- David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE (pronounced) (born 2 May 1975) is an English professional football (soccer) midfielder who plays for Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy. He is also currently a member of the England national team. He was twice chosen runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year, and as recently as 2004 was the world's highest-paid footballer. He was Google's most searched of all sports topics in both 2003 and 2004.
- Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is a footballer from the Ivory Coast who currently plays for Chelsea FC in the English Premier League. In Didier's home country, la Cote d'Ivoire, his name "Drogba" has become synonymous with a 1-litre jug of locally brewed beer, alluding to the Ivorian's massive thighs and his force on the ball
- Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov (born January 30, 1981 in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a striker for English Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur and Bulgaria.
- Harry Kewell
Harry Kewell (born September 22,1978 in Smithfield, Sydney), is an Australian football (soccer) player who currently plays for Liverpool F.C. in the English Premier League. An exceptional dribbler on the wing also capable of playing as an attacking midfielder and as a second striker, he is often regarded within the media as "Australia's finest football export", despite his career being blighted with injury.
- Clint Dempsey
Clinton Drew "Clint" Dempsey a.k.a "deuce" (born March 9, 1983 in Nacogdoches, Texas) is an American soccer player who plays midfield and forward for Fulham of the Premier League and the United States national team.
- Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp (born May 10, 1969 in Amsterdam) is a retired Dutch professional footballer. At club level he played for Ajax Amsterdam, Internazionale, Arsenal and also represented the Netherlands at international level. Bergkamp played most of his best games as a support striker, where his tactical awareness and deft passes made him a great exponent of the game from the 'hole'.
- Freddy Adu
Fredua Koranteng "Freddy" Adu (born 2 June 1989 in Tema, Ghana) is a Ghanaian-American soccer player for Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer. At the age of 14, Adu became the youngest professional athlete in modern American team sports history when he signed a professional contract with Major League Soccer, the top league of the United States soccer pyramid.
- Joe Cole
Joseph "Joe" John Cole (born November 8, 1981 in Romford, London Borough of Havering) is a professional footballer who plays for Chelsea of the English Premier League and the England national team.
- Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Anelka, or Abdul-Salam Bilal (born March 14, 1979 in Versailles, France) is a French footballer, preferring to play in the forward position. He plays for Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League. He won the 1998-99 PFA Young Player of the Year award after making his name at Arsenal, and has since changed clubs many times. Anelka is the son of two parents from Martinique, Marguerite and Jean-Philippe, who emigrated to Metropolitan France in 1974.
- Mark Viduka
Mark Anthony Viduka (born October 9, 1975 in Melbourne) is an Australian striker of Croatian and Ukrainian descent, who has signed for Newcastle United in the English Premier League and also plays for the Australian national team. He is known for his strong physical presence and hold-up play. Viduka and his wife, Ivana, have two sons; Joseph, nicknamed 'Joey' (born 2002), and Lucas (born September 2006)
- Michael Essien
Michael Essien (born December 3, 1982 in Accra) is a Ghanaian International footballer. He currently plays for Chelsea in the English Premier League. He is a central midfielder and plays as a deep-lying playmaker for the "Black Stars", the Ghana national football team.
- Sam Allardyce
Samuel "Sam" Allardyce (born October 19 1954 in Dudley, West Midlands) is an English former professional football player and current football manager. He is currently the manager of Newcastle United of the English Premier League. He was manager of Bolton Wanderers between 1999 and 2007, leading them to a League Cup final and guiding them to UEFA Cup qualification for the first time in their history. He is often referred to by the nickname "Big Sam".
- Jens Lehmann
Jens Lehmann (born November 10 1969 in Essen) is a German football goalkeeper who currently plays for Arsenal and for the German national team. He was voted Best European Goalkeeper twice in his career, and he has been been selected for three World Cup squads.
- Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins (born October 28, 1984 in Lagos, Nigeria is a Nigerian football player who plays as a striker for the Nigeria national team, and for the English club Newcastle United.
- Dwight Yorke
Dwight Eversley Yorke (born November 3, 1971 in Canaan, Tobago) is a Trinidad and Tobagon football player. He currently plays for Sunderland A.F.C, having previously played for Aston Villa F.C. as his first club and most of his career, then Manchester United F.C., Blackburn Rovers F.C., Birmingham City F.C. and Sydney FC.
- Lassana Diarra
Lassana Diarra is a French footballer, who moved to English Premier League club Chelsea from French Ligue 2 side Le Havre for €4 million in July 2005. His predominant position is that of a defensive midfielder, but he can also play in defence.
- Les Ferdinand
Leslie "Les" Ferdinand MBE (born December 18, 1966 in Paddington, London) is a former English footballer. He is best known for his time at Newcastle United and Q.P.R. during the 1990s, during which period his powerful and elegant centre forward play and ability in the air resulted in a number of appearances for England. He is the cousin of current Premiership players Rio and Anton Ferdinand and is popularly nicknamed "Sir Les".
- Richard Dunne
Richard Dunne (born September 21 1979 in Dublin) is an Irish footballer, who currently plays in the English Premier League as a defender for Manchester City. He is nicknamed "Honey Monster" because of his size (and therefore resemblance to the character who promotes Sugar Puffs). Having played schoolboy football in Dublin form Home Farm, Dunne started his professional career in 1996 with Everton, making his debut at the age of 16.
- Manuel Almunia
Manuel Rivero Almunia (born May 19, 1977 in Pamplona) is a Spanish football player who currently plays for English Premier League club Arsenal as a goalkeeper.
- Joleon Lescott
Joleon Lescott (born 16 August 1982 in Birmingham, England) is an English football defender, who currently plays for Everton F.C. in the English Premier League.
- Claudio Pizarro
Claudio Miguel Pizarro Bosio (born 3 October, 1978 in Callao, Peru) is a Peruvian professional football forward. Pizarro plays for Chelsea of the English Premier League and for Peru national football team, for which he has 37 caps (as of July 6 2007).
- Gabriel Heinze
Gabriel Iván Heinze is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for the English Premier League team Manchester United as a left-back, having transferred from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2004. Heinze is a descendant of Volga German immigrants that settled in Argentina. His ever solid displays for Manchester United in his first season saw him win fans' Player of the Year award.
- Benjani Mwaruwari
Benjamin 'Benjani' Mwaruwari (born 13 August 1978 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe), is a footballer. He is a striker currently playing for Portsmouth F.C. in the English Premier League. He was born to parents of Malawian descent and has chosen to represent Zimbabwe at professional level, the country where he was born and raised. In the Ngonde language, his name should read Mwaluwali but because the Shona language uses 'R' in place of 'L', since 'L' is not part of Shona alphabet, …
- Philippe Senderos
Philippe Sylvain Senderos (born February 14, 1985 in Geneva) is a Swiss football player of Serbian and Spanish descent who currently plays for Arsenal of the English Premier League as a defender.
- Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness (born 6 May, 1953 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. He is perhaps best known as the former captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, and as a manager with, amongst others, Rangers, Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
- Ryan Nelsen
Ryan William Nelsen (born October 18, 1977 in Christchurch) is a professional football (soccer) player from New Zealand, who currently plays for Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League.
- Glen Johnson
Glen McLeod Johnson is an English footballer who plays for Chelsea in the English Premier League and has won 5 caps for England. He is a defender in the right back position, and can also play at centre-back or in midfield. In summer 2003 London-born Johnson was bought by Claudio Ranieri from West Ham United for £6 million, having had a loan spell at Millwall. The first purchase of the Abramovich era at Chelsea, …
- Charles N'Zogbia
Charles N'Zogbia (born 28 May, 1986 in Harfleur, France) is a French footballer, currently playing for the English Premier League club Newcastle United, whom he joined in 2004 from French club Le Havre AC. He has played primarily as a left winger for Newcastle, although his natural role is attacking central midfielder and in some games has featured in this position for Newcastle.
- Didier Zokora
Didier "Maestro" Zokora is an Ivorian footballer who plays the position of midfielder. He joined the English Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2006. Zokora plays in a withdrawn defensive role and is a strong tactical player in the middle of the park. Starting his career in Côte d'Ivoire, in 2000 eventually moved abroad to play for Belgian team KRC Genk. In the summer of 2004 he went to play for AS Saint-Étienne.
- Gary O'Neil
Gary Paul O'Neil (born May 18, 1983 in Bromley, England) is an English football player at Portsmouth F.C. in the English Premier League. O'Neil became Portsmouth F.C.'s youngest ever player as a 16 year old on the 29th of January 2000. Manager Tony Pulis handed him his debut as a substitute at home to Barnsley in the First Division but kept him out of the spotlight for the rest of the season.
- Jay-Jay Okocha
Augustine Azuka "Jay-Jay" Okocha (born August 14, 1973 in Enugu) is a Nigerian football midfielder who currently plays in the Qatar league for Qatar SC, a move that was completed in July 2006.
- Cobi Jones
Cobi Jones (born June 16, 1970 in Detroit, Michigan) is one of the most recognizable and successful American soccer players of all time. Jones is currently the all-time leader of the United States national team in appearances, with 164 caps as of the end of 2004 (scoring 15 goals). He played for the team in the 1994, 1998, and 2002 FIFA World Cups. He also represented his country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
- Ricardo Gardner
Ricardo 'Bibi' Gardner (born September 25, 1978 in Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica) is a Jamaican footballer who currently plays as a left defender or midfielder for Bolton Wanderers of the English Premier League. Gardner began his professional career with Harbour View F.C., where he debuted as a starter at only 14 years old. He also, representing Wolmer's Boys' High School, dominated the local high school football leagues and has gained legendary status.
- Stephen Carr
Stephen Babeson Carr (born August 29, 1976 in Dublin, Ireland), is an Irish footballer who currently plays for the English Premier League team Newcastle United and the Republic of Ireland. His position is right back.
- Bill Simmons
Bill Simmons (born 1969), best known as The Sports Guy, is a columnist for "Page2" on ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. His ESPN.com column is notable for being written from the viewpoint of a fan rather than an impartial journalist. Simmons aims for humor in his columns, often using extended analogies and references to pop culture (especially from the 1980s and 1990s). Simmons has earned a love/hate relationship with his readers, …
- Duncan Ferguson
Duncan Ferguson (born December 27, 1971 in Stirling) is a Scottish professional football player. Ferguson began his footballing education at Carse Thistle before being signed to Dundee United in 1990 on his first professional contract. From that time he has played for Rangers, Everton and Newcastle United; his career often punctuated by controversy and injury. When not affected by those, his strength and stature made him a potent player.
- Lee Young-Pyo
Lee Young-Pyo is a South Korean football player, currently playing for Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League. He is also known to be a strong Christian, evident as he is often sighted trying to introduce Christianity to his fellow South Korean teammates. Lee is recognized for his excellent speed, skillful dribbling skills, and pin-point crosses. His current manager Martin Jol once called him: "the best left-back in Holland, …
- Ben Thatcher
Benjamin David Thatcher (born November 30, 1975 in Swindon, England) is a Welsh professional footballer, who currently plays for Charlton Athletic in the English Premier League. He has played for a number of English clubs, and has featured in more than 275 English league games from his position as a left-sided defender. He represented England's under-21 national youth team, but has chosen to represent the Wales national team in his senior years, …
- Dennis Rommedahl
Dennis Rommedahl (born July 22, 1978 in Copenhagen) is a professional Danish footballer, who is currently playing as a winger for Charlton Athletic in the English Premier League. He has represented the Danish national football team in more than 60 matches, scoring 15 goals, and Rommedahl was selected for the Danish squads at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2004 tournaments.
- Hernán Crespo
Hernán Jorge Crespo is an Argentine international football player currently playing in the Italian Serie A for Internazionale, having signed from English Premier League champions Chelsea on a 2 year loan deal on 7 August 2006. He is famed for his powerful aerial ability, which allows him to score goals from considerable distances. He is also renowned for being one of the most effective goal poachers in the game, due to his anticipatory off-the-ball movement.