo Kyiv and soon played in the first team. He won five consecutive domestic league titles from 1994–99. Shevchenko played for A.C. Milan from 1999–2006, scoring 127 goals in 208 appearances and becoming the club's second-highest all-time goal scorer. He joined Chelsea in 2006.

Shevchenko won the 2004 European Footballer of the Year award, and was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in 2004. He was named a starting striker on the 2005 FIFPro World XI team, and is the second-highest goal scorer of all-time in European club competitions with 60 goals, behind only Gerd Müller.

Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer OBE (born 13 August 1970 in Gosforth, Northumberland) is an English former professional footballer who played for the English national team and three English Premiership clubs: Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
During his career he enjoyed successes at both club and international level and also in his personal life, becoming one of the most prolific strikers of all time. In total he scored 422 goals for club and country, averaging 25 goals a season for each of his 17 seasons as a player. Shearer currently holds the Premier League goalscoring record with 260 goals. He announced his international retirement following England's exit from Euro 2000 but continued to play for Newcastle United until 2006, when he retired completely from football.

As a 15-year-old schoolboy at Wallsend Boys Club, Shearer was rejected by Newcastle, with a legendary trial as goalkeeper (he has admitted he was only in goal for a small part of a full day), and instead signed as an apprentice with Southampton. He made his debut as a substitute against Chelsea on 26 March 1988, before prompting national headlines with his full debut at The Dell a month later, on 9 April 1988, when he scored a hat-trick against Arsenal. At the age of 17 years and 240 days, he broke the record for the youngest player to score a hat-trick in top-flight football, held for more than thirty years by Jimmy Greaves.
Despite this auspicious beginning to his career, Shearer was only eased gradually into the first team, making ten goalless appearances for the club the following season. In his early Southampton career his prime asset was his strength, which enabled him to retain the ball and generally lead a line in which others (notably Rod Wallace and Matt Le Tissier) did the scoring. His performances in the centre of the Saints attack were soon recognised by the fans, who voted him their Player of the Year in 1991.
He did not become truly prolific for Southampton until 1992, when he scored thirteen goals in 41 appearances. Having earned a regular place in the England U21 team the previous year, scoring thirteen goals in eleven matches in the process (including seven in four games at the Toulon tournament), this potent spell by Shearer was noticed by Graham Taylor, coach of the senior team, and Shearer made his debut against France in February 1992. A month later he made his one and only appearance for the England B team.
Like his full debut at club level, his full debut in international football was successful: Shearer scored a poacher's goal in the first half as England won 2-0. The other goal came from Gary Lineker, who was retiring in the summer after Euro 92 in Sweden, leaving Taylor with the job of finding a successor.

Blackburn and England (1992-1996)
Taylor selected Shearer for his squad for the finals, but he only featured in one group game - a goalless draw against France - and England were eliminated at an early stage. However, his ability had been noted by Blackburn Rovers manager Kenny Dalglish who, with vast funds at his disposal from benefactor Jack Walker, offered Southampton £3.3 million for Shearer, which was accepted, and the transfer to Blackburn was completed. Shearer was also offered terms by Manchester United but turned them down.[citation needed]
Shearer became an England regular the following season, scoring his second goal in a 4-0 win over Turkey in a qualifier for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. His first season with Blackburn was mixed - he missed half of it (and more World Cup qualifiers) through injury, snapping his right anterior cruciate ligament against Leeds United on 26 December 1992, but scored sixteen goals in the 21 games in which he did feature. The season ended sourly, however, as England failed to qualify for the World Cup.
At Blackburn, he scored 31 goals from 40 games in the 1993-94 season, as they finished a close second in the table behind Manchester United. He also won the honour of the Football Writers' Footballer of the Year for that season. Shearer added three more goals to his England tally before embarking on his most successful domestic season as a player at that time.
The arrival of Chris Sutton for the 1994-95 season established a strong attacking partnership at Blackburn, with the duo acquiring the nickname "the SAS" - Shearer And Sutton. In 42 games, Shearer scored 34 goals, as Blackburn took the Premiership title on the last day of the season. This remains the only club honour that Shearer won in his career, though he quickly followed it up with a personal award, winning the PFA Players' Player of the Year.
In 1995-96 he scored 31 goals in 35 games, although his England strike rate completely dried up, with no goals in the eleven matches leading up to Euro 96. England, now managed by Terry Venables, were hosting the event and therefore hadn't needed a qualification campaign.

Euro 96
In the opening twenty minutes of the inaugural group game against Switzerland at Wembley, Shearer scored, breaking his goal-drought. After that game ended 1-1, a victory against Scotland in the next game was crucial. After a tight and goalless first half, Gary Neville swung over a curling cross, and Shearer stooped low to head home at the far post. It set England on their way to a 2-0 win, helped by a penalty save from David Seaman and a second goal from Paul Gascoigne. England now needed to avoid defeat against Holland to be in the quarter-finals, and Shearer and his strike partner Teddy Sheringham helped them win 4-1 with two goals each, with a performance described as "Total Football" by pundits.[citation needed]
In the quarter finals, England were outplayed by Spain but got through to a penalty shootout after a goalless draw. Shearer scored the first England penalty, while the Spaniards failed to score from two of theirs, sending England into the semi-final against Germany. Shearer headed England into the lead after three minutes, but the Germans quickly equalised and the match went to penalties again. This time, Germany won from the spot; although Shearer scored, his team-mate Gareth Southgate missed his kick and England went out. Germany went on to win the final. Shearer's five goals made him the competition's top scorer, and together with team mates David Seaman and Steve McManaman, was listed in the official UEFA Team of the Tournament.

Newcastle and England (1996-2000)
After Euro 96, Shearer was approached by Manchester United with another offer to buy him from Blackburn. However, Jack Walker wouldn't allow the move under any circumstances so he joined Newcastle United, managed by Shearer's boyhood hero Kevin Keegan, who paid £15 million to secure his services, making Shearer the world's most expensive footballer at the time.
Shearer continued to score goals: 25 in 31 games in his first season at St James' Park. He also scored five times in England's steady start to their qualification campaign for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and at the end of his first season at Newcastle he picked up his second PFA Player of the Year award.
In the summer of 1997, Shearer suffered an ankle ligament injury in a pre-season match at Goodison Park, an injury which greatly restricted his number of appearances. He still helped Newcastle United (now managed by his old boss at Blackburn, Kenny Dalglish) to the 1998 FA Cup Final, but Arsenal won the game 2-0, although Shearer hit the post during the match.
In the latter part of that season, controversy surrounded Shearer when he kicked Neil Lennon in the head at Leicester City during a Premiership match. FA Chief Executive Graham Kelly later claimed in his autobiography that Shearer threatened to walk out on the World Cup squad if he was punished by the FA.Shearer denied this - and also claimed the incident with Lennon was entirely accidental - and he was not punished. That summer he was named as England captain as they went to France for the 1998 World Cup.
Shearer scored England's first goal of the tournament, in a 2-0 win over Tunisia, but that was his only goal in the three group matches. England faced Argentina in the second round: Shearer scored a first-half penalty in a match that went to penalties after a 2-2 draw. Shearer scored again, but colleagues Paul Ince and David Batty missed, and England were eliminated.
England's Euro 2000 qualifying campaign did not start well, and Hoddle departed the England job, with Shearer's former Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan taking over and maintaining Shearer's role as captain. Newcastle, meanwhile, made the 1999 FA Cup Final - their second consecutive - this time with Ruud Gullit as manager. Again they were defeated, by Manchester United, 2-0.
In September 1999, Shearer scored his first England hat-trick in a qualifier against Luxembourg, but was at the centre of club controversy when Gullit dropped him for the 2-1 defeat to Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby. More controversy came when Newcastle directors Freddy Shepherd and Douglas Hall were covertly recorded by a News of the World journalist describing Shearer as a "Mary Poppins" figure. Gullit soon resigned, and was replaced by Bobby Robson.
England qualified for the European Championships thanks to a play-off victory over two legs against Scotland. By now, Shearer was approaching his 30th birthday, and he announced that he intended to retire from international football after the Euro 2000 tournament.
Shearer did not score in England's opening 3-2 defeat against Portugal, but did so as England defeated Germany 1-0 in Charleroi, ensuring that England beat their European neighbours for the first time since the 1966 World Cup Final. To remain in the tournament, England only required a draw against Romania in the final group match, and Shearer scored a penalty as England went in at half-time 2-1 up, but Romania ultimately won 3-2. England's tournament was over, and so was Shearer's international career. From his 63 caps, he scored thirty goals, joint-fifth in the England all-time goalscorers list with Nat Lofthouse and Tom Finney.

Later years at Newcastle (2000-2006)
Since his international retirement, Shearer resisted calls from both the England coaching staff and the media to return to the side, insisting that he would concentrate on club football for the rest of his career.
In 2002-03, Shearer and Newcastle made a return to the UEFA Champions League. Newcastle lost their first three matches in the first group stage, but then won the remaining three and managed to qualify for the second group-stage (the only club ever to do this), where they were finally eliminated.
After this, Newcastle would have one more chance to enter the Champions League proper in 2003, but were eliminated on penalties by Partizan Belgrade, with Shearer missing his penalty.
Shearer was appointed an OBE for services to Association Football in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in June 2001, and the Freedom of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne was bestowed upon him in March. He was also awarded the Barclaycard Merit Award in 2002 for scoring his landmark 200th Premiership goal, against Charlton at St James' Park on 20 April 2002.
Shearer announced that he would retire at the end of the 2004-05 season, but, influenced by then Newcastle manager Graeme Souness, he decided to continue playing in a player-coach capacity until the end of the following season. During this time, he broke Jackie Milburn's 49-year-old record of 200 goals for Newcastle United when he netted his 201st strike in a home Premiership fixture against Portsmouth on 4 February 2006. Some media sources have pointed out that, including matches played during World War II, Milburn scored 238 goals for the club. Discounting those games and goals, however, Shearer beat the record in five fewer games than Milburn.
On 17 April 2006, with three games remaining in his final season as a player, Shearer suffered a tear to the medial collateral ligament in his left knee after a collision during the 4-1 win at Sunderland in which he scored his 206th goal. The injury caused him to miss those final three games, effectively ending his career prematurely. On 22 April, 2006, Shearer confirmed his retirement as a player.
On 11 May 2006, Newcastle United played Celtic at St James' Park in Shearer's testimonial match. Guest ex-Newcastle players included Steve Watson, Gary Speed, Rob Lee and Les Ferdinand. Shearer could not play in the testimonial because of injury; however, he initiated the kick-off and scored a penalty to win the game for Newcastle, 3-2. All proceeds from the game went to North East charities, including the NSPCC (for which Shearer is a patron), and the Bobby Moore Fund.

David Beckham

David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE (born 2 May 1975) is an English professional football (soccer) midfielder who plays for Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy. He is also currently a member of the England national team.

He was chosen runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year twice, and as recently as 2004 was the world's highest-paid footballer. He was Google's most searched of all sports topics in both 2003 and 2004.Such global recognition has made him an elite advertising brand and a top fashion icon

Beckham was captain of England from 15 November 2000 to 2 July 2006. He made 58 appearances as captain, and ended his tenure in that role after the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals. He continued to make contributions for the England national team in 2007 competitions.

Beckham's career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17. During his time there, United won the Premiership title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons. In his final season, Real clinched the La Liga title (Beckham's only major trophy with the club) in the final game of the season.

In January 2007, it was announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid and sign a five-year contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy. He played his final match with Real on 17 June, after which the team was awarded the 2006–07 La Liga championship.

Beckham's new contract with the Galaxy, effective 1 July 2007, gave him the highest salary of any MLS player in history. He debuted for the team on 21 July in a friendly versus Chelsea FC at the Home Depot Center^[10], and on 15 August, he had his first start with the team, scoring his first goal and first assist in the 2007 SuperLiga semi-final. His first league start then came on 18 August, where he recorded two more assists against the New York Red Bulls in front of a record crowd at Giants Stadium.