Michael Owen

Profile Football Stars | Michael Owen | The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. In 2001, Liverpool won a cup treble of the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and Football League Cup, and Owen was the recipient of the Ballon d'Or. He went on to score 118 goals in 216 appearances in the Premier League for Liverpool. Internationally, Owen first played for the senior England team in 1998, Becoming England's youngest player and youngest goalscorer at the time. Owen's long injury absence after the 2006 World Cup resulted in a dispute Between FIFA and The FA and Newcastle United, and eventually resulted in an unprecedented £ 10m compensation award to Newcastle, and Brought changes to the compensation arrangements Between club and country regarding injuries sustained by contracted club players while on international duty.

The 2002-03 season saw Owen on top form again as he hit 28 goals. Owen also scored at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff when Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-0 to win the League Cup and scored his 100th Premier League goal against West Bromwich Albion.  Following Gérard Houllier's sacking as Liverpool manager, Speculation about Owen's departure from the club began. During the first few Champions League games at the start of the 2004-2005 season, Owen sat on the bench to avoid being cup-tied for the Champions League, Something That Meant he would have would be Unable to play in European competitions for any other That club season. Since 1998 Owen had been Liverpool's top scorer every season until he left the club.

Owen had a slow start to his Madrid career. A few days later, he scored his first Spanish league goal in a 1-0 victory over Valencia. During his time at Real Madrid, Owen scored 18 goals from 41 games, 15 of the which were starts.

Roughly 20.000 fans were present at Newcastle's home ground of St James 'Park for Owen's official unveiling as a Newcastle player. Owen scored his first hat-trick for Newcastle in the 4-2 away win over West Ham on 17 December. On 14 June it was reported That Owen's management company Wasserman Media Group had sent out a 34-page brochure advertising Owen to Several potential clubs.

On 3 July 2009, it was Announced That Owen had signed a two-year deal with Premier League champions, Manchester United. Owen started his second game of the season in the fourth round of the League Cup , against League Two club Aldershot Town. In February 2012, Owen started light training with the Manchester United squad. From April 2012, Owen started full training but not yet ready for first team games.

Owen had a highly Successful record at youth level, playing for the England under-20 team at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship and scoring three goals in four games. As of December 2007, Owen has never gone more than four international games in a row without scoring a goal. Owen's future as a first choice striker for England is uncertain however, due to competition from Manchester United's Wayne Rooney and fast-developing Theo Walcott amongst others. Owen's lack of action in Fabio Capello's first two England friendlies and Capello's selection of a single striker 4-5-1 formation also support the view That Owen's international opportunities in future may be limited. On 28 February, he suffered a hamstring injury in the League Cup final and was ruled out for the rest of the season.

Personal information
Full name Michael James Owen
Date of birth 14 December 1979 (age 32)
Place of birth Chester, England
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Striker

Club information
Current club Free Agent

Youth career
Liverpool 1991-1996

Senior career
years Team
Liverpool 1996-2004 216 (118)
2004-2005 Real Madrid 36 (13)
2005-2009 Newcastle United 71 (26)
2009-2012 Manchester United 31 (5)

National team
1997 England U20 4 (3)
1997 England U21 1 (1)
2006-2007 England B 2 (0)
1998-2008 England 89 (40)

Honours

Club
Liverpool
     FA Cup (1): 2000-01
     Football League Cup (2): 2000-01, 2002-03
     FA Community Shield (1): 2001
     UEFA Cup (1): 2000-01
     UEFA Super Cup (1): 2001


Manchester United
     Premier League (1): 2010-11
     Football League Cup (1): 2009-10
     FA Community Shield (1): 2010

Individual
     PFA Young Player of the Year (1): 1997-98
     PFA Premier League Team of the Year (1): 1997-98
     Premier League Player of the Month (1): August 1998
     Premier League Golden Boot (2): 1997-98, 1998-99
     Carling Player of the Year (1): 1997-98
     FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award (1): France 1998
     BBC Sports Personality of the Year (1): 1998
     Ballon d'Or (1): 2001
     Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992-93 to 2001-02):
     Domestic Team of the Decade
     FIFA 100

Samuel Eto'o

Profile Football Stars | Samuel Eto'o | As a member of the Cameroon national team, he was a part of the squad that won the 2000 Olympic tournament, he has participated in three World Cups and six African Nations Cup (being champion twice) and is the leading all-time scorer in the history of the African Nations Cup with 18 goals. Eto'o scored over 100 goals in five seasons with FC Barcelona, and so is the record holder in number of appearances by an African player in La Liga. In 2010, he became the first player to win two European Continental Trebles following his back-to-back achievements with Barcelona and Internazionale. He is the second player to have ever scored in two separate UEFA Champions League finals and the fourth player, after Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa, and Gerard Piqué, to have won the UEFA Champions League two years in a row with different teams. He is the most decorated African player of all time having won the African Player of the Year award a record four times in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010th

Samuel Eto'o joined Real Madrid in 1997 but, he could only train with Real Madrid B, as he was still a minor. The next season, in the winter transfer window, he Transferred to La Liga team RCD Mallorca on loan, scoring six goals in 19 games. At the end of the season, Eto'o left Real Madrid, signing a permanent deal with RCD Mallorca for a club record £ 4.4 million fee. In his second season, he scored 11 goals and began to garner attention throughout the league. Mallorca won the match 3-0, with Eto'o scoring two late goals to seal the victory.

Eto'o departed Mallorca as the club's all-time leading scorer domestic league (54 goals) when he signed for FC Barcelona in the summer of 2004 for a transfer fee of € 24 million after lengthy, three-way negotiations with Mallorca and Madrid. After aggravating a meniscus injury on 28 August during a summer friendly against Internazionale, Eto'o was sidelined indefinitely.  Eto'o recorded his first league hat-trick in a match against Levante UD on 24 February 2008. He finished with a total of 16 league goals in 18 appearances for the season. Only two games later, on 8 November 2008, Eto'o scored four goals in the first half of Barcelona's game against Real Valladolid , Which ended 6-0. On 29 November 2008, he scored his 111th career goal in all competitions in Barcelona a 3-0 road win over Sevilla FC, moving him into the club's top ten all-time goalscorers.  On 14 February 2009, he scored his 99th and his 100th league goals for Barcelona in a 2-2 draw with Real Betis. Eto'o scored his 30th goal of the 2008-09 season in a La Liga match against Real Valladolid.  Eto'o scored the opening goal in the 2009 UEFA Champions League final against Manchester United.

After Maxwell completed the transfer from Internazionale, Joan Laporta confirmed that there was an agreement in principle between Barcelona and Internazionale for Zlatan Ibrahimovic to join the club in exchange for Eto'o and € million 46th after Ibrahimović agreed terms with Barcelona, the club announced Eto'o would travel to Milan for his medical to complete the transfer. On 16 March 2011, Eto'o gave a legendary performance in Munich as he helped eliminate Internazionale Bayern Munich 3-2 (on aggregate with score of 3-3, winning on away goals) in the Champions League. Eto'o is fantastic. " On 29 May, Eto'o scored two goals in the final of the Italian Cup against Palermo to help Internazionale 3-1 win and taking his season total to 37 goals, a new record high for him.

Eto'o scored his sole goal of the 2002 World Cup when he netted the game-winner against Saudi Arabia during the group stage on 6 June, 2002, Which was Cameroon's only win of the competition. On 1 December 2009, Eto'o finished fifth in voting for the Ballon d'Or, Which was won by his former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi. On 19 June 2010, Eto'o scored a goal in Cameroon's 2010 World Cup group stage match against Denmark, from a mistake by Christian Poulsen. Cameroon eventually lost the game 2-1 and was eliminated from the World Cup. Eto'o Described it as the biggest disappointment of his career. In December 2010, Eto'o became the first man to be named African Player of the Year for a fourth time.  On 16 December 2011, Eto'o was suspended for fifteen games by the Fédération de Football Camerounaise, after the team refused to play a friendly against Algeria earlier this year.

Personal information
Full name Samuel Eto'o Fils
Date of Birth 10 March 1981 (age 31)
Place of birth Nkon, Cameroon
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Striker

Club information
Current club Anzhi Makhachkala
Number 99

Youth career
1992-1997 Kadji Sports Academy

Senior career
Years Team Apps
1997-2000 Real Madrid 3 (0)
1997-1998 Leganes (loan) 30 (4)
Espanyol in 1999 (loan) 0 (0)
2000 Mallorca (loan) 19 (6)
Mallorca 2000-2004 120 (48)
Barcelona 2004-2009 145 (108)
2009-2011 Internazionale 67 (33)
2011-Anzhi Makhachkala 22 (13)

National team
2000 Cameroon U-23 6 (1)
1997-Cameroon 109 (54)

Honours

Club
Mallorca
     Copa del Rey (1): 2003

Barcelona
     La Liga (3): 2004-05, 2005-06, 2008-09
     Copa del Rey (1): 2009
     Supercopa de España (2): 2005, 2006
     UEFA Champions League (2): 2005-06, 2008-09

Internazionale
     Series A (1): 2009-10
     Coppa Italia (2): 2010, 2011
     Super Coppa Italiana (1): 2010
     Super Coppa Italiana Runner Up: (1) 2011
     UEFA Champions League (1): 2009-10
     FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2010

Cameroon
     African Cup of Nations (2): 2000, 2002
     LG Cup (1): 2011
     Cameroon Olympic Team
     Olympic Gold Medal (1): 2000

Individual
     Young African Player of the Year: 2000
     African Player of the Year: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010
     ESM Team of the Year: 2004-05, 2005-06, 2008-09, 2010-11
     FIFPro World XI: 2005, 2006
     UEFA Team of the Year: 2005, 2006
     African Cup of Nations Top Scorer: 2006, 2008
     UEFA Champions League Best Forward: 2006
     La Liga top scorer: 2006
     African Cup of Nations All-Time Top Scorer
     RCD Mallorca All-Time Top Scorer
     Cameroon All-Time Top Scorer
     2005 FIFA World Player of the Year Third
     UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match 2006
     FIFA Club World Cup - Golden Ball 2010
     CAF Starting XI in the Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2006

Iker Casillas

Profile Football Stars | Iker Casillas | As of 2011 Casillas is one of a very select group of players have won all major who and national club championship titles. In 2010, he was awarded with the Sports Prince of Asturias Award. On 19 October 2010, Became the most capped Casillas Goalkeeper of all time in the UEFA Champions League and in November 2011, he Became the most capped player of all time for the Spanish national team. Casillas has a brother, seven years younger, named Unai, who currently plays as a central midfielder for CD Mostoles.  As a young child, one weekend Casillas forgot to post his father's football predictions on the weekend his father had entered correctly predicted all 14 results.

Casillas had started in the junior squad of Real Madrid's youth system during the 1990-91 season. After the match, he received praise from fellow Spanish England Goalkeepers and Goalkeeper Gordon Banks, who Stated "Casillas' reflexes are incredible. Europa Press reported Casillas That was the 2nd most popular Spanish sportsman on the internet throughout 2010.  During the 2011-12 season, Casillas won IFFHS Best Goalkeeper award, making him the only and first Goalkeeper to win it four times. Casillas played his 600th match for Real Madrid on January 22, 2012 in a 4-1 win against Athletic Bilbao. On 2nd May, 2012, Casillas clinched his 5th league title and his 1st as a captain of Real Madrid, with 3-0 win at Bilbao.

Casillas debuted for the national team in the U-17 level. At age 16, he was the youngest player in the Spanish squad That placed third at the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Egypt. Casillas was the highest ranked Goalkeeper (4th place) in the 2008 Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and national teammate Fernando Torres. Also in 2008 Casillas was named the world's best goalkeeper by the IFFHS. He also came in third place in the best Goalkeepers of all time ranking; beating Oliver Kahn.

On 5 September 2009, after a 5-0 win over Belgium in a qualifying match for the World Cup, Casillas equaled Andoni Zubizarreta's national record of 56 clean sheets, and during the Spanish team's next match against Estonia on 9 September 2009, Zubizarreta as he surpassed the record holder for the most international Spanish clean sheets (this being Achieved in Casillas' 98th appearance for the national team, while Zubizarreta made 126 before his retirement). In doing so he Goalkeeper Became the third ever to captain a World Cup winning side (along with Gianpiero Combi in Dino Zoff in 1934 and 1982). He was voted the tournament's best Goalkeeper and awarded the Golden Glove. On 15 November 2011, Casillas Spain's most capped Became player, breaking record after Andoni Zubizarreta's starting for Spain in their 2-2 draw against Costa Rica. On 29 February 2012, in Spain's 5-0 win over Venezuela, Casillas equaled Edwin van der Sar's record of 72 international clean sheets.

Personal information
Full name Iker Casillas Fernández
Date of birth 20 May 1981 (age 30)
Place of birth Mostoles, Madrid, Spain
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1/2 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper

Club information
Current club Real Madrid
Number 1

Youth career
1990-1998 Real Madrid

Senior career
years Team
1998-1999 Real Madrid C 26 (0)
1999 Real Madrid B 4 (0)
1999-Real Madrid 456 (0)

National team
1996 Spain U15 1 (0)
1996-1998 Spain U16 19 (0)
1997-1999 Spain U17 10 (0)
1999 Spain U18 4 (0)
1999 Spain U20 2 (0)
1999-2000 Spain U21 5 (0)
2000-Spain 128 (0)

Honours

Club
Real Madrid
     La Liga (5): 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2011-12
     Copa del Rey (1): 2010-11
     Supercopa de España (3): 2001, 2003, 2008
     UEFA Champions League (2): 1999-2000, 2001-02
     UEFA Super Cup (1): 2002
     Intercontinental Cup (1): 2002

Spain-20
     FIFA World Youth Championship: 1999

Spain
     FIFA World Cup: 2010
     UEFA European Championship: 2008
     FIFA Confederations Cup: Third-place 2009

Individual
     Bravo Award: 2000
     La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2000
     UEFA Team of the Year: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
     Zamora Trophy: 2007-08
     UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament: 2008
     ESM Team of the Year: 2008
     FIFA / FIFPro World XI: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
     FIFPro FIFPro # Fifa World's Best Goalkeeper: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
     IFFHS Best Goalkeeper: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
     Best European Goalkeeper: 2008, 2010
     FIFA World Cup Golden Glove: 2010
     FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2010
     UEFA European Championship Winning Captain: 2008
     FIFA World Cup Winning Captain: 2010

Decorations
     Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit: 2009
     Favourite son of Navalacruz: 2010
     Favourite son of Mostoles: 2010

Antonio Adán

Profile Football Stars | Antonio Adán | A Real Madrid youth graduate, Adán was the first-choice Goalkeeper for its C side in the 2005-06 season, playing 36 games and conceding 29 goals. After the sale of Codina to neighbors Getafe CF, Adán was Promoted to the senior squad for pre-season training, in the 2009-10 campaign.

On 8 December 2010, Adán made official his Real Madrid debut, Replacing injured Dudek in the 44th minute of the 4-0 home win against AJ Auxerre, for the season's UEFA Champions League; the Merengues had already won its group stage, and manager José Several Mourinho rested starters; Following the month, he played the full 90 minutes in a 0-2 loss at Levante UD, for the season's Copa del Rey (8-2 aggregate win).

In the summer of 2006, Adán captained the U-19 Spanish squad all the way to winning the European Championship Real Madrid alongside four other products: Javi García, Esteban Granero, Juan Mata and Alberto Bueno. Spain lost 1-2 on aggregate.

Personal information
Full name Antonio Garrido Adán
Date of birth 13 May 1987 (age 25)
Place of birth Madrid, Spain
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper

Club information
Current club Real Madrid
Number 13

Youth career
1997-2004 Real Madrid
senior career

Years Team
2004-2006 Real Madrid C 51 (0)
2006-2010 Real Madrid B 84 (0)
2009 - Real Madrid 4 (0)

National team
2002 Spain U16 5 (0)
2002-2005 Spain U17 19 (0)
2006 Spain U19 8 (0)
2007 Spain U20 6 (0)
2007 Spain U21 2 (0)

Honours

Club
Real Madrid
     La Liga: 2011-12
     Copa del Rey: 2010-11
     Supercopa de España: Runner-up 2011

Spain U19
     UEFA U-19 Championship: 2006

Luís Figo

Profile Football Stars | Luís Figo |  Figo was the 2000 European Footballer of the Year, the 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year, and was named amongst the FIFA 100. Figo is one of the few football players to have played for both the Spanish rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. He had a career highlighted by Several Successful trophy wins, Such as one Portuguese Cup, four La Liga titles, two Spanish Cups, three Spanish Super Cups, one UEFA Champions League titles, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, one Intercontinental Cup, four Serie A titles, one Italian Cup and Italian Super Cups three. Figo started his career at Sporting CP. He won his first senior international cap in 1991. Prior to that, he won the Under-21 World Championships and Under-16 European Championships with Portugal junior sides, alongside Rui Costa, Joao Pinto and he was also a significant part of Portugal's "Golden Generation".

In 1995, Figo looked poised to join one of the big clubs of Europe, but a dispute Between Italian clubs Juventus and Parma, with Figo having signed contracts with both clubs, resulted in an Italian two-year transfer ban on Figo, Effectively stopping any moves to Italy. However, the situation was eventually resolved for Figo, with a move to Spanish club FC Barcelona for a fee of £ 2.25 million,  under Dutch coach Johan Cruyff. It was with Barcelona from 1995 That his career really took off: Figo won a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1996-97, successive Primera División titles and went on to Appear 172 times for Barcelona, scoring 30 goals. In 2000, Figo made a hugely controversial move to Barcelona's bitter rivals Real Madrid. Figo's arrival signaled the beginning of Florentino Pérez's' Galactico era ". With Madrid Figo won La Liga in 2001 and 2003 as well as the 2001-02 Champions League.

During the summer of 2008, Figo's compatriot José Mourinho joined Inter on a managerial level. On 16 May 2009, Figo Announced his retirement from football, the same day Internazionale won the 2008-09 title, and re-confirmed this on 30 May; his final game was on 31 May against Atalanta at the San Siro. At Javier Zanetti's insistence, Figo captained the side for his very last match. Figo said, "I am leaving football, not Inter. Luis Figo was on the sidelines when Internazionale Milano won the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League on 22 May 2010.

Figo captained the squad during the 2006 World Cup, leading the team to the semi-finals, where They were beaten by France courtesy of a penalty from his club-mate and former French captain Zinedine Zidane. The third place playoff Controversy Caused some as Figo did not start; Pauleta captained the team in his place. However, Portugal fell behind 2-0 to hosts Germany and Figo replaced Pauleta in the 77th minute, who handed him back the captain's armband, to cheers from both Portuguese and German fans. Despite having no trophies to show for the "Golden Generation," Figo managed to captain the team to Their best World Cup performance since the Eusebio era in 1966. He finished his international career with 127 caps and scoring 32 goals.

Personal information
Full name Luís Filipe Madeira Figo Caeiro
Date of birth 4 November 1972 (age 39)
Place of birth Lisbon, Portugal
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder / Winger

Youth career
União de Pastilhas
1984-1989 Sporting CP

Senior careeryears Team
1989-1995 Sporting CP 137 (16)
Barcelona 1995-2000 172 (30)
2000-2005 Real Madrid 164 (36)
Internazionale 2005-2009 105 (9)
Total 579 (91)

National team
1991-2006 Portugal 127 (32)

Honours

Club
Sporting CP
     Taça de Portugal (1): 1995

Barcelona
     La Liga (2): 1997-98, 1998-99
     Copa del Rey (2): 1997, 1998
     Supercopa de España (1): 1996
     UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1997
     UEFA Super Cup (1): 1997

Real Madrid
     La Liga (2): 2000-01, 2002-03
     Supercopa de España (2): 2001, 2003
     UEFA Champions League (1): 2002
     UEFA Super Cup (1): 2002
     Intercontinental Cup (1): 2002

Internazionale
     Serie A (4): 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09
     Coppa Italia (1): 2006
     Supercoppa Italiana (3): 2005, 2006, 2008

Portugal
     FIFA World Cup (1): 2006 Fourth Place
     UEFA European Football Championship (2): 2000 Semi Finalist,
     2004 Runner-Up
     FIFA U-20 World Cup (1): 1991
     UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship (1): 1989
     UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship (1): 1994 Runner-Up

Individual
     Figo's Ballon d'Or
     Ballon d'Or (1): 2000
     FIFA World Player of the Year (1): 2001
     World Soccer Player of the Year (1): 2000
     FIFA World Cup All-Star Team (1): 2006
     UEFA Euro All-Star Team (2): 2000, 2004
     UEFA Team of the Year (1): 2003
     La Liga Foreign Player of the Year (3): 1999, 2000, 2001
     Portuguese Footballer of the Year (6): 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
     Portuguese Golden Ball (1): 1994
     FIFA 100

Emmanuel Adebayor

Profile Football Stars | Emmanuel Adebayor | Adebayor Previously played for Metz, Monaco and Arsenal and was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008. In his first season, he played nine games and scored twice. In the 2002-03 season, Adebayor scored 17 goals in 35 games. He signed a new contract with Monaco in 2003, and he scored seven goals in 17 appearances, Helping them reach the 2004 UEFA Champions League final with two goals in 10 games.

On 13 January 2006, Adebayor signed for Arsenal a reported £ 7m. On 4 February 2006, Adebayor made his Arsenal debut in a Premiership match at Birmingham City and scored after 21 minutes, with Arsenal winning 2-0. At the end of his first season for the Gunners he had scored four goals in ten matches. On 13 September 2008, Adebayor scored a hat trick in Arsenal's 4-0 win away to Blackburn Rovers, getting his first league goals of the 2008-09 season. On 8 February, Adebayor suffered a hamstring injury in Arsenal's 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.

On 18 July 2009, Adebayor signed a five-year contract with Manchester City, for a transfer fee believed to be in the region of £ 25million. On his home debut, Adebayor scored the only goal in the 17th minute in a 1-0 in over Wolverhampton Wanderers, assisted by fellow summer signing Carlos Tevez. He scored in his third consecutive league match, heading the winner in a 1-0 away victory against Portsmouth. Manchester City manager Mark Hughes suggested Adebayor did it Because he wanted to be loved by City fans. In doing so, he Became the first Manchester City player to score a hat-trick in a European competition. In August 2011, Roberto Mancini confirmed Adebayor That, along with Craig Bellamy, were no longer part of his plans and Could leave Manchester City.

On 25 January 2011, Adebayor signed a loan deal to play for Real Madrid for the rest of the season. The game ended 2-0 with an aggregate score of 3-0. The game ended 4-1 and Adebayor scored the last goal within the last 3 minutes of the game. On 6 March 2011, Adebayor scored the opening goal in the 24th minute against Racing Santander from a Mesut Özil pass. Real Madrid won the match 3-1. Adebayor added two goals to his European tally for Madrid with goals against Tottenham Hotspur in a 4-0 win on 5 April 2011. Adebayor scored his first hat-trick for Real Madrid on 21 May 2011, on the last round of the 2010-11 La Liga season, against Almería.

On 25 August 2011, Adebayor signed Tottenham Hotspur on a season-long loan. [42] On 10 September 2011, Adebayor scored on his debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 67th minute.  Adebayor also Provided the assist for Rafael van der Vaart's goal in their 2-1 win against North London derby former club Arsenal on 2 October. Later on Adebayor went on to score a further two goals, one was a penalty at Stoke and one came in a derby against Chelsea where the scores ended up 1-1. On 11 February 2012, Adebayor scored on a volley and supplied four assists in the 5-0 win over Newcastle United.

Adebayor was also eligible to play for Nigeria but chose to Represent the country of his birth. Adebayor helped Togo qualify for the 2006 African Cup of Nations by scoring 11 goals in the qualifiers, more than any other player in the African qualifiers. On 8 January 2010, Adebayor was one of the players involved when the Togo national team's bus came under a gunfire attack on the way to the African Cup of Nations in Angola.

Personal information
Full name Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor
Date of birth 26 February 1984 (age 28)
Place of birth Lomé, Togo
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Striker

Club information
Current club Tottenham Hotspur
(on ​​loan from Manchester City)
Number 10

Youth career
OC 1998-1999 Agaza
Metz 1999-2001

Senior career
years Team
2000-2001 Metz B 10 (2)
Metz 44 2001-2003 (15)
2003-2006 Monaco 78 (18)
Arsenal-2006-2009 104 (46)
2009-Manchester City 34 (15)
2011-Real Madrid (loan) 14 (5)
2011-Tottenham Hotspur (loan) 30 (13)

National team
2000-Togo 43 (18)

Honours

Club
Real Madrid
     Copa del Rey: 2010-11

Individual
     Goal of the Month: September 2007 (with Arsenal)
     Goal of the Season: 2007-08 (with Arsenal)
     PFA Team of the Year: 2007-08 (with Arsenal)
     BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2007
     African Player of the Year: 2008
     Super Awards African Player of the Year: 2008
     Togo Footballer of the Year: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Juan Mata

 

Profile Football Stars | Juan Mata | Mata began his football career in Spain, playing for Real Oviedo. In the start of the 2007-08 season, Mata signed for fellow La Liga side Valencia CF, through a contractual clause at Real Madrid. In the 2011-12 season, Mata moved to England, signing for Premier League club Chelsea in August 2011, for a fee in the region of £ 23.5 million. In June 2009, Mata was included for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, his first senior tournament. On 9 September 2009, Mata scored his first goal for the senior team, against Estonia secured a place in the World Cup in South Africa and was part of Spain's 2010 FIFA World Cup winning squad. In 2011, he went back to playing the under-21 side, captaining and Helping Spain win the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in Denmark. He won the Golden Player award and was part of the Team of the Tournament.

Mata had a contractual clause at Real Madrid during his last season at the club, and eventually Agreed to sign for fellow La Liga side Valencia CF in March 2007, starting in 2007-08. During That first season, he was voted the team's best young player by the fans and players alike. In the following two seasons, Mata was an ever present figure for Valencia offensive, scoring 17 goals in 68 games combined, with the club Achieving back-to-back third-league places. On 10 April 2011, he netted two in a 5-0 home win against Villarreal CF Valencia neighbors. On 9 May, England-based Spanish journalist Guillem Balagué reported interest from Premier League clubs Several.

On 24 August 2011, signed a five-Eye year deal with Chelsea. On 26 August 2011, Yossi Benayoun Juan Mata Offered his number 10 shirt. (Florent Malouda wears number 15 for Chelsea.) Mata follows on from Chelsea players Mark Hughes, Ian Hutchinson and Terry Venables in adopting the number 10 shirt. Mata scored in the 5th Round replay against Birmingham City at St Andrews, the which Chelsea won 2-0.Adding to the other goal by Raul Meireles, he helped Chelsea into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and continued his scoring in each trait of round of the cup, however this run ended against Leicester City in the quarter-finals, the which Chelsea won 5-2. In this match, though, his Spanish national football teammate Fernando Torres ended a goal drought of his own, netting a brace against then Power Championship side.

Mata helped Spain win the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, where he was a key player. On 9 September 2009, Mata scored his first goal for the senior team, as the 3-0 win against Estonia secured a place in the World Cup in South Africa. In the following summer, he unconventionally went back to the Under 21 side, playing the role of the senior squad member and helped Spain win the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in Denmark.

Personal information
Full name Juan Manuel Mata García
Date of birth 28 April 1988 (age 23)
Place of birth Burgos, Spain
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position Attacking Midfielder
winger

Club information
Current club Chelsea
Number 10

Youth career
1998-2003 Real Oviedo
2003-2006 Real Madrid

Senior career
years Team
2006-2007 Real Madrid B 39 (10)
Valencia 2007-2011 129 (34)
2011-Chelsea 28 (5)

National team
2004 Spain U16 3 (2)
2004 Spain U17 2 (1)
2006-2007 Spain U19 13 (12)
2007 Spain U20 5 (3)
2007-2011 Spain U21 20 (5)
2009-Spain 16 (5)

Honours

Club
Valencia CF
     Copa del Rey: 2007-08
     Supercopa de España: Runner-up 2008

Chelsea FC -

Spain
     FIFA World Cup: 2010
     FIFA Confederations Cup: Third-place 2009

Spain U19
     UEFA U-19 Championship: 2006

Spain U21
     UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship: 2011

Individual
     UEFA U-21 Championship Golden Player: 2011
     UEFA U-21 Championship Bronze Boot: 2011
     UEFA U-21 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2011