In 2006, he signed with league rival Internazionale, where he won individual awards such as the Italian Oscar del Calcio and the Swedish Guldbollen, and was named in the 2007 and 2009UEFA Team of the Year, in addition to finishing as the league's highest scorer in 2008–09 while winning three straight Scudetti. In the summer of 2009, he transferred to Barcelona for €69 million, the second highest transfer fee in football history. His time at Barcelona was short lived, however, moving back to Serie A football with Milan the following season, in a deal which made him one of the highest paid footballers in the world[2] and cost the Italian club €24 million.
Gerrard made his international debut in 2000, and has since represented England at the 2000 and 2004 European Championships, as well as the 2006 World Cup – where he was the team's top goalscorer with two goals – and the 2010 World Cup, where he first captained his country in the absence of regular captain Rio Ferdinand, who missed the tournament through injury.[5] He was named as the permanent England captain shortly before the 2012 European Championship,[6] where he was named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament.[7]
Gerrard has been described as one of the greatest English midfielders in history, "a real leader, Gerrard is a tireless runner and has superb vision. His striking from distance is feared around the world and he is a prolific scorer for a midfielder."[8] Gerrard came second only to Kenny Dalglish in the "100 Players Who Shook The Kop" – a Liverpool fan poll.[9]Zinedine Zidane said in 2009 that he considered Gerrard to be the best footballer in the world.[10] In 2005, Gerrard was honoured as the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or Bronze Award. Additionally, he has been named to the PFA Team of the Year seven times, the UEFA Team of the Year and FIFA World XI three times, and was named the FWA Footballer of the Year in 2009. In 2010, The Guardian named Gerrard to their World XI team, which compiled the greatest footballers of all time onto one squad.[11] He is, to date, the only footballer ever to have scored a goal in an FA Cup Final, a League Cup Final, a UEFA Cup Final and a Champions League Final.
Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional footballer, who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He is the vice-captain for his club side.[4] He is considered to be one of the best English footballers of his time, and one of the best midfield players of his generation.[5][6][7][8][9] Lampard is a box-to-boxmidfielder known for "his work-rate, range of passing and goalscoring ability."[10] Lampard began his career at West Ham United, for whom his father Frank Lampard, Sr. had also played. He secured a place in the first team by the 1997–98 season, and the following year helped the team finish 5th in the Premier League, their highest-ever Premier League placing. In 2001, he moved to rival London club Chelsea for £11 million.
From his début, he was ever-present in the Chelsea first team, setting a record 164 consecutive Premier League appearances. He established himself as a prolific scorer at the west London club and was a key part of the sides which won back-to-back Premier League titles in 2004–05 and 2005–06 and a domestic cup double in 2007. He signed a new contract in 2008, becoming the highest-paid Premier League footballer at that time,[11] and scored in his first Champions League Final that year. He won a second FA Cup winners' medal in 2009, scoring the winning goal in the final. In the 2009–10 season, Lampard won the Premier League title and the FA Cup (domestic cup double) and had his most prolific season with Chelsea, scoring 22 league goals and 17 league assists.[12] In the 2011–12 season, Lampard captained Chelsea to their first UEFA Champions League title.[13]
A three-time Chelsea Player of the Year,[14] Lampard is the club's second highest all-time goalscorer with 198 goals in all competitions. Lampard is one of five players, and the only midfielder, to have scored 150 or more goals in the Premier League.[15] He is second in the Premier League's all-time assists table with 91 assists.[16] He has had over 1400 successful passes and 10 or more assists every season.[17] In 2005, Lampard was voted FWA Footballer of the Year and was runner-up in both the FIFA World Player of the Year and the Ballon d'Or. In 2010 he received the FWA Tribute Award. On 23 December 2009, he was named the Premier League's player of the decade by official statistics.[18]
Internationally, Lampard has been capped 94 times by England since making his debut in October 1999, and has scored 27 goals. He was voted England Player of the Year for two consecutive years in 2004 and 2005. He played in Euro 2004, where he was named in the team of the tournament after scoring three goals in four games. He was top scorer for England in their 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign with five goals, and played in the 2006 World Cup. He is England's most prolific penalty taker with nine goals, surpassing the previous record holders, Ron Flowers and Alan Shearer. He was named the 49th highest earning athlete in the world in June 2011.[19] Club career
Fernando José Torres Sanz (Spanish pronunciation: [ferˈnando ˈtores]; born 20 March 1984), nicknamed El Niño (The Kid in Spanish),[4] is a Spanish footballer who plays as a striker for Chelsea and the Spain national team. Torres started his career with Atlético Madrid, progressing through their youth system to the first team squad. He made his first team debut in 2001 and finished his time at the club having scored 75 goals in 174 La Liga appearances. Prior to his La Liga debut, Torres played two seasons in the Segunda División for Atlético Madrid, making 40 appearances and scoring seven goals.
He joined Premier League club Liverpool in 2007, after signing for a club record transfer fee. He marked his first season at Anfield by being Liverpool's first player since Robbie Fowler in the 1995–96 season to score more than 20 league goals in a season. Torres became the fastest player in Liverpool history to score 50 league goals. He left the club in January 2011 to join Chelsea for a record British transfer fee of £50 million, which made him the most expensive Spanish player in history. In his first full season at Chelsea, he helped the club win the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League.
Torres is a Spanish international and made his debut against Portugal in 2003. He has since participated in five major tournaments; UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. Torres did not score at Euro 2004, but netted three at the 2006 World Cup. He scored twice at UEFA Euro 2008, including the winning goal for Spain in their 1–0 win over Germany in the Final. He went on to win the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 with Spain, scoring no goals in the former, and scoring three goals in the latter to win the Golden Boot, as part of the historic Spain side which won three consecutive major tournaments.
Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983),[2] commonly known as Yaya Touré, is an Ivorian footballer who plays primarily as a midfielder for the Côte d'Ivoire national team and is the Vice-Captain of Premier League club Manchester City. Touré is renowned for combining speed, passing ability, and physical power with technique. A versatile player, he aspired to be a striker during his youth[3] and has played centre back, including for FC Barcelona in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final.[4] He frequently plays as a box-to-box midfielder for club and country and often switches from defensive and offensive positions throughout matches. Touré began his playing career at Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas, where he made his debut aged 18. He was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2011 and 2012.[5]
His performances attracted attention from Europe, playing for clubs in minor European leagues. Touré played for Beveren in Belgium, Metalurh Donetsk in Ukraine, Olympiacos in Greece, and AS Monaco in France. In 2007, Touré moved to Barcelona, playing over 100 matches for the club and was part of the historic 2009 Barcelona team which won six trophies in one calendar year. Touré then moved to Premier League club Manchester City in 2010, where he has since scored a number of key goals for the Citizens, most notably the only goals in the 2011 FA Cup semi-final and Final. Touré has a distinguished international career with 67 caps for Côte d'Ivoire, representing the team in their first appearance in a FIFA World Cup, in the 2006 competition and in 2010. He is the younger brother of his Côte d'Ivoire and Manchester City teammate Kolo Touré.
John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League. He was also captain of the England national football team, holding the post from August 2006 to February 2010, and again from March 2011 to February 2012.
Terry is Chelsea's most successful captain, having led them to three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups and a UEFA Champions League since 2004. He is one of five players to have made over 500 appearances for Chelsea and is also the club's all-time highest scoring defender.[10] In 2007, he became the first captain to lift the FA Cup at the new Wembley Stadium in Chelsea's 1–0 win over Manchester United, and also the first player to score an international goal there, scoring a header in England's 1–1 draw with Brazil.[11]
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká (Portuguese: is a Brazilian footballattacking midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid[3] and the Brazilian national team. Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club. At the time, he also played tennis,[4] and it was not until he moved on to São Paulo FC and signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of 15 that he chose to focus on football.
In 2003 he joined Milan for a fee of €8.5 million. While at Milan, Kaká won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2007. After his success with Milan, Kaká joined Real Madrid for a transfer fee of €65 million, second only to that of Zinedine Zidane, €75 million. Later Real Madrid transferred Cristiano Ronaldo for a fee of €96 million, setting a new transfer fee record, making Kaká's fee the third highest ever. In addition to his contributions on the pitch, Kaká is known for his humanitarian work. In 2004, by the time of his appointment, he became the youngest ambassador of the UN World Food Programme.[5] Kaká is the first sportsperson to amass 10 million followers on Twitter.[6] Club career
