Saturday, November 16, 2013

Arjen Robben

Arjen Robben (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑrjən ˈrɔbə(n)]; born 23 January 1984) is a Dutch footballer who plays for the GermanBundesliga club Bayern Munich. Though often classified as a forward, he usually plays behind the forwards (inside position) as awinger, and he is also known for his dribbling skills, speed, crossing ability and his accurate left foot long-range shot from the right wing. He is also a part of the Netherlands national team and has appeared at Euro 2004, the 2006 World CupEuro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.
Robben first came to prominence with Groningen, for whom he was player of the year for the 2000–01 Eredivisie season. Two years later he signed for PSV, where he became the Netherlands' Young Player of the Year and won an Eredivisie title.[2] The following season Robben's signature was pursued by leading English clubs, and after protracted transfer negotiations he joined Chelsea in the 2004 close season.
Robben's Chelsea debut was delayed through injury, but upon returning to fitness he helped Chelsea bring home two consecutivePremier League titles, and was the FA Premier League Player of the Month in November 2005.[3][4] After a third season in England which was punctuated by injury, Robben moved to Spanish club Real Madrid for 35 million. In August 2009, Robben transferred to Bayern Munich for a fee of around 25 million,[5] scoring two goals on his debut. In his first season in Munich, Bayern won the league title, Robben's fifth league title in eight years, and got to the Champions League final. After his first season with the Bavarian club, the player was also named Footballer of the Year in Germany.[6]

Thee CR.7

Portuguese footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and who serves as captain of the Portuguese national team. He became the most expensive footballer in history upon his 2009 move from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer worth £80 million (€94 million/$131.6 million), a record that would later be reportedly broken by Gareth Bale, who joined Real Madrid in 2013 for £85 million (€100 million).[4] Ronaldo's contract with Real Madrid, under the terms of which he is paid €21 million per year (after taxes), makes him the highest-paid footballer in the world,[5] and his buyout clause is valued at €1 billion as per his contract.[6]
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, before moving to C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal. Ronaldo caught the attention of Manchester Unitedmanager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.24 million (€15 million) in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup.
Ronaldo was the first player playing in England to win all four main PFA and FWA awards, doing so in 2007. In 2008, Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or.[7] He placed second in the Ballon d'Or in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012. He was awarded the European Golden Shoe in both 2008 and 2011. In 2008, he won three of the four main PFA and FWA trophies and was named the FIFPro Player of the YearWorld Soccer Player of the YearOnze d'Or, and the FIFA World Player of the Year.[8][9][10] In 2007 and 2008, Ronaldo was named FWA Footballer of the Year. Ronaldo was the inaugural winner of the FIFA Puskás Award for the Goal of the Year in 2009.
Ronaldo is regarded to be one of the finest footballers in today's game and as one of the greatest of all time.[11][12][13][14][15]Ronaldo is the first top European league player to reach 40 goals in a single season in two consecutive years, fastest Real Madrid player to reach one hundred league goals, and the first player ever to score against every team in a single season in La Liga.[16] He also holds records for most goals scored in a season for Real Madrid and most goals scored per minute in La Liga for a Real Madrid player. In January 2013, Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 300th club goal.[17][18]
Ronaldo is a Portuguese international and made his debut against Kazakhstan in August 2003. He has been capped over 100 times and is his country's second-highest goalscorer of all time. With Portugal he has participated in five major tournaments;UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World CupUEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. He scored his first international goal in the opening game of the Euro 2004 against Greece, in addition to helping Portugal reach the final. He took over the captaincy of the side in July 2008 and went on to captain Portugal to the semi-finals at the Euro 2012 and finished the competition as the joint best scorer.
He wore the number 7 shirt at United, which was previously worn by Bryan RobsonEric Cantona and David Beckham. After spending his first year at Madrid wearing the number 9 shirt, he began wearing the number 7 again following the departure of the legendary Raúl.

The Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi Player of the Year 2011.jpg
Messi playing for Barcelona at the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup
Personal information
Full nameLionel Andrés Messi
Date of birth24 June 1987 (age 26)[1]
Place of birthRosarioSanta Fe, Argentina[1]
Height1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Playing positionForward
Club information
Current clubBarcelona
Number10
Youth career
1995–2000Newell's Old Boys
2000–2003Barcelona
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2003–2004Barcelona C10(5)
2004–2005Barcelona B22(6)
2004–Barcelona257(223)
National team
2004–2005Argentina U2018(14)
2007–2008Argentina U235(2)
2005–Argentina83(37)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:03, 10 November 2013 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 September 2013
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi]; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He serves as the captain of his country's national football team. By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010, and then again in 2011 & 2012. He also won the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. At the age of 24, Messi became Barcelona's all-time top scorer in all official club competitions. At age 25, Messi became the youngest player to score 200 La Liga goals.
Widely recognised as the best player in the world and rated by some commentators, coaches and players as the greatest footballer of all time,[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Messi is the first football player in history to win four FIFA/Ballon d'Or, all of which he won consecutively, as well as the first to win three European Golden Shoe awards. Messi has won six La Ligas, two Copas del Rey, fiveSupercopas de España, three UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and two Club World Cups.
Messi is the first and only player to top-score in four consecutive Champions League campaigns, and also holds the record for the most hat-tricks (4) scored in the history of the competition. In March 2012, Messi made Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match. He also matched José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single Champions Leagueseason. Messi set the European record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals. In the same season, he set the current goalscoring record in a single La Liga season, scoring 50 goals. Also in that season, Messi became the first player ever to have scored as well as assisted in six different official competitions in one season. On 16 February 2013, Messi scored his 300th Barcelona goal. On 30 March 2013, Messi scored in his 19th consecutive La Liga game, becoming the first footballer in history to net in consecutive matches against every team in a professional football league. Messi later extended his record scoring streak to 21 consecutive league matches. The run ultimately came to a halt in a match against Atlético Madrid in which he had to leave play due to a hamstring injury.
Messi helped Argentina win the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup, finishing as both the best player and the top scorer (with 6 goals). In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play in the FIFA World Cup and he won a runners-up medal at the Copa Américatournament the following year, in which he was elected young player of the tournament. In 2008, he won his first international honour, an Olympic Gold Medal, with the Argentina Olympic football teamSportsPro has rated Lionel Messi as the second-most marketable athlete in the world. His playing style and stature have drawn comparisons to compatriot Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".[12]

Rita ORA

Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born 26 November 1990) is a British singer-songwriter and actress. Her debut studio albumOra (2012), debuted at number one in the United Kingdom, and spawned the number-one singles "R.I.P." and "How We Do (Party)". After reaching the peak position as a featured act on DJ Fresh's "Hot Right Now", Ora became the artist with the most number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart in 2012.[2] Ora has a mezzo-soprano vocal range.[3] She was nominated for three awards at the 2013 BRIT Awards, including theBrit Award for Best British Breakthrough Act.[4]

Rihhana

Robyn Rihanna Fenty (born February 20, 1988), known by her stage name Rihanna (/riˈɑːnə/ ree-ah-nə or /riˈænə/ ree-an, from the Welsh name Rhiannon[4]), is a Barbadian recording artist, actress, and fashion designer. She was born in Saint Michael, Barbados, and her career began when she met record producer Evan Rogers through mutual friends in late 2003 and recorded demo tapes under Rogers's guidance. Her demo tape was sent to several record labels, and she subsequently signed a contract with Def Jam Recordingsafter auditioning for its president, rapper Jay-Z. Rihanna's debut and second studio albums, Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl Like Me(2006), peaked in the top ten on the Billboard 200 chart. Both albums spawned the Billboard Hot 100 top two hit single "Pon de Replay" and her first Hot 100 number-one "SOS".
Her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), and its chart-topping lead single "Umbrella" were major breakthroughs in her career that brought her to widespread prominence. The album and its Reloaded version (2008) produced the worldwide hit singles "Don't Stop the Music", "Take a Bow", and "Disturbia". The record was nominated for nine Grammy Awards, winning Best Rap/Sung Collaborationfor "Umbrella", and is Rihanna's best-selling album in the US to date. After an altercation with then-boyfriend Chris Brown, Rihanna released her fourth studio album, Rated R, in November 2009. It was followed by three more albums: Loud (2010), Talk That Talk(2011), and her first Billboard 200 number one album Unapologetic (2012). That same year she appeared in her first theatrical feature film: Battleship. These albums feature the global hit singles "Rude Boy", "What's My Name?", "S&M", "Where Have You Been" and "Stay", as well as some of the best-selling singles of all time, such as "Umbrella", "Disturbia", "Only Girl (In the World)", "We Found Love", and "Diamonds". In addition to her solo work, Rihanna has collaborated with numerous other artists, notably being featured on the worldwide hits "Live Your Life" (with T.I.), plus "Love the Way You Lie" and "The Monster" (both with Eminem).
Rihanna is known for consistently reinventing her style and image, most notably since her third album Good Girl Gone Bad.[5][6] Her work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including six Grammy Awards,[2] five American Music Awards, 22 Billboard Music Awards, and two BRIT Awards. She has sold over 50 million albums and 180 million singles worldwide,[7] which makes her one of the best-selling artists of all time.[8] She has achieved twelve number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the youngest and the fastest solo artist to achieve this feat.[9] Billboard also named her the Digital Songs Artist of the 2000s decade and the top Hot 100 artist of the 2010s decade.[10][11][12] In 2012, Forbes ranked her the fourth most powerful celebrity of the year, with earnings of $53 million between May 2011 and May 2012. The same year, TIME named Rihanna one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013