- Jules Rimet
Jules Rimet (October 14, 1873 - October 16, 1956) was president of the French Football Federation from 1919 to 1945 and of FIFA from 1921 to 1954. Rimet was born at Theuley-les Lavoncourt, France. On Rimet's initiative, the first Football World Cup was held in 1930 (see Football World Cup 1930). The Jules Rimet Trophy was named in his honour. He also founded one of France's oldest teams: Red Star Saint-Ouen. He died at Suresnes in France in 1956. - Bobby Charlton
After quitting a job in a coal mine, Charlton applied to join the police, but was then offered a trial by Leeds United after they had spotted him playing as a central defender in an amateur match. The trial game clashed with his police interview, and Charlton chose to play in the game. He impressed enough to be offered an apprenticeship with Leeds, and then signed professional terms in 1952. - Geoff Hurst
Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst, MBE (born December 8, 1941 in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire) is a legend of West Ham and England football, he is also a footballer enshrined in the game's history as the only player to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final. His three goals came in the 1966 final for England in their 4-2 win over Germany at Wembley. - Carlos Alberto Parreira
Carlos Alberto Gomes Parreira (born February 27, 1943, in Rio de Janeiro) is a football manager. He coached Brazil to victory in the 1994 FIFA World Cup and is now the coach of the South Africa national football team, ready to participate as host in 2010 FIFA World Cup. Parreira is noted for having been one of only two coaches that has led four national teams to the World Cup: Kuwait in 1982, United Arab Emirates in 1990, Brazil in 1994 and 2006, and Saudi Arabia in 1998. - Fritz Walter
Fritz Walter (October 31, 1920 - June 17, 2002) was one of the most popular German football players. In his time with the German and West German national team, he earned 61 caps and scored 33 goals. As the son of a "Vereinswirt" (clubs innkeeper) of 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Walter began his football career early. At age 8, he joined the Kaiserslautern youth academy, and he made his first team debut at just 17, where he would faithfully remain throughout his career. - Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton MBE, OBE (born Leicester, England, 18 September 1949) was a goalkeeper who holds the record for playing more games than any other player. His international career earned him 125 caps, making him England's most capped player. In a 30-year career which took in eight clubs, three World Cups, two European Cup finals and more than 1,000 competitive matches, Shilton emerged as one of the English game's genuine legends. - Roger Lemerre
Roger Lemerre (born June 18 1941 in Bricquebec, Manche) is a French football manager and former football player. He has managed the French national side, and is currently manager of the Tunisian national side. His professional playing career spanned 15 seasons, from 1961 to 1975: between 1961 and 1969 he played for Sedan and lose the Cup in 1965, before moving to Nantes (1968-1971), Nancy (1971-1973) and Lens (1973-1975). He won 6 caps for France between 1968 and 1971, … - Jack Charlton
John 'Jack' Charlton OBE (born Ashington, Northumberland, May 8, 1935) was a footballer who played for Leeds United in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and who won the World Cup with England. He later became a manager of both domestic and international sides, and is particularly well known for his successful spell as manager of the Republic of Ireland team. Born into a footballing family (his uncle was Jackie Milburn), … - Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff (born February 28, 1942) is an Italian former football goalkeeper and is the oldest winner ever of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian team in the 1982 tournament in Spain, at the age of 40. Zoff was a goalkeeper of outstanding ability and has a place in the history of the sport among the very best in this role. - Oliver Bierhoff
Oliver Bierhoff is a German former football striker, who scored the first golden goal in the history of major international football, for Germany in the Euro 96 final. Bierhoff was born in Karlsruhe. In his club career from 1985 to 2003, he played for KFC Uerdingen, Hamburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Austria Salzburg, Ascoli, Udinese, AC Milan, AS Monaco, and Chievo Verona. - Darren Bent
Darren Ashley Bent (born February 6, 1984 in Tooting, London) is an English footballer, currently playing for Tottenham Hotspur. There is some confusion over Bent's birthplace with nearly all biographies available - typically of a brief nature - saying he was born in Cambridge; however, The FA's profile says he was born in Tooting. This confusion may stem from the fact he moved to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, as a child, where he attended Hinchingbrooke School. - John Motson
John Walker Motson OBE (born 10 July 1945, Salford, Lancashire), known as Motty, is an English football commentator. The son of a Methodist minister, 'Motty' was educated at Culford School, where much to his disdain rugby, hockey and cricket were played and football not. He was in the same year as Gary Newbon, who still holds the record for the most appearances in the school's 1st XV rugby. - Steve Bucknor
Stephen Anthony Bucknor, popularly known as Steve Bucknor, is an internationally known cricket umpire. He was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 31 May 1946. He became a high school mathematics teacher and sports coach, before going on to be one of Jamaica's leading sports officials as an international football referee and cricket umpire. - Gheorghe Hagi
Gheorghe Hagi, is a Romanian former football player and head coach of FC Steaua Bucureşti. Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", he is considered a hero in his homeland as well as in Turkey. He has won his country's "Player of the Year" award a record six times, and was recently named "Romanian football player of the century". He played for the Romanian national team in three World Cups in 1990, 1994 and 1998, … - Lucien Laurent
Lucien Laurent (born December 10, 1907 in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Val-de-Marne, Ile-de-France near Paris; died April 11, 2005 in Besançon) was a French footballer, famous for scoring the first ever World Cup goal. Between 1921 and 1930, Laurent played for the semi-professional team Cercle Athlétique de Paris, before being taken on by Sochaux, then a works team for the car manufacturer Peugeot, where he worked. - Brian Moore
Brian Moore (February 28 1932 - September 1 2001) was a British sports commentator. Moore was born in Gillingham, Kent and educated at the Cranbrook School, Kent and began his career in newspapers, working for "The Exchange Telegraph" and "The Times". He started broadcasting with the BBC in 1961 and became a commentator, and the Corporation's first football correspondent, in 1963. - Garrincha
Manoel Francisco dos Santos (October 28, 1933 - January 20, 1983), known by the nickname "Garrincha" ("little bird"), was a Brazilian football right winger and forward who helped the Brazil national team win the World Cups of 1958 and 1962, and played the majority of his professional career for Brazilian club Botafogo. FIFA considers him the best Brazilian player ever after Pelé, and in 1999, he was similarly ranked by the IFFHS, … - Laurent Blanc
Laurent Blanc is a retired French football defender, who scored the first golden goal in World Cup history. Blanc is considered to be one of the great centre-halves of the 90s, eclipsed only by Franco Baresi. For France, Blanc played in Euro 92, reached the semi-finals in Euro 96, and won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. He was also well-known for kissing good friend and goalkeeper Fabien Barthez's head before the start of every match, … - Alex James
Alex James (born Steven Alexander James, 21 November 1968, in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, England) is the bass player in the band Blur, and one of the members of Fat Les. The only member of Blur not to come from Colchester, James met future bandmate Graham Coxon at Goldsmiths College, where the two were studying, and was introduced to Damon Albarn and Dave Rowntree, who at the time were part of a band called Circus. - Norman Whiteside
Norman Whiteside (born May 7, 1965) is a former Northern Irish football player who represented his country in two World Cups. He played for Manchester United (273 appearances, 66 goals) and Everton, before his career was ended by injury at the age of 26. Raised in North Belfast, he was discovered by famous Ulster Man Utd scout Bob Bishop, who previously hired George Best and Sammy McIlroy to the club. - Sepp Maier
Josef ("Sepp") Maier (born February 28, 1944 in Metten, Germany) is a former professional football goalkeeper. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He spent the entirety of his professional playing career at Bayern Munich, winning the West German Championship four times and the European Cup three times in succession. Between 1966 and 1977 he played in an uninterrupted sequence of 422 matches, still a German national record. - Walter Winterbottom
Sir Walter Winterbottom, CBE (March 31, 1913 in Oldham, England - February 16, 2002) was manager of the England football team from 1946 until 1962. He was the first person to be given the job. Winterbottom's first career choice was to be a teacher. He trained at Chester Diocesan Training College (now the University of Chester) and qualified in 1933. While teaching he also played amateur football for local teams and was soon signed up to Manchester United as a professional, … - Andrés Escobar
Andrés Escobar Saldarriaga was a Colombian football player, who was shot and killed in Medellín. The motivation for the murder is unclear; some attribute the murder to the own goal that Escobar scored in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, since that goal brought terrible gambling losses to several drug lords. Another theory is that his death was unrelated to soccer and was instead the result of a bar fight that left several people wounded. - Martin Tyler
Martin Tyler (born Chester, 14th September 1945) is an English football commentator who was voted as the FA Premier League Commentator of The Decade. His voice has been synonymous with English football for over 25 years. Not only has he commentated English domestic games, but also European competitions and World Cups and is considered by many the best football commentator in England. - Simon Davies
Simon Davies, (born October 23 1979), is a Wales international football player who currently plays for Fulham. His favoured position is the right side of midfield. - Silvio Piola
Silvio Piola (September 29, 1913 - October 4, 1996) was an Italian footballer whose career lasted from 1929 until 1954. He won one Football World Cup (1938), and is currently the top scorer in the history of Serie A, with 274 goals. Born in Robbio Lomellina, province of Pavia, Piola began his career with Italian club side Pro Vercelli, making his Serie A debut against Bologna on February 16, 1930, scoring 13 goals in his first year, at the age of 17. - Marc Wilmots
Marc Wilmots is a former Belgian football player. He is considered by many as one of the best players in his country's history. In his club career that started in 1987, Wilmots played for Sint-Truidense, Mechelen, Standard Liège, Schalke 04, and Bordeaux. He retired in 2003 after his second stint with Schalke. In Belgium, he received the nickname of the "Taureau de Dongelberg" (The Bull from Dongelberg). - Bruno Metsu
Bruno Metsu (born 28 January, 1954 in Dunkerque) is a French football manager. He took the Senegal national football team to its first ever FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan in 2002 where they surprised everybody by beating France in the opening game of the World Cup by one goal to nil. - José Antonio Camacho
José Antonio Camacho is a former Spanish football (soccer) player and manager. Camacho joined Real Madrid at age 18, playing left defence between 1973 and 1989 and taking part in 400 First Division matches, in spite of a knee injury which put his career on hold for two years. He also played 81 games for the Spanish national team, taking part in two World Cups, in 1982 and 1986. Camacho also played in Euro 84 and Euro 88. Following his retirement as a player in 1989, … - Guillermo Stábile
Guillermo Stábile born in Parque Patricios, Buenos Aires was a Argentine footballer and coach. Stábile is remembered as a prominent figure in football history and one of the first goalscoring heroes. Stábile played for several club during his career; one in South America, three in Europe. He was, however most notable for being the top scorer in the Football World Cup. His coaching career was also a success, leading Argentina to six Copa América titles. - Helmut Haller
Helmut Haller (born July 21, 1939 in Augsburg, Germany) was a footballer who represented West Germany at three World Cups. A playmaker and striker who made his international debut at age 19 in 1958, he played at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England and the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, earning a total of 33 caps and scoring 13 goals. - Pierre Littbarski
Pierre Littbarski (born April 16, 1960) is a German football manager and former player, and was a FIFA World Cup winner with West Germany in 1990. He was also runner up twice in 1982 and 1986 with West Germany. He was born in Berlin. - Antonio Carbajal
Antonio Felix "La Tota" Carbajal Rodríguez , also called "El Cinco Copas" ("Five cups", in reference to his record of FIFA World Cups played, equalled by German player Lothar Matthäus in 1998), (born June 7, 1929 in Mexico City) is a legendary Mexican football goalkeeper. He was the first player ever to appear in five World Cups, from 1950 to 1966. He played for Club España and León in Mexico. - Mike Ingham
Mike Ingham (born 1950 in Cheshire) is a British football commentator and broadcaster. After gaining a Bachelor of Law degree, he began his career working for BBC Radio Derby in 1973, later joining the BBC in London in 1979. For some years he regularly hosted the Saturday afternoon sports programme "Sport on Two", and around 1984 he also became a match commentator, working alongside Peter Jones and Bryon Butler. - Harald Schumacher
Harald Anton Schumacher, commonly known as Toni Schumacher, was a football goalkeeper of the 1980s, member of the West German national team, with which he won the 1980 European Championship and lost two World Cup finals, in 1982 and 1986. He was also involved in a highly controversial incident in the 1982 World Cup semifinal against France when he collided with French defender Patrick Battiston, sending him into a coma. - Bert Patenaude
Bertrand "Bert" A. Patenaude (November 4 1909, Fall River, Massachusetts - November 4 1974, Fall River, Massachusetts) was an American football player. Although earlier disputed, he is now officially credited by FIFA as the scorer of the first hat-trick in World Cup history. He is a member of the United States Soccer Hall of Fame. Patenaude's historic day came on July 17 1930, as the United States played Paraguay in the inaugural World Cup. Bert scored in the 10th minute. - Mário Zagallo
Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo is a Brazilian football coach and former player, of Lebanese origin. Zagallo started his footballer career in América in 1948. He was the first footballer to win the World Cup as a player (1958, 1962), as a coach (1970), and as assistant coach (World Cup 1994), all with the Brazilian national team. He also coached his country to a fourth-place finish in the 1974 World Cup and to a second-place finish in the 1998 World Cup. - Max Morlock
Maximilian ("Maxl" or "Max") Morlock was one of the most popular German football players in the 1950s and early 1960s. In his time with the German and West German national team, he earned 26 caps and scored 21 goals. In his youth he learned to play soccer at the "Eintracht Nürnberg". In 1940 he became member of the then famous 1. FC Nürnberg. Until 1964 he appeared more than 900 Times in the first team of the so called "Club" and scored about 700 goals. - Peter Jones
Peter Jones (1930-1990) was a Welsh-born broadcaster, best known as a sports commentator on BBC radio in the United Kingdom, although many of his commentaries were also broadcast internationally on the BBC World Service. He was educated at Bradfield College, where he later became a teacher. His career as a commentator began in 1966 after a chance meeting with Maurice Edelston, who lived in nearby Reading. - Hans Krankl
Johann ("Hans") Krankl (born February 14, 1953 in Vienna, Austria) is a former professional football player.
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