Saturday, January 31, 2015

Andriy Shevchenko, a former Ukrainian footballer who played for Dynamo Kyiv, Milan, Chelsea, and the Ukrainian national team as a striker. His career has been highlighted by many awards, the most prestigious of which was the Ballon d'Or in 2004

Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko is a former Ukrainian footballer who played for Dynamo Kyiv, Milan, Chelsea, and the Ukrainian national team as a striker. Shevchenko is ranked as the fifth top goalscorer in all European competitions with 67 goals. With a tally of 175 goals scored for Milan, Shevchenko is the second most prolific player in the history of the club, and is also the all-time second-best scorer of the Derby della Madonnina (the derby between Milan and their local rivals Internazionale) with 14 goals. Furthermore, he is the all-time top scorer for the Ukrainian national team with 48 goals.
Shevchenko's career has been highlighted by many awards, the most prestigious of which was the Ballon d'Or in 2004 (becoming the third Ukrainian, after Oleh Blokhin and Ihor Belanov, to receive it). He won the UEFA Champions League in 2003 with Milan, and he has also won various league and cup titles in Ukraine, Italy, and England. He was also an UEFA Champions League runner-up in 2005 and 2008.
In his illustrious international career, the striker led Ukraine as captain to the quarter-finals in their first ever FIFA World Cup appearance in 2006. A fast, hardworking, energetic, opportunistic, and prolific goalscorer, Shevchenko was usually deployed as a centre-forward, although he was capable of attacking from the left wing as well, a position which he occupied upon his return to Kiev; he was also effective from set-pieces and penalties. A strong and physical striker with an eye for goal, he was primarily known for his powerful and accurate shot, although he also possessed good technique and aerial ability.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Thomas Ravelli, a retired Swedish footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Ravelli is the Swedish national team's second most capped player, with 143 caps

Thomas Ravelli is a retired Swedish footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
His 21-year professional career was almost exclusively associated with Öster and Göteborg, for whom he amassed Allsvenskan totals of 430 games.
Ravelli is the Swedish national team's second most capped player, with 143 caps (also one of best in the world), representing the nation at two World Cups and one European Championship.

Ravelli's international career spanned almost two decades, starting in 1981. He played in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 1992, and the 1994 World Cup, with Sweden finishing third in the latter tournament, and gained a total of 143 caps.
He is especially well known for saving two penalties during the shootout that ended the quarterfinal match between Sweden and Romania, in the 1994 World Cup in the United States, including one in the "sudden death" by Miodrag Belodedici (5–4 win); this feat led to him finishing second in the year's race for Goalkeeper of the Year.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Flórián Albert, a Hungarian international football player, later manager and sports official, who was named European Footballer of the Year in 1967

Flórián Albert (15 September 1941 – 31 October 2011) was a Hungarian international football player, later manager and sports official, who was named European Footballer of the Year in 1967. Nicknamed "The Emperor", he has been described as one of the most elegant footballers of all time.
A club legend of Ferencvárosi TC, Albert joined the team yet as a schoolboy and spent his whole playing career at Fradi. He also starred for Hungary, winning 75 international caps and scoring 31 goals. He was joint top-scorer at the 1962 World Cup with four goals and played a key role in Hungary's third-place finish at the European Championship in 1964.
He stayed loyal to Ferencváros after his retirement as well, actively participated in the club's life and also held administrative positions. Since 2007 the stadium of Ferencváros bears his name.
Albert died in October 2011, aged 70, in a hospital in Budapest after complications following heart surgery carried out a few days earlier.


Albert spent his entire club career with Ferencvárosi TC, where he played from 1952 to 1974. He came through the ranks quickly and made his debut in the senior team on 2 November 1958 against Diósgyőr, in a match in which he hit the back of the net two times. The forward was also spotted by Hungarian national team manager Lajos Baróti in a youth match between Hungary and Yugoslavia, and not much later Albert already received his first call-up. His first appearance in the national selection came on 28 June 1959 against Sweden, who finished runners-up in the World Cup a year earlier. Albert contributed with two assist to Hungary's 3–2 win over the Scandinavians. He scored 31 goals in 75 caps for the Hungarian team, with them he has collected the bronze medal on both of the Olympic Games in 1960 and the European Championship in 1964. At the 1962 World Cup, despite Hungary being knocked out in the quarter-finals, Albert, tied with five others, managed to win the Golden Boot Award with four goals.
On club level, his biggest success came in 1965, when in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Ferencváros, that knocked-out among others AS Roma and Manchester United F.C. en route to the final, triumphed over Juventus F.C. 1–0 in the decisive match and obtained the cup title.


Monday, January 12, 2015

Kevin Keegan, an English former football player and manager that he first superstar English player to attract the modern media spotlight. He won Ballon d'Or in 1978 and 1979

Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE (born 14 February 1951) is an English former football player and manager. He played for several clubs including Liverpool and Hamburger SV. He went on to manage Newcastle United, Fulham and Manchester City, winning promotion as champions in his first full season at all three clubs. He also managed the England national team.
As a player in the 1970s and 1980s, he has been described as "arguably the first superstar English player to attract the modern media spotlight". He began his playing career at Scunthorpe United in 1968, before moving to Liverpool in 1971. At Liverpool, Keegan won three First Division titles, the UEFA Cup twice, the FA Cup and the European Cup. He also gained his first England cap in 1972, and moved to German club Hamburg in the summer of 1977. At Hamburg he was named European Footballer of the Year in 1978 and 1979, won the Bundesliga title in 1978–79, and reached the European Cup final in 1980. Keegan moved to Southampton that summer, and spent two seasons at the club before a transfer to Newcastle United in the English second division in 1982. He helped Newcastle to promotion in his second season, and retired from football in 1984, having been capped 63 times for England, scoring 21 goals.
He moved into management at Newcastle in 1992, winning promotion as First Division champions. Newcastle then finished second in the Premier League in 1995–96, after leading for most of the season. After a spell at Fulham, he took charge of the England team in 1999 but resigned in the autumn of 2000, following a loss against Germany in World Cup qualification. He then became manager of Manchester City in 2001 and spent four years at the club before resigning in 2005. He had been out of football for almost three years when he returned to Newcastle United for a second spell as manager in January 2008. This spell lasted only eight months, however, as Keegan resigned on 4 September 2008 following speculation regarding a dispute with the club's directors.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Omar Sívori, an Italian Argentine football striker and manager. He won the title of European Footballer of the Year in 1961

Enrique Omar Sívori (2 October 1935 – 17 February 2005) was an Italian Argentine football striker and manager. He is known for his time with the successful Juventus side during the late 1950s and early 1960s. At club level he also played for River Plate and Napoli.
On the international level, he first appeared for the Argentine national team, winning the Copa América. Later in his career, he played for the Italian national team and took part in some of the 1962 World Cup. After his retirement as player, he coached several teams in Argentina, including the national side.
Sívori's footballing talent was acclaimed and he won the title of European Footballer of the Year in 1961.

Encyclopædia Britannica describe his playing style as "audacious and brilliant".Sívori utilized his dribbling skills and favourite move of the nutmeg (playing the ball between an opposition players legs) to defeat defenders. Primarily a left footed player, Sívori had the ability to score with his left, his right and, despite his relatively short stature, his head; this would sometimes see him receiving kicks to the face.
Especially while with Juventus, he was able to utilise his vision and passing skills, working in unison with Charles and Boniperti. Because of his playing style, country of birth and at times rebellious nature on and off the field, Sívori is retroactively compared to a player who emerged after him; Diego Maradona, with some parts of the media dubbing him "the Maradona of the Sixties".