Holger Badstuber

Profile Football Stars | Holger Badstuber | From 2002 to 2007, Badstuber progressed through the youth setup at Bayern Munich. He played for Bayern's reserve team before signing professional terms in July 2009, along with team-mate Thomas Müller, having been an unused substitute in a number of first-team matches in the 2008-09 season. However the youngster impressed in his first season, started all league games and one save in the 2009-10 Bundesliga season. Throughout the 2010-11 season with Bayern, Badstuber endured a tumultuous relationship with coach Louis van Gaal, who That Despite stating he has high trust in Badstuber, Criticized him strongly Following a number of poor performances.

Badstuber was then selected in Germany's 23-man squad for the world cup finals in South Africa on 1 June, and being handed the squad number 14 shirt by coach Joachim Low. Badstuber then started the next group game against Serbia on 18 June 2010 in Port Elizabeth at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. He played 77 minutes, prior to being substituted for fellow Bayern team mate Mario Gómez.  After the World Cup Erratic, Badstuber improved his performances with consistency and established Himself as a defender in the starting lineup Low's team.

He helped Germany to win all 10 matches of the Mannschaft's qualification campaign for Euro 2012 to top group A by playing nine out of a possible ten matches, he was only spared in the - for qualification irrelevant - last match against Belgium. During the campaign Badstuber scored his first goal, the 5-1 against Azerbaijan, he headed home a corner kick by Mesut Özil. In a friendly 3-3 draw on 11 November 2011 against Ukraine, in the international match Inauguration of the new Olympic Stadium Kiev, Low's experimental formation featured only three defenders, Badstuber was named as the single center back, this was interpreted as a signal That Candidates out of many possible Badstuber has established Himself as Low's most Important player in Germany's central defense.

Personal information
Full name Holger Badstuber
Date of birth 13 March 1989 (age 23)
Place of birth Memmingen, West Germany
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Centre back / Left back

Club information
Current club Bayern Munich
Number 28

Youth career
TSV 1994-2000 Rot
VfB Stuttgart 2000-2002
Bayern Munich 2002-2007

Senior career
years Team
Bayern Munich II 2007-2009 55 (7)
2009-Bayern Munich 88 (1)

National team
2007-2008 Germany U19 2 (0)
2008-2009 Germany U20 3 (0)
2009-2010 Germany U21 7 (2)
2010-Germany 19 (1)

Honours

Club
Bayern Munich
     Bundesliga Champion: 2009-10
     DFB-Pokal: 2009-10
     DFL-Supercup (1): 2010
     UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2009-10

Germany
     FIFA World Cup 2010: Third place - Bronze medal

Philipp Lahm

Profile Football Stars | Philipp Lahm | Although Lahm is right-footed, he is Able to play on both sides of the pitch. Lahm developed into a professional football player within the Bayern Munich Junior Team. He joined the team at the age of 11 after a youth coach, Jan Pienta, had scouted him several times while he was playing for the local youth team in his Gern hometown, Munich. Up to this point Lahm played as a defensive midfielder, right midfielder or right full-back. Since Willy Sagnol was playing as right back, Bixente Lizarazu was the main left back for Bayern Munich, and Their midfield was also well-staffed , Lahm was loaned to VfB Stuttgart for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 Bundesliga seasons.

Lahm's first Champions League appearance in the previous season with Bayern Munich as a late substitute against RC Lens was now Followed by his first Champions League game in the starting line-up on the 29 September 2003, against Manchester United. During the 2003-04 season Lahm eventually Appeared for Stuttgart in 31 Bundesliga and seven Champions League matches and came second in the election for the German footballer of the year. During the second season in Stuttgart (2004-2005) Lahm had substantially more difficult, time.

In July 2005, Lahm returned to Bayern Munich. During the season he Appeared 20 times for Bayern in the Bundesliga Thrice in the Champions League and, contending over field-time evenly with Bixente Lizarazu. During the season 2006-07 Lahm played in all of Bayern's 34 Bundesliga games and in nine of the ten Champions League games and was only substituted twice, Mainly Because he was the only left back in the team but also due to his sufficiently solid performances during That was a season of one of the worst for Bayern in many years. During the 2009-10 season under the new coach Louis van Gaal, Lahm was Able to play in his preferred position as a right-back. Lahm was also chosen as vice-captain by Van Gaal, and played full time in all of Bayern's competitive matches apart from the first round game in the German Cup. After the departure of captain Mark van Bommel in January 2011, Lahm was made the new captain for the remainder of the season.

Lahm started his international career in the U19 national team. He was part of the team won silver for That Germany in the 2002 U19 European championship playing in all games in the final tournament and scoring a crucial goal in the 90th minute (2-3) against England in a game That ended 3-3. Lahm was ever present during Germany's 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign and was the only player to play every single minute. Following the withdrawal of regular captain Michael Ballack from the World Cup squad due to injury, Lahm was chosen to captain the team at the upcoming tournament. On 13 June 2010, he captained the German National Team in the opening game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup against Australia, Becoming the youngest player to captain a German side in a World Cup tournament. Lahm's captaincy would Became permanent later, when coach Joachim Low Announced Ballack would not be Considered to play for Germany anymore.  Captain Lahm's solid defending helped Germany win all ten qualification matches for Euro 2012, and he also Provided one assist each for Mesut Özil and Mario Gomez.

Personal information

Full name Philipp Lahm

Date of birth 11 November 1983 (age 28)

Place of birth Munich, West Germany

Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)

Playing position Full back

Club information

Current club Bayern Munich

Number 21

Youth career

FT Gern München 1989-1995

Bayern Munich 1995-2001

Senior career

years Team

Bayern Munich II 2001-2003 63 (3)

2003-Bayern Munich 202 (7)

VfB Stuttgart 2003-2005 (loan) 53 (3)

National team

2003 Germany U-21 3 (0)

2004-Germany 85 (4)

Honours

Club

Bayern Munich

     Bundesliga: 2002-03, 2005-06, 2007-08, 2009-10

     DFB-Pokal: 2002-03, 2005-06, 2007-08, 2009-10

     DFB-Ligapokal: 2007

     U-19 Bundesliga: 2001, 2002

National team

     UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship Runner-up: 2002

     FIFA World Cup Third Place: 2006, 2010

     UEFA European Football Championship Runner-up: 2008

Individual

     Man of the Match: for his performance in the game Germany versus Poland,

     FIFA World Cup 2006

     WC 2006 Mastercard All Star Team

     Man of the Match: for his performance in the Semi-final

     Game of Germany versus Turkey (25 June), UEFA Euro 2008

     Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament

     UEFA Team of the Year: 2006, 2008,

     FIFA Team of the Year: 2008

     FIFA World Cup All Star Team: 2006, 2010

     Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (2): 2006, 2010

Claudemir Jeronimo Barreto (Cacao)

 

Profile Football Stars | Claudemir Jeronimo Barreto (Cacao) | In only his second Bundesliga match, against Bayer 04 Leverkusen on 8 December 2001, he scored two goals in Nuremberg's 4-2 defeat. He finished his first Bundesliga season with six goals in 17 appearances, but failed to repeat the success Following the season, when he scored only two goals in 27 appearances and Nuremberg were relegated.

After an unsuccessful season in 2005-06, in the which he only scored four goals for Stuttgart Bundesliga, he went on to be one of the key players in the club's run to the league title in 2007, once again Becoming Their second-best goalscorer with 13 goals, netting both goals crucially in their 2-0 win over Bayern Munich as well as the winning goal in a 3-2 away win over VfL Bochum in the final five rounds of the season. During the 2006-07 season, he also helped Stuttgart reach the final of the DFB-Pokal, scoring five goals in six matches, Including the opening goal in the final against his former team Nuremberg.

In February 2009, he Became eligible to play for Germany after he acquired a German passport having lived and played in Germany for over eight years. On 19 May 2009, Cacau was called up by the German national team's coach Joachim Low for Their friendly matches against China and the United Arab Emirates. He made his international debut on 29 May 2009 in Germany's 1-1 draw against China, playing 27 minutes as a substitute for Mario Gomez. In the third place World Cup game, Germany faced Uruguay on 10 July 2010. Cacau started for his German side, but was eventually subbed out. Defeated Germany 3-2 Uruguay, taking third place at the 2010 South African World Cup.

Personal information
Full name Claudemir Jeronimo Barreto
Date of birth 27 March 1981 (age 30)
Place of birth Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 1/2 in)
Playing position Striker

Club information
Current club VfB Stuttgart
Number 18

Youth career
Palmeiras 1994-1997
an amateur club in Mogi das Cruzes

Senior career
years Team
Türk 1999-2001 Gücü München 31 (7)
2001-2003 1. FC Nuremberg 44 (8)
2003-VfB Stuttgart 230 (74)

National team
2009-Germany 22 (6)

Honours

VfB Stuttgart
     Fußball-Bundesliga: 2006-07

Germany
     FIFA World Cup 2010: Third place - Bronze medal

Sami Khedira

 

Profile Football Stars | Sami Khedira | Khedira moved to Real Madrid from VfB Stuttgart in 2010. Before joining the youth team of VfB Stuttgart in 1995, he played at TV Oeffingen. Followed His debut on 1 October 2006 against Hertha BSC. Sami Khedira, is a German footballer currently playing for Real Madrid and the German national team. 

On 30 July 2010 Khedira moved to Real Madrid for an undisclosed fee. Khedira was assigned the number 24 shirt, since 2011-2012 La Liga season he changed to the number "6" jersey. Khedira made his debut for Real Madrid on 13 August 2010 in a friendly match against Bayern Munich, Real Madrid won 4-2 the which in Penalties. This resulted in Real Madrid winning the Franz-Beckenbauer-Cup. On 3 August 2011, he scored his first goal for Real Madrid during a pre-season match against Guangzhou Evergrande. He scored his first competitive goal for Real Madrid in the Champions League, on 18 October 2011 against Olympique Lyonnais.

Khedira has Appeared 30 times in Several German youth national teams, he captained the side during the European Under-21 Championship 2009, the which Germany has won in the final against England 4-0. Khedira made his debut for the senior national squad on 5 September 2009 in a friendly match against South Africa. Khedira made his debut for the senior national squad on 5 September 2009 in a friendly match against South Africa.

Personal information
Full name Sami Khedira
Date of birth 4 April 1987 (age 24)
Place of birth of Stuttgart, West Germany
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Midfielder

Club information
Current club Real Madrid
Number 6

Youth career
1995 TV Oeffingen
1995 - 2004 VfB Stuttgart

Senior career
years Team
2004 - 2006 VfB Stuttgart II 21 (1)
2006 - 2010 VfB Stuttgart 98 (14)
2010 - Real Madrid 43 (1)

National team
2003 - 2004 Germany U17 10 (2)
2007 - 2009 Germany U21 15 (5)
2009 - Germany 25 (1)

Honours

Club
VfB Stuttgart
     Bundesliga: 2006-07

Real Madrid
     Copa del Rey: 2010-11

Germany
     FIFA World Cup: 3rd place 2010
     UEFA U-21 Championship: 2009

Mario Gómez

Profile Football Stars | Mario Gómez | While, in the 2007-08 season, the rest of his team struggled to keep performing at Their 2006-07 season standards, Gómez remained at an astonishingly high level, scoring 19 goals in 25 appearances, second in the Bundesliga's top scorer list, just behind Bayern Munich's Luca Toni scored 24 times who. In the cup Gómez was even the top scorer with six goals. In the 2008-09 season Gomez hit four goals to inspire VfB Stuttgart to a 4-1 victory over Bundesliga leaders VfL Wolfsburg.  When Stuttgart Became champions in 2006-07, Gómez Contributed 14 goals and was elected German footballer of the year. Mario Gómez García, is a German footballer plays as a striker who for FC Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga. Gómez joined Bayern after six years in Stuttgart.

On 26 May 2009, Gómez was eventually transferred to Bayern Munich on a Bundesliga record transfer fee, signing a four-year contract. Gómez was not scoring like his usual self in his first season for Bayern with just 10 goals but in the cup Prolific he was more with 3 goals in just four games, unfortunately Gómez was short of assists as well as goals. Gómez started the 2011-12 season in similar style towards the previous season and he opened his league account on 20 August 2011 in Bayern's thrashing of Hamburger SV.

Seven days later Gómez turned up the style scoring a hat-trick away to 1. FC Kaiserslautern. On 10 September, Gomez then netted four goals in Bayern Munich's 7-0 Rout of Freiburg. Gómez also scored a brace against Hertha BSC when Bayern won 4-0. Gómez then got another brace on the 29th October when Bayern then Defeated 1. FC Nuremberg 4-0. In Bayern's next game away to FC Augsburg Gómez scored one of Bayern's goals in their 2-1 victory. Bayern went on to win 3-2. So far in the Champions League Gómez has six goals in five games. In the DFB-Pokal Gómez has scored just one goal. On 16 December 2011, Gómez scored his 50th goal for the calendar year of 2011 against 1.

Gómez has both German and Spanish Nationality, but played for all German youth national teams from age 17. He made his debut for the German national team against Switzerland on 7 February 2007. Germany won the match 3-1, with Gómez scoring Germany's second goal. Gómez gained his second cap for Germany, coming on as a substitute for Kevin Kuranyi in a Euro 2008 qualifier against San Marino, scoring two goals That Contributed to a final 6-0 victory. Although being the second choice behind Miroslav Klose as center-forward during Germany's qualification for Euro 2012, Gómez played regularly and Contributed goals against every Opponent of that campaign: Kazakhstan, Austria, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Belgium.

Personal information
Full name Mario Gómez García
Date of birth 10 July 1985 (age 26)
Place of birth Riedlingen, West Germany
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 1/2 in)
Playing position Striker

Club information
Current club Bayern Munich
Number 33

Youth career
SV Unlingen
FV Bad Saulgau
1999 - 2001 SSV Ulm 1846
2001 - 2003 VfB Stuttgart

Senior career
years Team
2003 - 2005 VfB Stuttgart II 43 (21)
2003 - 2009 VfB Stuttgart 121 (63)
2009 - Bayern Munich 85 (59)

National team
2005 - 2006 Germany U21 9 (1)
2005 Germany B 2 (1)
2007 - Germany 51 (21)

Honours

Club
VfB Stuttgart
     Bundesliga: 2006-07

Bayern Munich
     Bundesliga: 2009-10
     DFB-Pokal: 2009-10
     DFL-Supercup: 2010
     UEFA Champions League Runner-up: 2009-10

Germany
     FIFA World Cup 2010: Third place - Bronze medal
     UEFA European Football Championship Runner-up: 2008

Individual
     Bundesliga Top Goalscorer (28 goals): 2011
     German Footballer of the Year: 2007
     Most expensive Bundesliga transfer

Shinji Okazaki

 

Profile Football Stars | Shinji Okazaki | Okazaki made his senior national team debut on 9 October 2008, in a friendly match against the UAE. He scored his first hat-trick against Hong Kong on 8 October 2009 and scored another hat-trick against Togo just six days later on 14 October 2009.

arsenal Miyaichi Shinji Okazaki is a Japanese football player currently playing for VfB Stuttgart of the German Bundesliga. After graduating Takigawa Daini High School in 2004, Okazaki signed full professional terms with S-Pulse the Following year. He was named The World's Top Goal scorer of 2009 by the IFFHS for his 15 goals with the national team. On 24 June 2010, Okazaki scored the final goal against Denmark in a 3-1 win as Japan qualified for the second round of the World Cup.

On 30 January 2011, Okazaki moved to German Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart. On 20 February 2011 made his Bundesliga debut Okazaki for VfB Stuttgart against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.Okazaki scored his first goal against Hannover 96, the which he scored from outside the box.

Personal information
Full name Shinji Okazaki
Date of birth 16 April 1986 (age 25)
Place of birth Takarazuka, Hyogo, Japan
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Striker, Left Winger

Club information
Current club VfB Stuttgart
Number 31

Youth career
Takigawa Daini High School 2002-2004

Senior career
years Team
2005-2010 Shimizu S-Pulse 121 (42)
2011 - VfB Stuttgart 32 (9)

National team
2007-2008 Japan U23 14 (1)
2008 - Japan 48 (26)

Honours

Japan
     AFC Asian Cup: 1
         2011

Individual
     IFFHS World's Top Goal scorer of the Year: 1
         2009
     J. League Best Eleven: 1
         2009