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- 14. Thierry Henry
- "This is my last contract. It is where I belong." Those words,
uttered by Thierry Henry as he committed his future to Arsenal in May,
were music to the ears of anyone associated with the Club.
- Quite simply, Thierry is one of football's most electrifying talents.
The French striker's skill, pace, eye for goal and selfless team play
would improve any side on the planet but he is happy to remain the jewel
in Arsenal's crown.
- Last season brought another deluge of goals and some notable individual
achievements. Thierry succeeded Patrick Vieira as captain and grew into
the role, ultimately leading Arsenal out in Paris for their first-ever
Champions League Final. He eclipsed Ian Wright's Club scoring record
last October and broke the 200-mark at Birmingham in February, a little
over three years after completing his first Arsenal century at the same
ground.
- The Arsenal.com Player of the Season didn't do badly at international
level either. He scored three times as France advanced to the World Cup
Final in Germany and is likely to be his country's talisman for a few
years to come in the wake of Zinedine Zidane's retirement.
- According to Arsène Wenger, Thierry is approaching his peak. The good
news is that he will enjoy those golden years at Emirates Stadium.
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- Biography
Samuel Eto'o Fils made an impact on the world of football while
still a teenager. He has exceptional physical qualities and made the
leap to European football at the tender age of just 16 when Real Madrid
signed him up and loaned him out to second division Leganés. At the age
of 17 years and 3 months he became the youngest player at the 1998 World
Cup in France and was the only player who had been born in the '80's.
- After Leganés, he went on loan to RCD Espanyol (1998-1999) but played
very little and subsequently retuned to Real Madrid (1999-2000). In the
1999-00 season, he played a few times for RCD Mallorca, eventually
spending four seasons there (2000-04), with the Balearic Island club
sharing his rights with Real Madrid.
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3
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- Hernán Jorge Crespo (born July 5, 1975 in Florida, Argentina) is an Argentine
international football player currently playing in the Italian Series A
for International, having signed from English Premier League champions Chelsea
on a 2 year loan deal on 7 August 2006, although Chelsea have an option
to recall him after one season. He is famed for his powerful aerial
ability, which allows him to score goals from considerable distances. He
is also renowned for being one of the most effective goal poachers in
the game, due to his anticipatory off-the-ball movement.
- Crespo was included in the FIFA 100 list comprising the best footballers
in the world at present.
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4
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- 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 F.C.
in the FA Premier League. He 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 is also the second-highest goal scorer of all-time in
European club competitions with 58 goals, behind only Gerd Müller.
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5
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- Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985 in Liverpool) is an English
footballer. He currently plays for the English Premier League club
Manchester United and the England national team. He normally played as a
second striker to Ruud van Nistelrooy for his club team before van
Nistelrooy's move to Real Madrid,[citation needed] although during
2005-06, he showed his versatility as a player by shifting to the
midfield and playing on both flanks. He wears number 8 for Manchester
United and wears number 9 for the English national team.
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6
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- Rutgerus Johannes Martinius van Nistelrooy (originally spelled Van
Nistelrooii) (born July 1, 1976 in Oss, North Brabant, Netherlands) is a
Dutch footballer who plays in the position of centre forward for Real
Madrid. He has previously starred for the Dutch national team and
Manchester United, where he holds the record of being the club's top
scorer in the European Cup.
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7
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- Edson Arantes do Nascimento, KBE (born October 23, 1940 in Três
Corações, Brazil), best known by his nickname Pelé, is a former
Brazilian football (soccer) player. In his native Brazil, Pelé is hailed
as a national hero for his accomplishments and contribution to the game,
[2] in addition to being officially declared the football ambassador of
the world by FIFA and a national treasure by the Brazilian government.
During his career, he became known as "The King of Football" (O
Rei do Futebol) or simply "The King Pelé" (O Rei Pelé). He was
given the title Footballer of the Century by FIFA and Athlete of the
Century by the International Olympic Committee.[3] He is also a member
of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Is also recognized as the unique
and only football player to score more than one thousand goals in the
history of professional football.
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8
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- Diego Armando Maradona (born October 30, 1960) is an Argentine former
football player.
- Maradona won various trophies with Boca Juniors, FC Barcelona and SSC
Napoli over the course of his career. During an international career
that included 91 caps and 34 goals, he played in four FIFA World Cup
tournaments, leading the Argentina national team to its victory over
West Germany in 1986, in which he collected the Golden Ball award as the
tournament's best player. His second goal against England -- a
spectacular 60-meter weave through six England players -- is commonly
referred to as "The Goal of the Century."
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9
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- Marcel ("Marco") van Basten (October 31, 1964 in Oog in Al,
Utrecht) is a Dutch football manager, currently in charge of the Dutch
national team. Previously, he was a football player who played for Ajax
Amsterdam and A.C. Milan in the 1980s and early 1990s. He is regarded as
one of the finest strikers of all time and scored 276 goals in a career
cut short by injury. Known for his strength on the ball, his tactical
awareness and spectacular strikes and volleys, Van Basten was named
European Footballer of the Year three times (1988, '89 and '92) and FIFA
World Player of the Year in 1992.He was elected the twelfth-best
footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS.
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10
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- Fernando José Torres Sanz (20 March 1984) is a Spanish football player
and captain of Atlético Madrid.
- He was born in the Fuenlabrada neighbourhood, traditionally Real Madrid
territory, but he grew up to wear the red and white stripes of Atlético
Madrid. Nicknamed El Niño (The Kid) for his youthful face, Torres is a
striker for the Spanish National Team and Atlético Madrid, where he is
considered to be one of their best homegrown players.
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Notes
