The most famous soccer players of the world

1. History soccer and
the most famous
soccer players
By. Paul Iñiguez

2. History soccer
The answer to the question "when was
soccer invented" isn't as easy to
answer as you might think. Sure, the
modern version of the game was
standardized by the English in the
19th century, as they created the
first rules for the game of soccer
(the Laws of the Game in 1863), the
first national team and the
first Football Association, a governing
body for English soccer that will soon
be copied by many other nations.
However, early versions of the game
can be traced back to ancient times,
with the Chinese playing a rather
blunt kicking game back in the second
century BC, or with Mezoamerican
cultures practicing a game that was a
combination of soccer and basketball.
You can read all about the
complex history of soccer in this article.

3. The most famous soccer players
Michael Ballack – Early Career
His father being a soccer player himself (although
not a famous one, as he spent most of his career
in the German second division) it was only natural
that young Michael take up on soccer and he did
so at his local team, BSG Motor Karl-Marx-Stadt
(Michael was born in a period full
of political tensions in Germany and the name of
his first team says it all).
His outstanding play as central midfielder
for Chemnitzer FC however, earned him the
nickname"Little Kaiser" from the team's
fans, in reference to legendary German
national team captain, Franz Beckenbauer,
who was nicknamed "The Keiser", or the
King.

4. Gabriel Batistuta
His debut at Newell's professional squad in
1988 was a huge step for Gabriel Omar
Batistuta and although he played most of the
matches as either a first team player or a
substitute, he didn't have it easy with the
Rosario club. His family was away and his
girlfriend was sleeping in a small room at the
stadium and he also had some weight problems
he had to work hard to overcome.
Fortunately, Argentinean bigwigs Riverplate
saw great potential in the player and they
took him on in 1989, where Batistuta would be
coached by one of his childhood idols,Daniel
Passarella. But his relationship with his coach
would not be the best and after a few
confrontations between the two, Batistuta
was dropped from the squad and sold to
Riverplate's arch-rivals Boca Juniors.

5. David Beckham
 Born in East London, Beckham was raised in
a family of Manchester United supporters,
with both his parents traveling to Old
Trafford from London to see the team's
matches, often taking young David with
them. Getting the taste of soccer, David
started playing for the Ridgeway Rovers, a
youth team coached by his father and Steve
Kirby.
 Although taking part at several trials at the
Manchester United youth facilities, he had
some tries at his local club, Leyton Orient
and Tottenham Hotspur, however he would
come back to the Manchester United youth
in 1991.
 After playing there for 1 year and winning
the FA Youth Cup with the team, David
Beckham was given the chance to play for
Manchester's first squad, in a League Cup
game against Brighton and Hove Albion,
which would be his first appearanceas a
professional soccer player.

6. Gianluigi Buffon
 Born in a family of athletes,
with his mother being a discus
thrower, his father a weight
lifter and his two
sisters volleyball players,
Gianluigi Buffon took up on
soccer, soon getting his first
professional contract at age
17, from Parma FC.

Being sent straight into the
hells of Serie A, one of the
hardest leagues to play in if
you're a goalkeeper, Gianluigi
Buffon proved to have a
strong mind and a strong body
and quickly earned a pinned
down first squad position.

7. Fabio Cannavaro
 Being born in Naples, Fabio Cannavaro was a huge fan of
locals SSC Napoli, which were at the top of their game
when Fabio was growing up. With Diego Maradona and
Ciro Ferrara in the team, Napoli won the league title (the
Scudetto) and determined the young Cannavaro to take
up soccer at the club's youth team. He spent some time
close to his favorite stars, beinga ball boy for the team
in home matches.

However in just a couple of years, young footballer Fabio
Cannavaro's dream came true: he was selected for the
first squad, given a professional contract and was able to
play alongside some of his childhood heroes, who were
now long standing veterans in the team.

On March 7th 1993, he played his first match in a
league that will not forget him too soon, Serie A. The
coincidence is that his debut was made on one of the
stadiums that will mark his entire career, Juventus'
Delle Alpi. However, losing some of their stars, including
Maradona, made Napoli sink in the table and in desperate
need of funds, they had to sell Fabio Cannavaro to rivals
AC Parma.

8. Roberto Carlos
 He first one, a 35 meter free kick that went
flying with a physics-defying curve to hit the
post and go in the goal was voted the Free
Kick of the Century and another famous
goal of his, a volley taken from the corner
flag that went straight in the back of the
net, are bound to make you rub your eyes a
couple of times when you see them for the
first time.

But obviously, Roberto is a soccer player
that thrived off his defensive qualities, not
on his goals, having played left back for most
of his career. The followingbiography will
take you through this wonderful career that
saw the player take on the shirt of
Palmeiras, Internazionale Milano, Real
Madrid and nowadays, Fenerbahce Istanbul.

9. Deco
 Born in Brazil, Deco played for a second division club,
Corinthians Alagoano, that didn't show promise for
being a good launch pad for a talented soccer player.

For this reason, when Benfica offered him a deal at age
19, Deco was quick to accept, as Benfica is one of the
most important teams in Portugal, he was moving to a
country that spoke roughly the same language and he
had the prospects of starting aEuropean career, which
is the dream of manyBrazilian players.

After a short loan spell at FC Alverca, where he played
regularly, Benfica's manager, Graeme Souness did not
want him back at the team for the next season, as he
thought of Deco as a footballer he could not use in his
team. Therefore, Benfica sold him to Salgueiros, a
smaller team from Porto, where he played 12 games,
before catching the eyes of bigwigs FC Porto.

10. Samuel Eto’o
 At age 26, already being a star
footballer, Eto is considered by many as
being the greatest ever
soccer player from Cameroon at the end
of his career. But, since that point in his
life is still around 10 years away, let's
focus on his earlier professional life, in
this Samuel Etobiography.
 It will probably be surprising for many to
know this, but Samuel Eto actually
started his career at his current team's
arch-rivals, Real Madrid, who have the
merit of discovering the
talented player at the Kadji
Sports Academy in Cameroon.

Joining the youth team of Real at only 15
years of age, in 1996, he only spent 1 year
at the club, being loaned to second
division's CD Leganes in the 1997-1998.
Returning to Real, he was taken on the
first team when being only 17 years old,
however he had a frustrating season,
being given the chance to play for the
Santiago Bernabeu side in only 3 games
and even those, as a late substitute.


11. Luis Figo
 Portuguese soccer is well known for having some of the most
prestigious and well-equipped youth training camps in the
World and Sporting's youth facilitiesare amongst them. It is
here that Luiz Figo started out playing soccer, being born in
Lisbon himself.

He grew up in a team that would later be a large part of
the "GoldenGeneration" of Portuguese soccer, with
other important teammates such as Rui Costa. Although
growing up in such a professional and competitive environment,
the pressure didn't slow down the footballer, Figo shining out
whenever he played and eventually winning his first senior
game at Sporting in 1989 (age 17).

Although not a first squad constant (as would be expected
from a 17 year old footballer), Figo managed to win his place in
the team the following years and started showing more and
more of his brilliance with each passing year.

Already having spent 6 seasons at Sporting, a move to a bigger
club was inevitable and it was Juventus and AC Parma who
made the first move, both teams offering him a contract.

Still young and being ill consulted, Luiz Figo signed for both
clubs at the same time, triggering a scandal that resulted in a
2 year ban for him to transfer in the Italian Serie A. I think
this was for the best, as Spanish giants
FC Barcelonaimmediately moved in and signed the young
midfielder.

12. Ronaldinho
 Ronaldo de Assis Moreira by his full name, Ronaldinho was often
calledRonaldinho (or little Ronaldo) by his friends, even from his
younger days.

Raised in Porto Alegre, in the Rio Grande do Sul state of Brazil,
he was also given a secondary nickname in Gaucho, which is
how Brazilians call people from that particular area (later on he
would use the name Ronaldinho Gaucho to distinguish himself
from Ronaldo, who was also referred to as Ronaldinho at times).

Following the footsteps of his older brother, Roberto, who was
playing professional soccer for local club Gremio, Ronaldinho's
skills drew a lot of eyes, even during his early days as a soccer
player. When he joined Gremio's youth team, he already had
some experience with different branches of the game, such
as futsal or beach soccer.

At age 13, he managed to get the first media praises, as he
scored all 23 goals in one of his futsal team's game.

Afterwards, a string of good games for Gremio's youth squads
brought him in the Brazil national squads, his brightest
performance being the one in Egypt 1997 for
the Brazilian Under-17 team, where he scored 2 goals and
assisted a few more.


13. Steven Gerrard
 The average lifetime of a player at a given club is around 4 years,
after which he needs to move, either due to entering a stage of self
sufficiency at that club, losing the first squad or simply wanting a
new challenge or a higher salary.

There are a few exceptions and when it comes to stability and having
a conservative nature, the English excel. This is how it was possible
for a player like Steven Gerrard to already have so many years under
his belt at Liverpool, since he started playing for the youth teams of
the Reds in 1989, at 9 years of age.

His childhood years were not the most promising though, as he would
rarely play for the Liverpool youth squad, having problems with late
growth spurts until he was 14.

Although still considered a very talented player that could become an
option for the Liverpool first squad in a few years, Stevie Gerrard
was allowed to trial for various other clubs in England.

As he noted in his recent autobiography, this was to force Liverpool
into offering him an YTS (Youth Training Scheme) contract. He also
had an incident at home that almost stopped him from playing soccer,
being close to losing a toe to agarden fork.

Finally, in 1997, at age 17, Steve Gerrard was given a
professional contract from Liverpool and saw his dream come true.


14. Cristiano Ronaldo
 Usually, the name of Ronaldo, at least in
soccer, was firmly tied to
the Brazilian striker, as he was immensely
renowned after winning almost anything a
footballer could dream of winning.
However, entering a poorer period of his
career at Real Madrid, Ronaldo slowly began
to succumb and young Cristiano Ronaldo was
there to grab the name for his own.

So, nowadays, most people will think of the
young Portuguese rather than the ex-"Il
Phenomeno" when hearing the name Ronaldo.
(By the way, this name was given to Cristiano
by his mother after former U.S.
President Ronald Reagan, so there's no
connection between him and
the Brazilian player).