- 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.
- Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane, popularly nicknamed Zizou, is a French former football midfielder who played for four European clubs, including Juventus FC and Real Madrid. As a member and later captain of the French national team he participated in two World Cup finals - including winning the tournament in 1998 - and in three European Championships, winning that tournament in 2000. Having gained fame in Europe as a playmaker for Juventus, …
- Michel Platini
History: Michel Platini (June 21, 1955, Joeuf, Departement Meurthe-et-Moselle) is a former French football player, widely regarded as one of the most elegant midfielders of his generation. ...
- Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona (born October 30, 1960) is an Argentine former football superstar. He played in four World Cups and received a FIFA award: "FIFA Internet Player of the Century", after being voted in an international fan poll organized by FIFA in 2000 to choose the best football player of all time. Maradona won various trophies with Boca Juniors, FC Barcelona and SSC Napoli over the course of his career.
- Luca Toni
Luca Toni, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI (born May 26, 1977 in Pavullo nel Frignano, Modena) is an Italian football striker who plays for FC Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga. Something of a late bloomer who played for almost ten clubs before finally settling, Toni was also a part of the Italian winning team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
- Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born January 28, 1978) is an Italian FIFA World Cup-winning goalkeeper. He is currently the first choice goalkeeper for Juventus F.C. and the Italian national team. He was transferred to Juventus from childhood club Parma F.C. in 2001, for what was the largest transfer figure ever for a goalkeeper at £32 million. He is widely considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
- 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.
- Andrea Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo (born May 19, 1979), is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. He currently plays for A.C. Milan, as well as the Italy national team. Pirlo was an important key figure of the Italian team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is known to many fans as the "Maestro" because of his talent for setting up plays.
- Peter Crouch
Peter James Crouch (born January 30 1981 in Macclesfield, Cheshire) is an English international football player. He currently plays for the English club Liverpool as a striker. His height of 2.01 m / 6 ft 7 in makes him the tallest man ever to play for either Liverpool or the England national team, as well as the tallest player currently in the Premiership. He is also known for his robotic dancing goal celebration, …
- Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born November 7, 1978 in Peckham, London) is an English footballer of mixed St Lucian and Anglo-Irish descent. He plays at centre-back for Manchester United in the FA Premier League and at the international level for the England national football team. He has achieved more than 50 caps for the English national team, and has been selected for three FIFA World Cup squads.
- Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi, Commendatore OMRI, (born April 11, 1948) is an Italian World Cup-winning football coach and former player. Since July 16, 2004, Lippi has been the coach of Italian national team and led Italy to win the FIFA World Cup 2006. He resigned from this position on 12 July 2006, after dismissing widespread calls for him to remain in the position by saying "I believe that I have achieved what I set out to achieve as the coach of the Italian team".
- Brian McBride
Brian McBride is a football striker who has appeared in three World Cups for the United States national team and is currently playing for the club Fulham of the English Premier League. Before joining Fulham, McBride had previously played in England for Everton in 2002 and Preston North End in 2000. Before that, McBride played for VfL Wolfsburg of the German 2 Bundesliga and the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer, for whom he was a fan favorite.
- Gennaro Gattuso
Gennaro Ivan "Rino" Gattuso, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born January 9 1978 in Corigliano Calabro) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. His position is a defensive midfielder; however, he sometimes plays on the right side of midfield. He currently plays for A.C. Milan, with whom he won the UEFA Champions League in both the 2002/03 and 2006/07 seasons and "Serie A" in 2003/2004.
- Gianluca Zambrotta
Gianluca Zambrotta, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born February 19, 1977 in Como) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. He is extremely fast, and plays either as a full-back defender, or a side midfielder for both club and country. Considered by many the best outside back in the world, he currently plays for FC Barcelona with a contract until 2010. He is married to his wife, Valentina.
- Tim Cahill
Timothy Joel "Tim" Cahill (born December 6, 1979 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian football (soccer) player who plays as an attacking central midfielder for the Australian national team and Everton Football Club. He is best known internationally for scoring the first goal by an Australian at a FIFA World Cup. In 2007 he also became the first Australian player to score at an Asian Cup.
- George Best
George Best (22 May 1946 - 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish football player best known for his years with Manchester United. He was a winger whose game combined pace, acceleration, balance, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders. In 1968, his "annus mirabilis", he won the European Cup with Manchester United, and was named the European Footballer of the Year. When fit, he was an automatic choice for the Northern Ireland team, …
- Fabio Grosso
Fabio Grosso, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born November 28, 1977 is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer, who plays for Ligue 1 team Olympique Lyonnais and the Italian national football team.
- Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born March 19, 1976 in Rome) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. He plays centre back for AC Milan in Serie A and also in the Italian National Team. Having previously played for S.S. Lazio, Nesta transferred to A.C. Milan from Lazio in 2002 for approximately €30 million paid over three years, after being valued at over £50 million by Lazio a year earlier.
- Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio (born 18 February 1967 in Caldogno, Veneto) is an Italian retired footballer, among the most technically gifted and popular players in the world throughout the 1990s. He played for the Italy national team in three World Cups, and is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups. He was the best Italian player of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, carrying his team to the final, and losing the trophy to Brazil on penalties.
- Alberto Gilardino
Alberto Gilardino, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born July 5 1982 in Biella, Piemonte) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer, who is a striker for AC Milan and the Italian national team.
- Daniele de Rossi
Daniele De Rossi, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (July 24, 1983) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer, who plays for AS Roma. Among his titles also the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, and the bronze medal gained at 2004 Athens Olympic Games, all with the Italy national football team, are the most prestigious.
- Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, OBE (born 30 November 1960 in Leicester) is a former English international football striker who scored ten goals in two World Cups for the England national team and is currently a sports broadcaster for the BBC. He is also known for appearing in adverts for the Walkers crisp brand. It was his sense of positioning and tap-ins that made him one of England's most prolific strikers of all-time, …
- Dick Advocaat
Richard Advocaat (born September 27, 1947 in The Hague, Netherlands) is the Dutch coach of the Russian pro soccer team Zenit. He has served as coach of his native Dutch national football team and more recently as the chief of South Korea national football team, earning the team's first World Cup win on away soil in the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals against Togo and drawing against veterans France. Korea failed to make it into the round of 16 after a loss against Switzerland.
- Gabriel Batistuta
Gabriel Omar Batistuta (born 1 February, 1969), nicknamed "Batigol", is a former professional footballer. The prolific Argentine striker played most of his club football at ACF Fiorentina in Italy, and he is the eighth top scorer of all time in the Italian Serie A league, with 184 goals in 318 matches between 1991 and 2003. On the international level, he is the all-time highest scorer for Argentina's national team, with 56 goals in 78 national team matches, …
- Simone Perrotta
Simone Perrotta, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born September 17, 1977 in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer midfielder, who currently plays for A.S. Roma in Serie A. He was member of the Italian national football team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Perrotta lived in England until the age of 6, attending school at St. Ann's primary school in Ashton-under-Lyne.
- Hidetoshi Nakata
Hidetoshi Nakata, is a Japanese former football player. He was one of the most famous Asian footballers of his generation. Nakata began his professional career in 1995 and won the Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year award in 1997 and 1998, the Scudetto with A.S. Roma in 2001, played for Japan in three FIFA World Cup tournaments(1998, 2002 and 2006) and played in the Olympics twice (1996 and 2000).
- Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William Robson CBE (born February 18 1933, in Sacriston, County Durham, England), commonly known as Bobby Robson, is an English football manager and former international football player. His professional playing career spanned nearly 20 years during which time he represented just two English clubs, Fulham and West Bromwich Albion, and included 20 appearances and four goals for England. His managerial record, both at club and national level, …
- Mauro Camoranesi
Mauro Germán Serra Camoranesi, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born October 4, 1976 in Tandil, Argentina) is an Italo-Argentinian World Cup-winning footballer, who currently plays for Juventus football club. Camoranesi is a member of the Italy national football team and was part of the winning squad at the 2006 World Cup. He is a midfielder, and usually plays on the right wing, where he is most comfortable and effective.
- Roberto Ayala
Roberto Fabián "El Ratón" Ayala is an Argentinian football player, who currently plays for the Spanish team Real Zaragoza. Regarded as one of the best central defenders in the world, he has been captain of the Argentine national team for more matches than anyone else and has played in three World Cups. Ayala is the most capped player ever for Argentina with 115 international appearances.
- Javier Zanetti
Javier Adelmar Zanetti (born August 10, 1973) is an Argentine football player. He has been a member of Serie A club Internazionale since 1995 being the team captain since 1999. He has also played in two World Cups for Argentina. Zanetti is the second most capped player ever for Argentina behind Roberto Ayala on 115 caps. Known as "Pupi" in Argentina, he was nicknamed "Il Trattore" (The Tractor) after moving to Italy because of his strength, resilience, …
- Felix Magath
Wolfgang-Felix Magath is a German-Puerto Rican football manager. Magath was born in a military base in Germany, the son of a Puerto Rican soldier in the United States Army and a German mother. His father decided to return to Puerto Rico after his duty in Germany was over in 1954. He started his career playing for local club Viktoria Aschaffenburg. From 1974 - 1976, he played for 1. FC Saarbrücken, at that time in the second professional league, …
- Brad Friedel
Bradley ("Brad") Howard Friedel (born May 18, 1971 in Lakewood, Ohio) is an American international football (soccer) goalkeeper who plays for Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League. He played 82 games for the United States national team between 1992 and 2005, and represented his country at three FIFA World Cup tournaments.
- Vincenzo Iaquinta
Vincenzo Iaquinta, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born November 21, 1979 in Cutro, Crotone) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. As many Calabrians in the 1980s his parents emigrated to Emilia-Romagna, in Northern Italy, because of better job opportunities. Prior to joining Udinese in 2000, Iaquinta played with his brother in the lower divisions for "Reggiolo" (1996-97), Padova (1998), and Castel di Sangro (1998-2000).
- Roger Milla
Roger Milla (born Albert Roger Miller, May 20, 1952) is a Cameroonian former football forward. He was one of the first African players to be a major star on the international stage. He played in three World Cups for the Cameroon national team. He achieved international stardom at 38 years old, an age at which most footballers have retired, by scoring four goals at the 1990 World Cup and helping the Cameroon team reach quarterfinals.
- Frankie Hejduk
Frank Daniel "Frankie" Hejduk (born August 5, 1974 in La Mesa, California) is an American soccer player who currently plays midfielder and defender for the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer, where he is team captain. He is also a frequent starter for the USA Men's National Team, and is the only individual to have represented the USA in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympic Games and the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup Finals tournaments.
- Rudi Völler
Rudolf 'Rudi' Völler is a German former international football striker, and a former manager of the German national team. He won the FIFA World Cup in 1990 as a player and coached the national team to second place at the 2002 World Cup. He was born in Hanau, Hesse.
- Massimo Oddo
Massimo Oddo, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born June 14, 1976 in Città Sant'Angelo, Pescara) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer, who plays for A.C. Milan and Italy in the role of right-back.
- Just Fontaine
Just Fontaine is a former French football player. He holds the record for most goals scored in a single FIFA World Cup finals tournament, with thirteen in 1958. He has also scored the third most goals of any player in the world cup finals overall, beaten only by: Gerd Müller who scored fourteen goals (in two World Cup tournaments) and Ronaldo who scored fifteen goals (in four World Cup tournaments, though he only played in three).
- Andrea Barzagli
Andrea Barzagli is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer, who plays in the role of defender for Serie A team US Palermo. His first football appearances were for Rondinella Firenze; then he played for Pistoiese, Ascoli and Chievo, before being signed by Palermo in the summer of 2004. He has 12 caps for the Italian national football team, …
- 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.