David Beckham

David Beckham

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David Beckham David-Beckham3.jpg
Personal information
Full name David Robert Joseph Beckham
Date of birth 2 May 1975 (1975-05-02) (age 34)
Place of birth Leytonstone, London, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Los Angeles Galaxy
Number 23
Youth career
Brimsdown Rovers
1987–1991 Tottenham Hotspur
1991–1993 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1993–2003 Manchester United 265 (62)
1995 → Preston North End (loan) 5 (2)
2003–2007 Real Madrid 116 (13)
2007– Los Angeles Galaxy 40 (7)
2009 → Milan (loan) 18 (2)
National team‡
1994–1996 England U21 9 (0)
1996– England 115 (17)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 October 2009.

† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 October 2009

David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE[2] (born 2 May 1975)[3] is an English footballer who currently plays in midfield for American Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy[4] and the England national team.

Twice runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year[5] and in 2004 the world's highest-paid footballer,[6] Beckham was the first British footballer to play 100 Champions League matches.[5] He was Google's most searched of all sports topics in both 2003 and 2004.[7] With such global recognition he has become an elite advertising brand and a top fashion icon.[8][9] Beckham was captain of England from 15 November 2000[10] until the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals,[11] during which he played 58 times. Since then he has continued to represent his country and earned his much-publicised hundredth cap for England against France on 26 March 2008.[12] He is currently England's most-capped outfield player with 115 appearances.[13]

Beckham's career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17.[5] During his time there, United won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999.[5] He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons,[14] clinching the La Liga championship in his final season with the club.[15]

In January 2007, it was announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid and sign a five-year contract with Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy.[16] Beckham's contract with Los Angeles Galaxy became effective on 1 July 2007 and gave him the highest player salary in MLS history.[17] His playing contract with Galaxy in 2007, 2008 and 2009 was worth $6.5m per year.[18][19][20] He debuted for the team on 21 July 2007 in a friendly versus Chelsea at The Home Depot Center,[21] and on 15 August, he had his first start with the team, scoring his first goal in the 2007 SuperLiga semi-final.[22] His first league start then came on 18 August in front of a record crowd at Giants Stadium.[23]

Beckham is married to former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham (née Adams).[24] The couple have three sons and currently reside in Beverly Hills, California.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Club career
o 1.1 Childhood and early career
o 1.2 Manchester United
o 1.3 Real Madrid
o 1.4 Los Angeles Galaxy
o 1.5 Loan to Milan
* 2 International career
o 2.1 International goals
* 3 Discipline
* 4 Honours
o 4.1 Club
+ 4.1.1 Manchester United
+ 4.1.2 Real Madrid
o 4.2 Individual
+ 4.2.1 Orders and special awards
* 5 Statistics
* 6 Personal life
o 6.1 Affair claims
o 6.2 Legal Issues
* 7 Fame beyond football
* 8 Charitable work
* 9 Appearances in films
o 9.1 Bend It Like Beckham
o 9.2 The Goal! Trilogy
* 10 Records
* 11 Tattoos
* 12 See also
* 13 References
o 13.1 Books
o 13.2 Internet
* 14 External links

Club career
Childhood and early career

Beckham was born at Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone, London, England.[25] He is the son of David Edward Alan "Ted" Beckham (b. Edmonton, London, July–September 1948), a kitchen fitter, and wife (m. London Borough of Hackney, 1969)[26] Sandra Georgina West (b. 1949),[27] a hairdresser. He regularly played football in Ridgeway Park, Chingford, as a child, and attended Chase Lane Primary School and Chingford Foundation School. In a 2007 interview, Beckham said that, "At school whenever the teachers asked, 'What do you want to do when you're older?' I'd say, 'I want to be a footballer.' And they'd say, 'No, what do you really want to do, for a job?' But that was the only thing I ever wanted to do."[28] Beckham has described his maternal grandfather as Jewish,[29] and has referred to himself as "half Jewish"[30] and spoken of the influence the religion has had on him. In his book Both Feet on the Ground, he stated that growing up he always attended church with his parents and his two sisters, Joanne and Lynne. His parents were fanatical Manchester United supporters who would frequently travel to Old Trafford from London to attend the team's home matches. David inherited his parents' love of Manchester United, and his main sporting passion was football. He attended one of Bobby Charlton's football schools in Manchester and won the chance to take part in a training session at FC Barcelona, as part of a talent competition. He played for a local youth team called the Ridgeway Rovers – coached by his father, Stuart Underwood and Steve Kirby. Beckham was a Manchester United mascot for a match against West Ham United in 1986. Young Beckham had trials with his local club Leyton Orient, Norwich City and attended Tottenham Hotspur's school of excellence. Tottenham Hotspur was the first club he played for. During a two-year period in which Beckham played for Brimsdown Rovers' youth team, he was named Under-15 Player of the Year in 1990.[31] He also attended Bradenton Preparatory Academy, but signed schoolboy forms at Manchester United on his fourteenth birthday, and subsequently signed a Youth Training Scheme contract on 8 July 1991.
Manchester United

Beckham was part of a group of young players at the club who guided the club to win the FA Youth Cup in May 1992, with Beckham scoring in the second leg[32] of the final against Crystal Palace. He made his first appearance for United's first-team that year, as a substitute in a League Cup match against Brighton & Hove Albion, and signed his first professional contract shortly afterwards. United reached the final of the Youth Cup again the following year, with Beckham playing in their defeat by Leeds United, and he won another medal in 1994 when the club's reserve team won their league.

On 7 December 1994, Beckham made his UEFA Champions League debut, scoring a goal in a 4–0 victory at home to Galatasaray in the final game of the group stage. However, this victory was of little use as they finished third out of four in their group behind FC Barcelona on goal difference.

He then went to Preston North End on loan for part of the 1994–95 season to get some first team experience. He impressed, scoring two goals in five appearances, notably scoring directly from a corner kick.[33] Beckham returned to Manchester and finally made his Premier League debut for Manchester United on 2 April 1995, in a goal-less draw against Leeds United.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had a great deal of confidence in the club's young players. Beckham as part of a group of young talents Ferguson brought in to United in the 1990s ("Fergie's Fledglings"), which included Nicky Butt and Gary and Phil Neville. When experienced players Paul Ince, Mark Hughes, and Andrei Kanchelskis left the club after the end of the 1994–95 season, his decision to let youth team players replace them instead of buying star players from other clubs (United had been linked with moves for players including Darren Anderton, Marc Overmars, and Roberto Baggio, but no major signings were made that summer), drew a great deal of criticism. The criticism increased when United started the season with a 3–1 defeat at Aston Villa,[34] with Beckham scoring United's only goal of the game; however, United won their next five matches and the young players performed well.

Beckham swiftly established himself as United's right-sided midfielder (rather than a right-winger in the style of his predecessor Andrei Kanchelskis) and helped them to win the Premier League title and FA Cup double that season, scoring the winner in the semi-final against Chelsea and also provided the corner that Eric Cantona scored from in the FA Cup Final. Beckham's first title medal had, for a while, looked like it wouldn't be coming that season, as United were still 10 points adrift of leaders Newcastle United at the turn of the new year, but Beckham and his team-mates had overhauled the Tynesiders at the top of the league by mid March and they remained top until the end of the season.

Despite playing regularly (and to a consistently high standard) for Manchester United, Beckham did not break into the England squad before Euro 96.[35]

At the beginning of the 1996–97 season David Beckham was given the number 10 shirt that had most recently been worn by Mark Hughes. On 17 August 1996 (the first day of the Premier League season), Beckham became something of a household name when he scored a spectacular goal in a match against Wimbledon. With United leading 2–0, Beckham noticed that Wimbledon's goalkeeper Neil Sullivan was standing a long way out of his goal, and hit a shot from the halfway line that floated over the goalkeeper and into the net.[36] When Beckham scored his famous goal, he did so in shoes custom-made for Charlie Miller ("Charlie" embroidered on boots), which had been given to Beckham by mistake.[37] During the 1996–97 season, he became an automatic first-choice player at United helping them to retain the Premier League championship, and being voted PFA Young Player of the Year by his peers.[38]

On 18 May 1997, Eric Cantona retired as a player and left the coveted number 7 shirt free, and with Teddy Sheringham arriving from Tottenham Hotspur as Cantona's successor, Beckham left his number 10 shirt for Sheringham and picked up the number 7 jersey. Some fans had felt the number 7 shirt should be retired after Cantona had himself retired, but the shirt number remains in use to this day (most recently by another England star Michael Owen).

United started the 1997–98 season well but erratic performances in the second half of the season saw United finish second behind Arsenal.[39]

In the 1998–99 season, he was part of the United team that won The Treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, a unique feat in English football. There had been speculation that the criticism that he had received after being sent off in the World Cup would lead to him leaving England, but he decided to stay at Manchester United.

To ensure they would win the Premier League title, United needed to win their final league match of the season, at home to Tottenham Hotspur (with reports suggesting that the opposition would allow themselves to be easily beaten to prevent their deadly local rivals Arsenal from retaining the title), but Tottenham took an early lead in the match. Beckham scored the equaliser and United went on to win the match and the league.

Beckham played centre-midfield in United's FA Cup final win over Newcastle United and for the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final against Bayern Munich, since United's first string centre-midfielders were suspended for the match. United were losing the match 1–0 at the end of normal time, but won the trophy by scoring two goals in injury time. Both of the goals came from corners taken by Beckham. Those crucial assists, coupled with great performances over the rest of the season, led to him finishing runner up to Rivaldo for 1999's European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.
Beckham in a match against Bristol Rovers

Despite Beckham's achievements in the 1998–99 season, he was still unpopular among some opposition fans and journalists, and he was criticised after being sent off for a deliberate foul in Manchester United's World Club Championship match against Necaxa. It was suggested in the press that his wife was a bad influence on him, and that it might be in United's interests to sell him,[40] but his manager publicly backed him and he stayed at the club. During the 1999-2000 season, there was a talk of a transfer to Juventus in Italy, but this never happened.

By the early 2000s, the relationship between Ferguson and Beckham had begun to deteriorate, possibly as a result of Beckham's fame and commitments away from football. In 2000, Beckham was given permission to miss training to look after his son Brooklyn, who had gastroenteritis, but Ferguson was furious when Victoria Beckham was photographed at a London Fashion Week event on the same night, claiming that Beckham would have been able to train if Victoria had looked after Brooklyn that day. He responded by fining Beckham the maximum amount that was permitted (two weeks' wages – then £50,000) and dropping him for a crucial match against United's rivals Leeds United. He later criticised Beckham for this in his autobiography, claiming he had not been "fair to his teammates"[41] Beckham had a good season for his club, though, and helped United to win the Premier League by a record margin.

"He was never a problem until he got married. He used to go into work with the academy coaches at night time, he was a fantastic young lad. Getting married into that entertainment scene was a difficult thing – from that moment, his life was never going to be the same. He is such a big celebrity, football is only a small part."' – Alex Ferguson speaking about Beckham's marriage in 2007.[42]

Beckham helped United retain the Premier League title in 1999-2000 by an 18-point margin - after being pushed by Arsenal and Leeds United for much of the season, United won their final 11 league games of the season, with Beckham scoring five goals during this fantastic run of form. He managed six league goals that season, and scored eight goals in all competitions.

He was a key player in United's third successive league title in 2000-01 - only the fourth time that any club had achieved three league titles in a row. He scored nine goals that season, all in the Premier League.

On 10 April 2002, Beckham was injured during a Champions League match against Deportivo La Coruña, breaking the second metatarsal bone in his left foot. There was speculation in the British media that the injury might have been caused deliberately, as the player who had injured Beckham was Argentine Aldo Duscher, and England and Argentina were due to meet in that year's World Cup.[43] The injury prevented Beckham from playing for United for the rest of the season and they missed out on the Premier League title to Arsenal (also being knocked out of the European Cup by Bayer Leverkusen on away goals in the semi-finals), but he signed a three-year contract in May, following months of negotiations with the club, mostly concerning extra payments for his image rights. The income from his new contract, and his many endorsement deals, made him the highest-paid player in the world at the time.[44]

2001-02 was arguably Beckham's best season as a United player, though. He scored 11 goals in 28 league games, and a total of 16 goals in 42 games in all competitions.

Following an injury early in the 2002–03 season, Beckham was unable to regain his place on the Manchester United team, with Ole Gunnar Solskjær having replaced him on the right side of midfield. His relationship with his manager deteriorated further on 15 February 2003 when, in the changing room following an FA Cup defeat to Arsenal, a furious Alex Ferguson threw[45][46][47][48][49] [50][51] or kicked a boot that struck Beckham over the eye, causing a cut that required stitches. The incident led to a great deal of transfer speculation involving Beckham, with bookmakers offering odds on whether he or Ferguson would be first to leave the club.[52] Although the team had started the season badly, their results improved greatly from December onwards and they won the league, with Beckham managing a total of 11 goals in 52 games in all competitions.

He was still a first-choice player for England, however, and he was awarded an OBE for services to football on 13 June.[53]

Beckham had made 265 Premier league appearances for United and scored 61 goals. He also made 81 Champions league appearances, scoring 15 goals. Beckham won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, one European Cup, one Intercontinental Cup, and one FA Youth Cup in the space of 12 years. By this stage, he was their joint second longest serving player behind Ryan Giggs (having joined them at the same time as Nicky Butt, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes).
Real Madrid
Beckham (top) and Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid

Manchester United had been keen to sell Beckham to FC Barcelona[54] but instead he signed a four-year contract with Real Madrid, with the transfer fee being about €35 million (£25m).[55] The transfer was completed on 1 July 2003 and made him the third Englishman to play for the club after Laurie Cunningham and Steve McManaman. Although Beckham had worn the number seven shirt for Manchester United and England, he was unable to wear it at Madrid as it was currently assigned to club captain Raúl. He decided to wear number 23 instead, citing his admiration of basketball player Michael Jordan, who also wore the number 23 shirt, as the reason behind his decision.[56]

Real Madrid finished the season in fourth place, and were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League at the quarter-final stage. But, Beckham immediately became a favourite with the Real Madrid supporters, scoring five times in his first 16 matches (including scoring less than three minutes into his La Liga debut), but the team, whose club president expected them to win either the Spanish league or the Champions League each season, did not match expectations.

In July 2004, while Beckham was in pre-season training in Spain, an intruder scaled a wall at the Beckhams' home while carrying a can of petrol. Victoria and their children were in the house at the time, but security guards apprehended the man before he reached the house.[57] Beckham made more headlines on 9 October 2004 when he admitted intentionally fouling Ben Thatcher in an England match against Wales in order to get himself booked. Beckham was due to receive a one-match suspension for his next caution, and had picked up an injury, which he knew would keep him out of England's next match, so he deliberately fouled Thatcher in order to serve his suspension in a match that he would have had to miss anyway. The Football Association asked Beckham for an explanation of his actions and he admitted that he had "made a mistake" and apologised.[58] He was sent off shortly afterwards, this time in a league match for Real Madrid against Valencia CF. Having received a yellow card, he was judged to have sarcastically applaud the referee and was given a second yellow card, causing an automatic dismissal, although the suspension was cancelled on appeal two days later. He was sent off for the third time that season on 3 December 2005 in a league match against Getafe CF. In that season, Beckham led La Liga in number of assists.

Real Madrid finished second to Barcelona in the 2005–06 La Liga, albeit with a large 12 point gap, and only reached the last sixteen in the Champions League after losing to Arsenal.
Warming up with Real Madrid

During the season, Beckham established football academies in Los Angeles, California and East London and he was named a judge for the 2006 British Book Awards.[59]

In 2007, Real Madrid won their first Spanish La Liga title in three years because of their superior head-to-head record against Barcelona, giving Beckham his first title since he joined Real Madrid.

Initially out of favour with manager Fabio Capello, Beckham started only a few games at the beginning of the season, as the speedier José Antonio Reyes was normally preferred on the right wing. In the first nine matches Beckham started, Real lost seven.

On 10 January 2007, after prolonged contract negotiations, Real Madrid's sporting director Predrag Mijatović announced that Beckham would not remain at Real Madrid after the end of the season. However, he later claimed that he was mistranslated and that he actually said that Beckham's contract had not been renewed yet.[60]

On 11 January 2007, Beckham announced that he had signed a five-year deal to play for Los Angeles Galaxy beginning 1 July 2007. On 13 January 2007, Fabio Capello said that Beckham had played his last game for Real Madrid, although he would continue to train with the team.[61] Capello backtracked on that statement and Beckham rejoined the team for their match against Real Sociedad on 10 February 2007 – he scored and Real Madrid won.[62] In his final UEFA Champions League appearance, Real Madrid were knocked out of the competition (by the away goals rule) on 7 March 2007. Beckham had made a total of 103 appearances in the Champions League, the third highest number of any player at the time.

On 17 June 2007, the last day of the La Liga season, Beckham started in his final match for the club, a 3-1 win over RCD Mallorca, which saw them clinch the title from Barcelona. Although he limped off the field, he was replaced by José Antonio Reyes who scored two goals and the team won the season's La Liga title, their first since Beckham had signed with them. Although both finished level on points, Madrid took the title because of their superior head-to-head record, capping a remarkable six-month turnaround for Beckham.

At the end of the season, Real Madrid announced that they would try to untie David Beckham's transfer to LA Galaxy with him playing with improved form, but were unsuccessful, mainly due to LA Galaxy's refusal to listen.[63]

A month after the conclusion of Beckham's Real career, Forbes magazine reported that he had been the party primarily responsible for the team's huge increase in merchandise sales, a total reported to top US$600 million during Beckham's four years at the club.[64]
Los Angeles Galaxy

It was confirmed on 11 January 2007 that David Beckham would be leaving Real Madrid to join Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy. The following day, Beckham's official press conference was held in conjunction with the 2007 MLS SuperDraft.[65]
I'm coming there not to be a superstar. I'm coming there to be part of the team, to work hard and to hopefully win things. With me, it's about football. I'm coming there to make a difference. I'm coming there to play football... I'm not saying me coming over to the States is going to make soccer the biggest sport in America. That would be difficult to achieve. Baseball, basketball, American football, they've been around. But I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think I could make a difference.[66]
—Beckham on going to America
From ESPN
Beckham (centre) scores his first goal for LA Galaxy

Beckham's contract with Los Angeles Galaxy took effect on 11 July, and on 13 July, was officially unveiled as a Galaxy player at The Home Depot Center. Beckham chose to wear number 23. It was announced that Galaxy jersey sales had already reached a record figure of over 250,000 prior to this formal introduction.[67]

On 21 July, Beckham made his Galaxy debut after coming on in the 78th minute in a 1–0 loss to Chelsea during the World Series of Soccer.[68] Two weeks later, Beckham made his league debut as a substitute on 9 August versus DC United.[69]

Beckham returned to the pitch the following week, again facing DC United, in the SuperLiga semi-final on 15 August. During this game he had many firsts with the Galaxy; his first start, first yellow card and first game as team captain.[70] He also scored his first goal for the team, from a free kick, and also made his first assist, for Landon Donovan in the second half. These goals gave the team a 2–0 victory, and a place in the North American SuperLiga final versus Pachuca on 29 August.
David Beckham

During the SuperLiga final against Pachuca, Beckham injured his right knee, with an MRI scan revealing that he had sprained his medial collateral ligament and would be out for six weeks. He returned to play in the final home match of the season. The Galaxy were eliminated from playoff contention on 21 October, in the final MLS match of the season, a 1–0 loss to the Chicago Fire. Beckham played as a substitute in the match, bringing his season-totals to; eight matches played (5 league), one goal scored (0 league), and three assists (2 league).

Beckham trained with Arsenal from 4 January 2008 for three weeks, until he returned to the Galaxy for pre-season training.[71]

Beckham scored his first league goal with the Galaxy on 3 April against the San Jose Earthquakes in the 9th minute.[72] On 24 May 2008, the Galaxy defeated the Kansas City Wizards 3–1, giving the Galaxy their first winning record in two years and moving the club into first place in the Western Conference. In the match Beckham scored an empty-net goal from 70 yards out. The goal marked the second time in Beckham's career that he had scored from his own half, the other being a 1996 goal from the halfway line against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park.[73] Overall, however, the Galaxy had a disappointing year, failing to qualify for the end-of-season play-offs. After his return from Milan, many LA fans showed dislike and anger towards him as he missed the first half of the season and several held up signs saying "Go home fraud", and "Part time player".[74]
Loan to Milan
Beckham playing for AC Milan

In 2008, Beckham's success in the England national team under Fabio Capello led to speculation that he may return to Europe in order to retain match fitness for the World Cup qualifying matches in 2009. On 30 October 2008, AC Milan announced that Beckham was to join them on loan from 7 January 2009.[75] Despite this and other speculation, Beckham made it clear that the move in no way signaled his intent to leave MLS and announced his intent to return to the Galaxy in time for the start of the 2009 season in March.[76] Many at Milan both within and outside of the club expressed serious reservations about the transfer, with it considered by some players no more than a marketing move.[77] At Milan, he chose the number 32 shirt previously worn by Christian Vieri, as both the number 7 and 23 shirts were already used by other players. After his physical, Beckham was told by a club doctor that he believed he can continue playing football for another five years, when he will be 38.[78]
Beckham with Flamini and Filippo Inzaghi.

Beckham made his Serie A debut for Milan against Roma on 11 January 2009 and played 89 minutes of the 2–2 draw.[79] He scored his first goal in Serie A for Milan in a 4–1 victory over Bologna on 25 January, his third appearance for the club.[80] Though Beckham was expected to return to L.A. in March, after impressing at the Italian club, scoring two goals in his first four matches and assisting on several more, rumors began to swirl that Beckham would stay in Milan, with the Italian club reportedly offering to pay a multi-million dollar fee for the English legend. The rumours were confirmed on 4 February, when Beckham stated that he was seeking a permanent transfer to Milan, in a bid to sustain his England career through the 2010 World Cup. However, Milan failed to match Galaxy's valuation of Beckham, in the $10-15 million range.[81]

However, negotiations continued during a month of speculation.[82] On 2 March, the Los Angeles Times reported that Beckham's loan had been extended through mid-July.[83] This was later confirmed by Beckham, revealing what was described as a unique "timeshare" deal, in which Beckham would play with L.A. from mid-July till the end of the 2009 MLS season.[84]
International career
Beckham as England captain

Beckham made his first appearance for the England national football team on 1 September 1996, in a World Cup qualifying match against Moldova.[85]

Beckham had played in all of England's qualifying matches for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and was part of the England squad at the World Cup finals in France,[86] but the team's manager Glenn Hoddle publicly accused him of not concentrating on the tournament,[87] and he did not start in either of England's first two matches. He was picked for their third match against Colombia and scored from a long-range free kick in a 2–0 victory, which was his first goal for England.

In the second round (last 16) of that competition, he received a red card in England's match against Argentina.[88] Beckham, after having been fouled by Diego Simeone, kicked Simeone whilst lying on the floor, striking him on the calf. Simeone later admitted to trying to get Beckham sent off by over-reacting to the kick and then, along with other members of his team, urging the referee to send Beckham off.[89] The match finished in a draw and England were eliminated in a penalty shootout. Many supporters and journalists blamed him for England's elimination and he became the target of criticism and abuse, including the hanging of an effigy outside a London pub, and the Daily Mirror printing a dartboard with a picture of him centred on the bullseye. Beckham also received death threats after the World Cup.[90]

The abuse that Beckham was receiving from English supporters peaked during England's 3–2 defeat by Portugal in UEFA Euro 2000, a match where Beckham set up two goals, when a group of England supporters taunted him throughout the match.[91] Beckham responded by raising his middle finger and, while the gesture attracted some criticism, many of the newspapers that had previously encouraged his vilification asked their readers to stop abusing him.[92]

On 15 November 2000, following Kevin Keegan's resignation as England manager in October, Beckham was promoted to team captain by the caretaker manager Peter Taylor, and then kept the role under new manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. He helped England to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Finals, with their performances including an impressive 5–1 victory over Germany in Munich. The final step in Beckham's conversion from villain to hero happened in England's 2–2 draw against Greece on 6 October 2001. England needed to win or draw the match in order to qualify outright for the World Cup, but were losing 2–1 with little time remaining. When Teddy Sheringham was fouled eight yards (7 metres) outside the Greek penalty area, England were awarded a free-kick and Beckham ensured England's qualification with a curling strike of the kind that had become his trademark. Shortly afterwards, he was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2001. He once again finished runner-up, to Luís Figo of Portugal, for the FIFA World Player of the Year award.

Beckham was partially fit by the time of the 2002 FIFA World Cup and played in the first match against Sweden. Beckham scored the winning goal of the match against Argentina with a penalty, causing Argentina to fail to qualify for the knockout stage. England were knocked out of the tournament in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Brazil. The following month, at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Beckham escorted Kirsty Howard as she presented the Jubilee Baton to the Queen.

Beckham played in all of England's matches at UEFA Euro 2004, but the tournament was a disappointment for him. He had a penalty saved in England's 2–1 defeat to France and missed another in a penalty shootout in the quarter-final against Portugal. England lost the shootout and went out of the competition.

Beckham became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in January 2005 and was involved in promoting London's successful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.[93] In October 2005, Beckham's sending off against Austria made him the first ever England captain to be sent off and the first (and only) player to be sent off twice while playing for England. He captained England for the 50th time in a friendly international against Argentina the following month.

In England's opening game at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, against Paraguay on 10 June 2006, Beckham's free kick led to an own-goal by Carlos Gamarra as England won 1–0. In England's next match, played against Trinidad and Tobago on 15 June 2006, Beckham's cross in the 83rd minute led to a Peter Crouch goal, which put England into the lead 1–0. Beckham gave another assist to Steven Gerrard. In the end they won 2–0. He was named Man of the Match by tournament sponsor Budweiser for this game.

During England's second round match against Ecuador, Beckham scored from a free kick in the 59th minute, becoming the first ever English player to score in three separate World Cups,[94] and giving England a 1–0 victory and a place in the quarter-finals. He was sick before the game and vomited several times as a result of dehydration and illness after he scored the winning goal.

In the quarter-final against Portugal, Beckham was substituted following an injury shortly after half time and the England team went on to lose the match on penalties (3-1), the score having been 0–0 after extra time. After his substitution, Beckham was visibly shaken and emotional for not being able to play, being in tears at one point.

A day after England were knocked out of the World Cup, an emotional Beckham made a statement in a news conference saying that he had stepped down as England captain,[95] saying, "It has been an honour and privilege to captain my country but, having been captain for 58 of my 95[96] games, I feel the time is right to pass on the armband as we enter a new era under Steve McClaren." (Beckham had actually won 94 caps up to that point.) He was succeeded by Chelsea captain John Terry.[97]

Having stepped down as captain after the World Cup, Beckham was dropped completely from the England national team selected by new coach Steve McClaren on 11 August 2006. McClaren claimed that he was "looking to go in a different direction" with the team, and that Beckham "wasn't included within that." McClaren said Beckham could be recalled in future. Shaun Wright-Phillips, Kieran Richardson, and the World Cup alternative to Beckham, Aaron Lennon, were all included, although McClaren eventually opted to employ Steven Gerrard in that role.
Beckham takes the free kick against Brazil from which John Terry scored

On 26 May 2007, McClaren announced that Beckham would be recalled to the England squad for the first time since stepping down as their captain. Beckham started against Brazil in England's first match at the new Wembley Stadium and put in a positive performance. In the second half, he set up England's goal converted by captain John Terry. It looked as though England would claim victory over Brazil, but newcomer Diego equalised in the dying seconds. In England's next match, a Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia, Beckham sent two trademark assists for Michael Owen and Peter Crouch, helping England to prevail 3-0.

Beckham had assisted in three of England's four total goals in those two games,[98] and he stated his desire to continue to play for England after his move to Major League Soccer.

On 22 August 2007, Beckham played in a friendly for England against Germany, becoming the first ever to play for England while with a non-European club team.[99] On 21 November 2007, Beckham earned his 99th cap against Croatia, setting up a goal for Peter Crouch to tie the game at 2–2. Following the 2–3 loss, England failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 Finals. Despite this, Beckham said that he has no plans to retire from international football and wanted to continue playing for the national team.[100] After being passed over by new England coach and Beckham's former manager at Real Madrid, Fabio Capello, for a friendly against Switzerland which would have given him his hundredth cap; Beckham admitted that he was not in shape at the time, as he had not played a competitive match in three months.[101]

On 20 March 2008, Beckham was recalled to the England squad by Capello for the friendly against France in Paris on 26 March. Beckham became only the fifth Englishman to win 100 caps. Capello had hinted on 25 March 2008 that Beckham had a long term future in his side ahead of crucial qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[102] On 11 May 2008, Capello included an in-form Beckham in his 31 man England squad to face the United States at Wembley Stadium on 28 May before the away fixture with Trinidad and Tobago on 1 June. Beckham was honored before the match by receiving an honorary gold cap representing his 100th cap from Bobby Charlton, and was given a standing ovation from the crowd. He played well and assisted John Terry on the match-winning goal. When substituted at half-time for David Bentley, the pro-Beckham crowd booed the decision.[103] In a surprise move, Capello handed Beckham the captaincy for England's friendly against Trinidad and Tobago on 1 June 2008. The match was the first time since the 2006 World Cup that Beckham had skippered England and marked a dramatic turnaround for Beckham. In two years, he had gone from being dropped completely from the England squad to being reinstated (though temporarily) as England captain.[104]

During the 2010 World Cup Qualifier against Belarus in which England won 3-1 in Minsk, Beckham came off the bench in the 87th minute to earn his 107th cap making him England's 3rd highest capped player in history, over-taking Bobby Charlton in the process. On 11 February 2009, Beckham drew level with Bobby Moore's record of 108 caps for an English outfield player, coming on as a substitute for Stewart Downing in a friendly match against Spain.[105] On 28 March 2009, Beckham surpassed Moore to hold the record outright when he came on as a substitute in a friendly against Slovakia, providing the assist for a goal from Wayne Rooney in the process.[106]
International goals

As of 20 June 2009
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Reports
1. 26 June 1998 Stade de Gerland, Lyon Colombia 2–0 2–0 1998 FIFA World Cup [2]
2. 24 March 2001 Anfield, Liverpool Finland 2–1 2–1 FIFA World Cup 2002 qualifying [3]
3. 25 May 2001 Pride Park, Derby Mexico 3–0 4–0 Friendly match [4]
4. 6 June 2001 Olympic Stadium, Athens Greece 2–0 2–0 FIFA World Cup 2002 qualifying [5]
5. 6 October 2001 Old Trafford, Manchester Greece 2–2 2–2 FIFA World Cup 2002 qualifying [6]
6. 10 November 2001 Old Trafford, Manchester Sweden 1–0 1–1 Friendly match [7]
7. 7 June 2002 Sapporo Dome, Sapporo Argentina 1–0 1–0 2002 FIFA World Cup [8]
8. 12 October 2002 Tehelné pole, Bratislava Slovakia 1–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying [9]
9. 16 October 2002 St Mary's Stadium, Southampton Macedonia 1–1 2–2 UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying [10]
10. 29 March 2003 Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz Liechtenstein 2–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying [11]
11. 2 April 2003 Stadium of Light, Sunderland Turkey 2–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying [12]
12. 20 August 2003 Portman Road, Ipswich Croatia 1–0 3–1 Friendly match [13]
13. 6 September 2003 Gradski, Skopje Macedonia 2–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying [14]
14. 18 August 2004 St James' Park, Newcastle Ukraine 1–0 3–0 Friendly match [15]
15. 9 October 2004 Old Trafford, Manchester Wales 2– 0 2–0 FIFA World Cup 2006 qualifying [16]
16. 30 March 2005 St James' Park, Newcastle Azerbaijan 2– 0 2–0 FIFA World Cup 2006 qualifying [17]
17. 25 June 2006 Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart Ecuador 1–0 1–0 FIFA World Cup 2006 [18]
Discipline

Former manager Alex Ferguson said that he "practised with a discipline to achieve an accuracy that other players wouldn't care about."[107] He maintained his training routine at Real Madrid and even when his relationship with management was strained in early 2007, Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón and manager Fabio Capello praised Beckham for maintaining his professionalism and commitment to the club.[108][109]

Beckham was the first England player ever to collect two red cards and the first England captain to be sent off.[110] Beckham's most notorious red card was during the 1998 FIFA World Cup after Argentina's Diego Simeone had fouled him, Beckham lashed out with his leg and the Argentine fell. England went on to lose the game on penalties, and Beckham was listed as a public enemy.

He amassed 41 yellow cards and four red cards for Real Madrid.[111]
Honours
Club
Manchester United

* Premier League: 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002–03
* FA Cup: 1996, 1999
* UEFA Champions League: 1998–99
* Intercontinental Cup: 1999
* Community Shield: 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997
* FA Youth Cup: 1992

Real Madrid

* La Liga: 2006–07
* Supercopa de España: 2003

Individual

* PFA Young Player of the Year: 1996/97
* Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year: 1996/97
* 1998 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament
* UEFA Club Player of the Year: 1999
* BBC Sports Personality of the Year: 2001
* FIFA 100[112]
* ESPY Award - Best Male Soccer Player: 2004[113]
* ESPY Award - Best MLS Player: 2008[113]
* English Football Hall of Fame: 2008

Orders and special awards

* Officer in the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II: 2003
* United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador (2005–present)
* "Britain's Greatest Ambassador" - 100 Greatest Britons awards[114]
* The Celebrity 100, number 15 - Forbes, 2007[115]
* Number 1 on the list of the 40 most influential men under the age of 40 in the UK[116] - Arena, 2007
* Time 100: 2008[117]

Statistics
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other[118] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester United 1992–93 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
1993–94 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Preston North End (loan) 1994–95 5 2 0 0 0 0 – 0 0 5 2
Manchester United 1994–95 4 0 2 0 3 0 1 1 0 0 10 1
1995–96 33 7 3 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 40 8
1996–97 36 8 2 1 0 0 10 2 1 1 49 12
1997–98 37 9 4 2 0 0 8 0 1 0 50 11
1998–99 34 6 7 1 1 0 12 2 1 0 55 9
1999–2000 31 6 – 0 0 12 2 5 0 48 8
2000–01 31 9 2 0 0 0 12 0 1 0 46 9
2001–02 28 11 1 0 0 0 13 5 1 0 43 16
2002–03 31 6 3 1 5 1 13 3 0 0 52 11
Total 265 62 24 6 12 1 83 15 10 1 399 87
Real Madrid 2003–04 32 3 4 2 – 7 1 0 0 43 6
2004–05 30 4 0 0 – 8 0 0 0 38 4
2005–06 31 3 3 1 – 7 1 0 0 41 5
2006–07 23 3 2 1 – 6 0 0 0 31 4
Total 116 13 9 4 – 28 2 0 0 153 19
Los Angeles Galaxy 2007 5 0 0 0 – – 2 1 7 1
2008 25 5 0 0 – – 0 0 25 5
Milan (loan) 2008-09 18 2 0 0 – 0 0 2 0 18 2
Los Angeles Galaxy 2009 10 2 0 0 – – 0 0 10 2
Total 40 7 0 0 – – 2 1 42 8
Career total 439 84 33 10 12 1 111 17 12 2 612 116
Personal life
David and Victoria Beckham at the 2007 British Grand Prix at Silverstone

In 1997, Beckham started dating Victoria Adams, after she attended a Manchester United match. She was famously known as "Posh Spice" of the pop music group Spice Girls, one of the world's top pop groups at the time, and his team was also enjoying a great run of success. Therefore, their relationship instantly attracted a great deal of media attention. The couple were dubbed "Posh and Becks" by the media. He proposed to Victoria on 24 January 1998 in a restaurant in Cheshunt, England.

He married Adams at Luttrellstown Castle, Ireland on 4 July 1999, and her name changed to Victoria Beckham. The wedding attracted tremendous media coverage. Beckham's teammate Gary Neville was the best man, and the couple's son Brooklyn, then four months old, was the ring bearer. The media were kept away from the ceremony, as the Beckhams had an exclusive deal with OK! Magazine, but newspapers were still able to obtain photographs showing them sitting on golden thrones.[119] 437 staff were employed for the wedding reception, which was estimated to have cost £500,000.[120]

In 1999, the Beckhams purchased their most famous home, unofficially dubbed Beckingham Palace in Hertfordshire, north of London. It is estimated to be worth £7.5 million. David and Victoria have three sons together: Brooklyn Joseph Beckham (born 4 March 1999 in London, England), Romeo James Beckham (born 1 September 2002 in London, England), and Cruz David Beckham (born 20 February 2005 in Madrid, Spain [the word "cruz" is Spanish for "cross"]). Both Brooklyn and Romeo's godfather is Elton John and godmother is Elizabeth Hurley.[121] They have stated that they would like to have more children, especially a daughter.[122]

In April 2007, the family purchased their new Italian villa in Beverly Hills, California, to coincide with Beckham's transfer to the Los Angeles Galaxy in July. The mansion, priced at $22 million, is near the homes of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, and talk-show host Jay Leno, in an exclusive gated community in the hills overlooking the city.
Affair claims

In April 2004, the British tabloid News of the World carried claims by his former personal assistant Rebecca Loos that he and Loos had an extramarital affair.[123][124] A week later, the Malaysian-born Australian model Sarah Marbeck claimed that she had slept with Beckham on two occasions. Beckham dismissed both accusations as "ludicrous".[125] There has never been any proof of any of the allegations of Beckham's claimed infidelity.[126] In an interview with W Magazine, Victoria Beckham told a reporter, "I'm not going to lie: it was a really tough time. It was hard for our entire families. But I realized a lot of people have a price."[127]
Legal Issues

In December 2008, Beckham and his bodyguard were sued by paparazzi photographer Emicles da Mata, who claimed that he was assaulted by them when attempting to take a picture of Beckham in Beverly Hills. Da Mata is seeking unspecified damages for assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.[128]
Fame beyond football
David Beckham signs autographs for fans after the first annual COPA Minnesota benefit game between the LA Galaxy and the Minnesota Thunder

Beckham's fame extends beyond the pitch; in much of the world his name is "as instantly recognizable as that of multinational companies like Coca-Cola and IBM."[129] Beckham's relationship and marriage to Victoria, who has been famous in her own right as part of the musical group Spice Girls, contributed to David's celebrity beyond football.

Beckham became known as a fashion plate, and together with Victoria, the couple became lucrative spokespeople sought after by clothing designers, health and fitness specialists, fashion magazines, perfume and cosmetics manufacturers, hair stylists, exercise promoters, and spa and recreation companies. One recent example is a new line of aftershave and fragrances called David Beckham Instinct.[130]

In 2002 Beckham was hailed as the ultimate "metrosexual" by the man who invented the term[131][132] and has been described as such by scores of other articles since.

In 2007, the Beckhams were reportedly paid $13.7 million to launch this fragrance line in the US. In the world of fashion, David has already appeared on the covers of countless magazines. In 2007, U.S. covers have included the men's magazine Details, and with his wife for the August 2007 issue of W.[133]

According to Google, "David Beckham" was searched for more than any other sports topic on their site in 2003 and 2004.[134]

Upon their arrival in Los Angeles on 12 July 2007, the night before Beckham's formal introduction, Los Angeles International Airport was packed with paparazzi and news reporters.[135] On the next night, Victoria appeared on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to talk about the their move to LA, and presented Leno with a number 23 Galaxy jersey with his own name on the back. Victoria also talked about her NBC TV show "Victoria Beckham: Coming to America"[136]

On 22 July, a huge private welcoming party was held for the couple at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. A-list celebrities attending included Steven Spielberg, Jim Carrey, George Clooney, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Oprah Winfrey.[137]

Beckham has many endorsement deals making him one of the most recognizable athletes throughout the world. On 31 December 2008, it was announced that Pepsi Co. was ending its endorsement deal with the player after a 10-year collaboration.[138]
Charitable work

Beckham has supported UNICEF since his days at Manchester United and in January 2005, the English national team captain became a Goodwill Ambassador with a special focus on UNICEF's Sports for Development program. More recently Beckham has pledged his support for the current Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS campaign.

On 17 January 2007, Rebecca Johnstone, a 19-year-old cancer patient from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada received a surprise phone call from Beckham. After the conversation, he sent her a Real Madrid jersey with his signature on it. Rebecca passed away on 29 January 2007.[139]

Beckham is a spokesman for Malaria No More, a New York City-based non-profit launched in 2006. Malaria No More's mission is to end deaths caused by malaria in Africa. Beckham appears in a 2007 public service announcement advertising the need for inexpensive bed nets. The TV spot currently airs in the U.S. on Fox Networks, including Fox Soccer Channel, and can also be seen on YouTube.[140]

Since he has joined Major League Soccer, he has been a very public advocate in the U.S. for related charities such as "MLS W.O.R.K.S." On 17 August 2007, he conducted a youth clinic in New York City's Harlem neighbourhood, along with other current and former MLS players. This was in advance of his first New York City area match the following day against the New York Red Bulls. That team's Jozy Altidore and Juan Pablo Ángel also were with Beckham, teaching skills to disadvantaged youth to benefit FC Harlem Lions.[141]
Appearances in films
Bend It Like Beckham

Beckham never personally appeared in the 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham, except in archive footage. He and his wife wanted to make cameo appearances but scheduling proved difficult, so the director used lookalikes instead.[142]
The Goal! Trilogy

Beckham makes a cameo appearance with Zinedine Zidane and Raúl, in the 2005 film Goal!: The Dream Begins. Lookalike Andy Harmer, who played him in Bend It Like Beckham, also appears here in one party scene as Beckham.[143] Beckham himself appears in the sequel Goal! 2: Living the Dream...[144] in a larger role, when the film's lead character gets transferred to Real Madrid. This time the story centres around the Real Madrid team, and besides Beckham, other real life Real Madrid players also appear on and off the pitch, alongside the fictional characters. Beckham appeared in Goal! 3: Taking on the World, which was released straight to DVD on 15 June 2009.[145]

Despite moving to Los Angeles, California, Beckham has expressed no personal interest in pursuit of acting roles, saying he is too "stiff".[146]
Records

Beckham has captained England 59 times during his tenure as England captain,[147] one of the most in England's history.

With his free kick goal against Ecuador in the second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Beckham gained membership into two of football's exclusive clubs: he became the only English player — and the 21st player regardless of nationality — to score in three world cups; Real Madrid teammate Raúl also achieved this feat a few days earlier.[148] It also made him only the fifth player in World Cup history to score twice from a direct free kick; the other four were Pelé, Roberto Rivelino, Teófilo Cubillas, and Bernard Genghini (Beckham had previously scored this way against Colombia in the first round of the 1998 FIFA World Cup). All three goals were against South American teams (Colombia, Argentina, and Ecuador) and from set pieces (the two aforementioned free kicks and a penalty against Argentina).
Tattoos

Beckham has many tattoos on his body, one of which is the name of his wife Victoria, written in Hindi, because Beckham thought it would be "tacky" to have it in English. Another tattoo, written in Hebrew, reads אני לדודי ודודי לי הרעה בשושנים, translated into: "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine, that shepherds among the lilies." This is from the Song of Songs in the Hebrew Bible, and a popular Jewish paean to fidelity. Beckham has also been ridiculed in the press for looking like a "Hells Angel biker" and a "football yob" due to his ever-expanding number of tattoos, their design, and their location.[149] He often wears long sleeved shirts when playing football to cover his tattoos from those who may feel uncomfortable about them due to their beliefs.[150]

A chronology of Beckham's tattoos[151] includes:

* April 1999 - Son Brooklyn's name on his back
* April 1999 - "Guardian Angel" on his back
* 2000 - "Victoria" (in Hindi) design on his left arm
* April 2002 - Roman numeral VII (7) on his right forearm
* May 2003 - Latin phrase "Perfectio In Spiritu", translated into "Spiritual Perfection", on his right arm
* May 2003 - Latin phrase "Ut Amem Et Foveam", translated into "So That I Love And Cherish", on his left arm
* 2003 - Son Romeo's name on his back
* 2003 - Classical art design on his right shoulder
* 2004 - Winged cross on the back of his neck
* 2004 - Angel with motto "In the Face of Adversity" on right arm
* March 2005 - Son Cruz's name on his back
* June 2006 - Second angel and clouds added to right arm and shoulder
* January 2008 - Portrait of Victoria on left forearm
* February 2008 - "Forever by your side" on left forearm
* 9 March 2008 in 4th floor, No 8, Cameron Road, Tsim Sha Tsui Hong Kong[152] - The Chinese proverb "Shēng sǐ yǒu mìng fù guì zaì tiān" (生死有命 富貴在天) translated into "Death and life are fated. Riches and honour are governed by heaven" down his left torso, running from his nipple to his groin
* July 2009 - "ring o' roses" on his left arm for 10th wedding anniversary

Beckham has attributed the many tattoos to his obsessive-compulsive disorder and claims to be addicted to the pain of the needle.[153][154]
See also

* Franchise player

References
Books

* Beckham, David (2002). David Beckham: My Side. HarperCollinsWillow. (ISBN 0-00-715732-0).
* Beckham, David; Freeman, Dean (2001). Beckham: My World. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. (ISBN 0-340-79270-1).
* Beckham, David; Watt, Tom (2003). Beckham: Both Feet on the Ground. HarperCollins. (ISBN 0-06-057093-8).
* Crick, Michael (2003). The Boss -- The Many Sides of Alex Ferguson. Pocket Books. (ISBN 0-7434-2991-5).
* Ferguson, Alex; McIlvanney, Hugh (1999). Managing My Life -- My Autobiography. Hodder & Stoughton. (ISBN 0-340-72855-8).

Internet

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55. ^ Equivalent to, at the time, £25 million or US$41 million.
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107. ^ "Manchester United Legends - David Beckham". manutdzone.com. http://www.manutdzone.com/legends/DavidBeckham.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
108. ^ "Beckham will not play for Real again - Capello". chinadaily.com. 2007-01-14. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2007-01/14/content_782993.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
109. ^ "Coach says Beckham won't play again for Real Madrid". International Herald Time. 2007-01-13. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/13/sports/EU-SPT-SOC-Real-Madrid-Beckham.php. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
110. ^ Beckham red card but joy for Sven, The Sunday Times, 9 October 2005. Retrieved on 9 April 2007.
111. ^ "Beckham Magazine - Statistics". Beckham-magazine.com. http://www.beckham-magazine.com/stats.html. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
112. ^ "FIFA's top 100 list". Rediff.com. http://www.rediff.com/sports/2004/mar/05fifa.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
113. ^ a b "ESPYS 2008". Espn.go.com. http://espn.go.com/espy2008/postshow/index.html#/bestof/. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
114. ^ "[1]"
115. ^ "The Celebrity 100". Forbes. 2007-06-14. http://www.forbes.com/2007/06/14/best-paid-celebrities-07celebrities_cz_lg_0614celeb_land.html. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
116. ^ "Britain’s original style magazine – for men". Arenamagazine.co.uk. http://www.arenamagazine.co.uk/?p=942. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
117. ^ David Beckham: Soccer's Metrosexual. TIME magazine.
118. ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and the SuperLiga
119. ^ "Sun pips OK! to Posh wedding photos". BBC News, 6 July 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/07/99/the_posh_wedding/387126.stm. Retrieved 25 May 2006.
120. ^ "Wedded spice". BBC News, 5 July 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/07/99/the_posh_wedding/385866.stm. Retrieved 2 December 2005.
121. ^ "Victoria and David Beckham Marriage Profile". Marriage.about.com. http://marriage.about.com/od/sports/a/davidbeckham.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
122. ^ Stephen M. Silverman (13 November 2008). "David, Victoria Beckham Have a Third Son - Birth, David Beckham, Victoria Beckham : People.com". People.com. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1029920,00.html. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
123. ^ "BBC.co.uk: ''Beckham story is tabloids' dream''". BBC News. 2004-04-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3614993.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
124. ^ News, Pa. "''Beckham flies back to Madrid from holiday''". TimesOnline. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1-1066358,00.html. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
125. ^ "Beckham to stay in Spain". BBC News, 20 May 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/3733607.stm. Retrieved 7 October 2005.
126. ^ "Did Becks have a threesome?" Article from the Daily Mail 8 April 2004. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
127. ^ "American Idols". W magazine, 1 August 2007. http://www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2007/08/beckhams_steven_klein?currentPage=1. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
128. ^ Beckham Sued; Accused of Beating Photographer TMZ.com, 26 January 2009
129. ^ Beckham the worldwide brand, a June 2006 article from an Associated New Media website
130. ^ "David Beckham Instinct". Beckham-fragrances.com. http://www.beckham-fragrances.com/. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
131. ^ "Salon.com Politics | Meet the metrosexual". Dir.salon.com. http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/feature/2002/07/22/metrosexual/print.html. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
132. ^ "America - meet David Beckham | MARK SIMPSON.com". Marksimpson.com. http://www.marksimpson.com/blog/2007/07/13/america-meet-david-beckham/. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
133. ^ The Beckhams: American Idols: W Feature Story on Style.com[dead link]
134. ^ "2003 Year-End Google Zeitgeist". Google.com. http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist2003.html. Retrieved 9 October 2005. , "2004 Year-End Google Zeitgeist". Google.com. http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist2004.html. Retrieved 9 October 2005.
135. ^ The Beckhams Take Hollywood[dead link]
136. ^ Victorial Beckham coming to America[dead link]
137. ^ Eller, Claudia (2007-07-19). "Hollywood breathlessly awaits Beckhams". Latimes.com. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-beckham19jul19,1,1699340.story?track=rss. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
138. ^ Pepsi and Beckham end endorsement relationship[dead link]
139. ^ "To Rebecca, with love". Toronto Star. 2007-01-26. http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/175193. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
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141. ^ "Video: Juan Pablo Angel, David Beckham to Assist MLS W.O.R.K.S.". paddocktalk.com. 2007-08-18. http://www.paddocktalk.com/news/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=63413&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
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Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto

Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto

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Kurniawan
Personal information
Full name Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto
Date of birth 13 July 1976 (1976-07-13) (age 33)
Place of birth Indonesia Magelang, Indonesia
Height 173 cm
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Indonesia Persitara
Youth career
1993-94 Sampdoria Primavera
Senior career1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1994-1995
1996-1999
1999-2001
2001
2002-2003
2004
2005
2006
2006
2007
2008- FC Lucerne
Pelita
PSM Makassar
PSPS Pekanbaru
PSPS Pekanbaru
Persebaya Surabaya
Persija
Sarawak FA
PSS
Persitara
Persisam 10 (1)
?? (??)
?? (??)
?? (??)
50 (28)
26 (11)
15 (3)
National team
1995-2006 Indonesia Indonesia 60 (33)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto (born 13 July 1976 in Magelang, Central Java) is an active Indonesian footballer. He normally plays as a striker and is currently the player with the most caps and goals for the Indonesian national team with 33 goals in 60 appearances.[1]

Kurniawan is known by his nickname kurus (literally means "skinny" or "slim") because he cuts a slender figure. One of his finest moments was at the 2004 Tiger Cup, during the semifinal match between Malaysia and Indonesia. Indonesia was trailing by one goal at half time (2 goals by aggregate), but Indonesia managed to conjure up an impressive comeback which started when Kurniawan scored a goal. Indonesia went on to win the match 4-1 and advanced to the final of the competition before losing to the Singaporean national football team.

He is one of an elite few Indonesian football players that have plied their trade in Europe. For a brief period in his career, he played for Sampdoria Primavera. He later played for FC Lucerne of the Swiss Football League for two seasons in the mid 1990s. After a moderately successful first season, he was subsequently sent back to Indonesia because of a combination of injuries, loss of form, a cap on non-EU players in the Swiss League, and an alleged addiction to night life and drugs. He is the first Indonesian footballer to have played in the Intertoto Cup and to have scored in that competition. In addition, he has also taken part in the Asian Champions League as well as the now-defunct Asian Cup Winner's Cup.

In the late 1990s, Kurniawan was caught on the wrong end of a drug scandal which resulted in his expulsion from the national team. But shortly after, he was rehabilitated, exonerated, and reinstated in the team. He is currently playing for Persisam. Other Indonesian football teams he played for include PSM, PSPS, Persebaya, Persija, and PSS. He twice won the Indonesian Football League, the first in 2000 with PSM, and the second in 2004 with Persebaya. He was the runner-up on the top-scorer chart in 2000 with 23 goals, trailing Bambang Pamungkas by 1 goal. During the 97-98 season, he was the runaway leader on the temporary goal-scorer chart when the league was called off due to a serious match-fixing scandal and the general collapse of security in Indonesia in the aftermath of the Asian economic crisis. Barring the World Cup, Asian Games and the Olympics (which Indonesia never managed to qualify for during his playing career), Kurniawan has participated in virtually all tournaments and competitions at various regional levels that Indonesia is eligible to take part in, including the Pre-Olympics Qualifier, Pre-World Cup Qualifier, SEA Games, Tiger Cup (now known as ASEAN Cup), and Asian Cup.

Football analysts in Indonesia agree that ever since coming back to play in Indonesia, Kurniawan never achieved the same level of quality like he did when he was still in Europe. Much hope was placed on his shoulders, as well as the shoulders of his teammates who belonged in the Primavera team (the Indonesian junior team which trained for two years in Italy and was poised to qualify to the 1996 Olympics before getting eliminated by South Korea) to lift up the quality and achievement of the Indonesian national football team. That hope was dashed when Kurniawan (and the rest of the Primavera boys) proved to be somewhat of a letdown when it came to delivering for the national team, which was evident following a series of failures at Southeast Asian as well as Asian tournaments. Nonetheless, he was a permanent fixture in the Indonesian national football team for a long time. To this day, he remains one of the most recognizable names in the history of Indonesian football.[citation needed]

Shunsuke Nakamura

Shunsuke Nakamura

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Shunsuke Nakamura is not to be confused with Shinsuke Nakamura, the Japanese professional wrestler/MMA fighter

Shunsuke Nakamura
Shunsuke2 20080622.png
Personal information
Full name Shunsuke Nakamura
Date of birth 24 June 1978 (1978-06-24) (age 31)
Place of birth Yokohama, Japan
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Attacking Midfielder / Winger
Club information
Current club Espanyol
Number 7
Youth career
1991–1994
1994–1997 Nissan F.C. Junior Youth
Toko Gakuen High School
Senior career1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1997–2002
2002–2005
2005–2009
2009– Yokohama Marinos
Reggina
Celtic
Espanyol 146 0(33)
081 0(11)
128 0(29)
002 00(0)
National team2
1996–1997
1998–2000
2000– Japan U20
Japan U23
Japan 011 00(2)
018 00(7)
087 0(23)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 23:25, 24 May 2009 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 15:54, 11 June 2009 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Shunsuke Nakamura (中村 俊輔, Nakamura Shunsuke?, born 24 June 1978 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture) is a Japanese football (soccer) player who currently plays for Espanyol in the Spanish top flight. He is one of the most prominent and successful Asian players to have played in Europe and on 13 September 2006 became the first Japanese player to score in the UEFA Champions League and the second Asian player to do so. He is also well known for his free kick-taking abilities.

He has won the Asian Cup in 2000 and 2004 with the Japanese national football team, and was named Most Valuable Player in the 2004 competition. He has also appeared in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, and the 2000 Summer Olympics as a member of the Japanese Under-23 team.

In his first season with Celtic, Nakamura helped the club win the Scottish Premier League and Scottish League Cup. His contributions to the Japanese national football team are represented by 22 goals. His former clubs include Yokohama F. Marinos and Reggina, for whom he scored 38 and 12 goals respectively before moving to Celtic on 25 July 2005 for a fee of around £2.75 million.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Playing style
* 2 Early years
* 3 Club career
o 3.1 Yokohama Marinos (1997-2002)
o 3.2 Reggina (2002-2005)
o 3.3 Celtic (2005-2009)
o 3.4 Espanyol (2009-Present)
* 4 National team
o 4.1 Youth national teams (1996-2000)
o 4.2 Under Troussier (2000-02)
o 4.3 Under Zico (2002-06)
* 5 Honours
o 5.1 Club and national team
o 5.2 Individual
* 6 Career statistics
* 7 National team career statistics
o 7.1 Appearances in major competitions
o 7.2 Goals for national team
o 7.3 National team Appearances
* 8 Personal life
* 9 References
* 10 External links

[edit] Playing style
Nakamura lining up a free kick

Nakamura is a winger and was usually deployed by Celtic on the right hand side of midfield. He had previously been positioned in the centre or on the left hand side of the pitch, since he is left-footed.

He is known for his vision and touch, as well as being a set-piece specialist. He can create scoring opportunities for his teammates but is also capable of scoring himself. Former Shimizu S-Pulse and Kashiwa Reysol manager and Tottenham Hotspur player Steve Perryman once remarked that Nakamura was so good, he "could open a tin of beans with his left foot".[1]

Slightly built, weighing just 68 kg, Nakamura has been criticized for lack of strength on the ball, and his physical weakness was one of the reason for his omission from Japan's 2002 FIFA World Cup squad. However, he has addressed this shortcoming during his three seasons in Italy and he has flourished in the more physical Scottish Premier League.
[edit] Early years

Born and raised in Yokohama, Japan, Nakamura began playing football competitively at age 5, playing with the local youth club side Misono FC until he entered junior high school. In fifth grade, he was selected for Yokohama's city all-star team's tour of the former Soviet Union, even though the team was only meant to include sixth graders.[citation needed]

In 1991 at age 12, he joined Nissan FC Junior Youth, the youth division of Nissan Motors' club side, which would become Yokohama Marinos when J. League began play in 1993.

However, Nakamura was not promoted to the Nissan FC Youth team in 1994, and he enrolled at Toko Gakuen High School in Kawasaki. There, Nakamura was named the most valuable player of Japan's national high school football tournament in 1995, and led the school to the tournament final in 1996.

After graduation from Toko Gakuen in 1997, Nakamura signed with the local club, Yokohama Marinos.
[edit] Club career
[edit] Yokohama Marinos (1997-2002)

In 1997, 19-year-old Nakamura joined Yokohama Marinos of J. League (later merged with Yokohama Flugels and renamed "Yokohama F. Marinos"), a club whose youth side he had played for when it was known as Nissan Motors FC. He made his début with Marinos on 16th April of that year against Gamba Osaka. Nakamura finished the season with 27 appearances and 5 goals.

In 2000, Nakamura had his best season in Yokohama, recording 5 goals and 11 assists, and winning the J League Most Valuable Player award.

Nakamura left Marinos during the 2002 season to join Reggina of Serie A, after the clubs agreed to a US$3.5 million transfer fee following a 6-month loan period.[2]
[edit] Reggina (2002-2005)

Following the disappointment of being omitted from Japan's final World Cup squad, Nakamura joined Italian club Reggina, newly promoted to Serie A. Expectations for Nakamura were high, as he was given the prestigious number 10 shirt from the start, and he responded by scoring in three consecutive matches early in the season.

However, Nakamura struggled with injuries, appearing in just 18 matches in the 2003-04 season, while the club struggled to avoid relegation all three seasons he played there. After three seasons in Italy, he felt it was time to move on.
[edit] Celtic (2005-2009)

Nakamura expressed interest in playing in Spain and media reports linked him to Atlético Madrid and Deportivo La Coruña of La Liga as well as Bundesliga teams Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer of 2005,[3] but Nakamura ultimately chose to join Scottish Premier League champions Celtic.
Nakamura warming up ahead of Celtic's clash with Dundee United on 5 August 2005

He made an immediate impact at Celtic, and was named Man of the Match in his début against Dundee United on 6 August 2005.[4] His creativity, as well as his work ethic and composure under pressure has won praise from teammates, manager Gordon Strachan and Celtic supporters.[5][6]

In his first season with Celtic, Nakamura won his first major club titles, the Scottish Premier League and Scottish League Cup.[7] On 13th September 2006, he played his début Champions League game against Manchester United at Old Trafford. He scored from a free kick to bring the game level at 2-2. However, the game ended with the home side winning 3-2. On 14 October 2006, in a league game against Dundee United at Tannadice Nakamura scored the first hat-trick of his Celtic career and won the Man of the Match award. The game ended 4-1 in Celtic's favour. On 21 November 2006, Nakamura scored perhaps the most important goal of his career to date with a 30-yard free-kick against Manchester United at Celtic Park in a crucial Champions League game. The goal resulted in Celtic progressing to the Champions League knockout stage for the first time.[8] On 26 December 2006, Nakamura chipped the ball over Dundee United's goalkeeper Derek Stillie at Celtic Park (He won the Goal of the Season award by this[9]). It was Nakamura's performance in the final 20 minutes of the game which allowed Celtic to escape with a point, prompting Gordon Strachan to proclaim him "a genius". [10]

On 25 February 2007, during the Scottish Cup quarter-final between Celtic and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Nakamura broke a bone in his left hand after an Inverness player stepped on it. However, Nakamura played in the next game on 3rd March against Dunfermline Athletic.[11] Gordon Strachan, said that they couldn’t play the second leg of the Champions League match against the European Champions AC Milan in San Siro without him.[12] He played in both legs of the fixture, the first of which was a 0-0 draw at Celtic Park, with Milan going on to win the tie 1-0 at the San Siro, after extra time.

On 22 April 2007 Celtic won their 41st league championship, and second in a row. The title was won in dramatic fashion by an injury time free-kick from Nakamura in a 2-1 victory against Kilmarnock.[13] The result left Celtic 13 points clear of Rangers with four matches remaining. Quite fittingly, later that day Nakamura was recognized by his peers by him winning the Scottish Professional Footballers' Association's player of the year award for 2007.[14] This was followed in May by the Scottish Football Writers' Association player of the year award[15] and both Players Player of the Year award and the Fans Player of the Year award at Celtic's own end of season awards ceremony. He was also awarded SPL goal of the season for his goal against Dundee Utd.[9]

Nakamura featured little in the first part of Celtic's 2007–08 campaign due to a knee injury which was picked up in a Champions League qualifying match against Spartak Moscow in August 2007 and repeatedly aggravated, including in a match against Motherwell on 27 October 2007,[16] after which Nakamura sat out for nearly three months. Nakamura returned to play on 12 January 2008, for Celtic's Scottish Cup match against Stirling Albion, in which he scored a goal.[17]

On 16 April 2008 Nakamura scored his first goal against Glasgow rivals Rangers in a 2-1 victory for Celtic. This goal made him the first ever Japanese player to score in an Old Firm game. He later had a goal bound effort illegally cleared off the line by Carlos Cuellar in the same match.

On 1 July, it was reported that newly-promoted Serie A side Bologna were interested in acquiring Nakamura's services from Celtic. However, the player has reiterated his desire to see out the remaining years of his contract until he returns to Yokohama F. Marinos to end his career.

On 13 September, Nakamura played his 100th Scottish Premier League match in a 4–2 victory against Motherwell.

On 28 February 2009, he scored a hat trick against St. Mirren in a 7-0 win.
[edit] Espanyol (2009-Present)

Many media have speculated that Nakamura returned to his hometown club Yokohama F. Marinos after the four year contract with Celtic. In June 2009, just before a medical checkup in Yokohama, the negotiation broke down due to unknown reasons. On 22 June 2009, it was announced that Nakamura had agreed terms with Spanish Primera Division side Espanyol.[18] He agreed to join on a two-year contract, subject to a medical examination. [19] He made his debut with "Los Pericos" in the first league match of the 2009-10 season against Athletic Bilbao, playing the entire game.
[edit] National team
Nakamura playing for the national team.
[edit] Youth national teams (1996-2000)

Nakamura's national team career with Japan started in 1996 as the only high school player selected to the Under-19 team for the Asia Youth Championship. The following year, he was a member of Japan's Under-20 team that finished in the final 8 of the FIFA World Youth Championship.

In 1999, Nakamura was selected a member of Japan's Under-23 team that won all its Asian qualifying matches in the run up to the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Nakamura formed a lethal combination in the attacking midfield with Shinji Ono on a team that would form the core of the Japanese national team, and included Atsushi Yanagisawa, Junichi Inamoto and Naohiro Takahara. In Sydney, Japan reached the quarterfinal round.
[edit] Under Troussier (2000-02)

Nakamura made his senior national team debut on 13 February 2000, in an Asian Cup qualifier match against Singapore. He scored his first national team goal against Brunei in the very next match on 16 February 2000, also in Asian Cup qualifying.

After helping Japan win Asian Cup 2000, Nakamura appeared to have cemented his place in the national team, having played every match of the tournament. However, his national team career took a sharp turn in a friendly match on 25 March 2001, a humiliating 5-0 loss to France. He did not play for the team led by manager Philippe Troussier again until almost a year later, in a friendly match against Ukraine on 21 March 2002.

Although Nakamura played in four friendly matches leading up to the 2002 World Cup Finals, he was left out of the 23-man squad to the disappointment of fans. In the second to last warm up match for the World Cup against Honduras, he scored two goals, one of them a curling shot made directly from a corner kick.[20] However, he picked up a knee injury against Honduras and did not play in the final warm up match, a 3-0 loss against Norway, and was ultimately not picked for the World Cup squad.[21]

Despite Nakamura's talents, Troussier could not find a place in his rigid, defensive-minded system. He believed Nakamura lacked the physique and stamina to play either the center or the left of the midfield, and had a surplus of players at both positions.[22]
[edit] Under Zico (2002-06)

After the World Cup, Troussier resigned as manager of Japan, and was replaced by former Brazil and Kashima Antlers star Zico. The new coach immediately brought the talented player back to the national team, starting Nakamura in his début against Jamaica.

Zico has lauded Nakamura's improvement since 2002, especially his physical development, stating, "Unquestionably, he has improved a great deal since his move to Serie A. He is the soul of our midfield."[23] Nakamura has flourished under Zico's attacking style and earned his place as the central playmaker. He led Japan to the championship at Asian Cup 2004, where he was named Most Valuable Player, and qualification for the 2006 World Cup Finals.[24] Nakamura also starred for Japan in the 2003 and 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, scoring a total of 4 goals in 6 matches.

Nakamura was suspended for the World Cup qualification match against North Korea on 8 June 2005 that clinched Japan's place in the 2006 Finals,[25] he nonetheless played a key role in the qualifying run and has replaced Hidetoshi Nakata as the main playmaker in Japan's attack.[26]

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup Nakamura scored the controversial opening goal in Japan's first game against Australia, which Australia came back to win 3-1.
[edit] Honours
[edit] Club and national team

* J. League 1st stage: 2000
* J. League Cup: 2001
* AFC Asian Cup: 2000, 2004
* Scottish Premier League: 2006, 2007, 2008
* Scottish League Cup: 2006, 2009
* Scottish Cup: 2007

[edit] Individual

* J. League Best Eleven: 1999, 2000
* J. League Most Valuable Player: 2000
* FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Shoe Award: 2003
* AFC Asian Cup Best Eleven: 2000, 2004
* AFC Asian Cup Most Valuable Player: 2004
* SPFA Players' Player of the Year: 2007
* SFWA Footballer of the Year: 2007
* Scottish PFA Goal of the Season: 2007
* Scottish PFA's Team of the Season: 2007[27]
* Scottish Premier League Player of the Month: 2007 (February)
* Celtic Player of The Year: 2007[28]
* Celtic Fans Player of the Year: 2007[28]

[edit] Career statistics

As of 24 May, 2009
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Japan League Emperor's Cup J. League Cup Asia Total
1997 Yokohama Marinos J. League Division 1 27 5 1 0 3 0 - 31 5
1998 33 9 0 0 4 1 - 37 10
1999 26 7 3 1 4 0 - 33 8
2000 30 5 2 0 4 1 - 36 6
2001 24 3 1 0 6 2 - 31 5
2002 8 4 - - - 8 4
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
2002-03 Reggina Serie A 32 7 4 1 - - 36 8
2003-04 16 2 2 0 - - 18 2
2004-05 33 2 0 0 - - 33 2
Scotland League Scottish Cup Scottish League Cup Europe Total
2005-06 Celtic Premier League 33 6 1 0 4 0 - 38 6
2006-07 37 9 4 0 0 0 8 2 49 11
2007-08 26 6 4 1 0 0 4 0 34 7
2008-09 32 8 2 0 3 1 5 0 42 9
Spain League Copa del Rey Copa de la Liga Europe Total
2009-10 Espanyol La Liga 5 0 - - 5 0
Total Japan 148 33 7 1 21 4 - 176 38
Italy 81 11 6 1 - - 87 12
Scotland 128 29 11 1 7 1 17 2 163 33
Spain 5 0 - - 4 0
Career Total 362 73 24 3 28 5 17 2 431 83
[edit] National team career statistics
[edit] Appearances in major competitions
Year Competition Category Appearances Goals Team Record
Start Sub
1997 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship U-20 5 0 1 Quarter-finals
2000 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification Senior 3 0 2 Qualified
2000 2000 Olympics U-23 4 0 0 Quarter-finals
2000 2000 AFC Asian Cup Senior 5 0 0 Champion
2003 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup Senior 2 0 3 Round 1
2004 2004 AFC Asian Cup Senior 6 0 2 Champion
2005 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup Senior 3 0 1 Round 1
2004-2005 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification Senior 7 1 1 Qualified
2006 2006 FIFA World Cup Senior 3 0 1 Round 1
2007 2007 AFC Asian Cup Senior 6 0 2 4th Place
2008-2009 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Senior 11 0 1 On going
[edit] Goals for national team
Shunsuke Nakamura: International Goals # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 16 February 2000 Macau, China Brunei 9-0 Won Asian Cup 2000 Qual
2. 11 June 2000 Miyagi, Japan Slovakia 1-1 Draw Friendly
3. 16 August 2000 Hiroshima, Japan United Arab Emirates 3-1 Won Friendly
4. 2 May 2002 Kobe, Japan Honduras 3-3 Draw Friendly
5. 2 May 2002 Kobe, Japan Honduras 3-3 Draw Friendly
6. 28 March 2003 Tokyo, Japan Uruguay 2-2 Draw Friendly
7. 18 June 2003 Paris, France New Zealand 3-0 Won Confederations Cup 2003 Group Stage
8. 18 June 2003 Paris, France New Zealand 3-0 Won Confederations Cup 2003 Group Stage
9. 20 June 2003 Saint-Étienne, France France 1-2 Lost Confederations Cup 2003 Group Stage
10. 9 June 2004 Saitama, Japan India 7-0 Won World Cup 2006 Qual
11. 20 July 2004 Chongqing, China Oman 1-0 Won Asian Cup 2004 Group Stage
12. 24 July 2004 Chongqing, China Thailand 4-1 Won Asian Cup 2004 Group Stage
13. 22 June 2005 Cologne, Germany Brazil 2-2 Draw Confederations Cup 2005 Group Stage
14. 7 September 2005 Miyagi, Japan Honduras 5-4 Won Friendly
15. 8 October 2005 Riga, Latvia Latvia 2-2 Draw Friendly
16. 12 June 2006 Kaiserslautern, Germany Australia 1-3 Lost World Cup 2006 Group Stage
17. 13 July 2007 Hanoi, Vietnam United Arab Emirates 3-1 Won 2007 AFC Asian Cup Group Stage
18. 16 July 2007 Hanoi, Vietnam Vietnam 4-1 Won 2007 AFC Asian Cup Group Stage
19. 11 September 2007 Klagenfurt, Austria Switzerland 4-3 Won Friendly
20. 11 September 2007 Klagenfurt, Austria Switzerland 4-3 Won Friendly
21. 2 June 2008 Yokohama, Japan Oman 3-0 Won World Cup 2010 Qual
22. 6 September 2008 Riffa, Bahrain Bahrain 3-2 Won World Cup 2010 Qual
23. 28 March 2009 Saitama, Japan Bahrain 1-0 Won World Cup 2010 Qual
[edit] National team Appearances
Year Appearances Goals
2000 16 3
2001 1 0
2002 6 2
2003 8 4
2004 15 3
2005 11 2
2006 6 2
2007 10 4
2008 9 2
2009 9 1
Total 91 23
[edit] Personal life

Nakamura married a former Japanese talent in 2004. In the same year, his first son was born. His second son was born on 15 January 2008 in Glasgow, Scotland. Nakamura enjoys baseball, which is the most popular sport in Japan. His favourite team is Yomiuri Giants. He bats right-handed and throws right-handed though he is a left-footed footballer. According to the Evening Times, he is a fan of the Grand Theft Auto and Gran Turismo video games. He has appeared with Zico on the front cover of the Japanese releases of Konami's Winning Eleven video game series (WE 5 WE 9, WE 9: Ubiquitous Evolution and WE 10) in 2001, 2005 and 2006. He also appeared on the front cover of Namco's Football Kingdom Trial Edition in 2004. He is the paid promoter of the Yamada electronics chain. His current boot sponsor is Adidas.
[edit] References

1. ^ FC Japan
2. ^ CNNSI.com - Soccer - Italy: Nakamura confirms move to Reggina - Thursday 4 July 2002 07:26 AM
3. ^ ESPNsoccernet - Europe - Nakamura set for Primera Liga switch
4. ^ He's the Orient express - Scotsman.com Sport
5. ^ http://www.celticfc.net/newsroom/news.aspx?id='2005-12-12_1152ss'
6. ^ Scottish Football News - Shunsuke Nakamura :: Soccerphile
7. ^ ABC Sport Online - World Cup 2006 - Shunsuke Nakamura: Creative heartbeat
8. ^ Celtic into knockout phase with win over Man Utd
9. ^ a b BBC SPORT | Football | Scottish Premier | Nakamura takes top player award
10. ^ http://www.celticfc.net/newsroom/news.aspx?id='2006-12-27_1252df'
11. ^ "Celts ease past Pars". http://www.celticfc.net/newsroom/news.aspx?id='2007-03-03_1707df'. Retrieved 2007-03-05.
12. ^ "Celts ease past Pars". http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070301-00000051-sph-socc'. Retrieved 2007-03-01.
13. ^ Colin Moffat, Kilmarnock 1-2 Celtic, BBC Sport, 22 April 2007
14. ^ Nakamura takes top player award, BBC News, 22 April 2007, Retrieved 22 April 2007
15. ^ Nakamura gets top writers' prize BBC Sport Online, 2007-05-02 Retrieved 2007-05-02
16. ^ Gordon, Phil (2007-11-22). "Shunsuke Nakamura out of Champions League as knee fails to improve". Times Online. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/scotland/article2918103.ece. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
17. ^ "Celtic 3-0 Stirling Albion". RTE Sport. 2008-01-12. http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2008/0112/celticstirling.html. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
18. ^ "Nakamura snubs Yokohama to join Espanyol". Japan Today. 22 June 2009. http://www.japantoday.com/category/sports/view/nakamura-snubs-yokohama-to-join-espanyol.
19. ^ "Espanyol seal deal for Nakamura". BBC Sport. 23 June 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/8101864.stm. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
20. ^ CNNSI.com - 2002 World Cup - Santos lifts Japan to 3-3 draw with Honduras - Thursday 2 May 2002 01:30 PM
21. ^ ESPNsoccernet.com World Cup 2002: Japan veterans given surprise call-up
22. ^ FC Japan
23. ^ ESPNsoccernet - Europe - Celtic chase signing of Nakamura
24. ^ http://www.fifa.com/en/news/interview/0,4323,110314-N,00.html
25. ^ http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/050608/1/3tgq.html
26. ^ http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/050922/1/4pwd.html
27. ^ SPFA's team of the 2006/07 season
28. ^ a b Clean sweep for Nakamura

zico

Zico

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Not to be confused with Xico (footballer).
Zico Zico as a head coach of PFC CSKA Moscow
Personal information
Full name Arthur Antunes Coimbra
Date of birth 3 March 1953 (1953-03-03) (age 56)
Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position Playmaker / Second striker
Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club Olympiacos F.C. (Manager)
Youth career
1967–1971 Flamengo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)†
1971–1983 Flamengo 212 (123)
1983–1985 Udinese 039 0(22)
1985–1989 Flamengo 037 0(12)
1991–1992 Sumitomo Metals 022 0(21)
1992–1994 Kashima Antlers 024 0(15)
Total 334 (193)
National team
1976–1988 Brazil 072 0(52)[2]
Teams managed
1999 Kashima Antlers
2002–2006 Japan
2006–2008 Fenerbahçe
2008 Bunyodkor
2009 CSKA Moscow
2009– Olympiacos
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Arthur Antunes Coimbra (Portuguese pronunciation: [axˈtux ɐ̃ˈtũnis koˈĩbrɐ]; born 3 March 1953 in Rio de Janeiro), better known as Zico ([ˈziku]), is a Brazilian coach and former footballer. Often called the White Pelé, he is commonly considered one of the most skilled dribblers and finishers ever and possibly the world's best player of the early 80's[3]. He was also known as one of history's greatest free kick specialists, able to bend the ball with pace and accuracy as well as having an extremely powerful shot. The gifted midfielder was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. Also according to Pelé, generally considered the best footballer ever, "throughout the years, the one player that came closest to me was Zico"[4].

Zico scored 52 goals in 72 international matches for Brazil, and represented them in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups. They didn’t win any of those tournaments, even though the 1982 squad is considered one of the greatest Brazilian national squads ever [5] - along with the one that won the 1970 World Cup. Zico is often considered one of the best players in football history not to have been on a World Cup winning squad. He was chosen 1983 Player of the Year.

Zico has coached the Japanese national team, appearing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and winning the Asian Cup 2004, and Fenerbahce, who were a quarter-finalist in 2007-08 in the Champions League under his command. He was announced as the head coach of CSKA Moscow in January 2009. On September 16, 2009, Zico was signed by Greek side Olympiacos F.C. for a two-year contract after the club's previous coach, Georgian Temuri Ketsbaia, was sacked.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Playing career
o 1.1 Brief retirement
o 1.2 Japan
* 2 Retirement, Beach Soccer and CFZ
* 3 Statistics
o 3.1 Major achievements
+ 3.1.1 Club honours
+ 3.1.2 International honours
+ 3.1.3 Individual honours
+ 3.1.4 Beach Soccer
* 4 Coaching career
o 4.1 Japan
o 4.2 Fenerbahçe
o 4.3 Bunyodkor
o 4.4 CSKA Moscow
o 4.5 Olympiakos C.F.P
o 4.6 Honours as a manager
* 5 Trivia
* 6 References
* 7 External links

[edit] Playing career

Zico came from a lower-middle-class family, in the neighborhood of Quintino, Rio de Janeiro. In common with many Brazilians, he spent much of his youth dreaming of playing professional football. In 1967, while still a teenager, he had a scheduled trial at América, where his brothers Antunes and Edu were playing at the time. But he caught the attention of the radio reporter and friend, Celso Garcia, who asked Zico's father to take him to a trial at Flamengo instead. Being a fan of Flamengo, Zico had his father approval, beginning his path towards being one of the most admired players in history of the sport.

Physically Zico was not strong, and his history of determination and discipline began with a hard muscle and body development program conducted by the Physical Education teacher José Roberto Francalacci. A combination of hard work and also a special diet sponsored by his team enabled him to develop a strong body and become an athlete. This later proved to be essential for his success.[6]

In 1971, he had some appearances in the professional team but only one year later, after 116 matches and 81 goals in the youth team, Zico was promoted to Flamengo's professional squad.

While at Flamengo, Zico was a key player during the most glorious period of the team's history. Along with many other titles, in his first period at Flamengo he led the team to victory in the 1981 Copa Libertadores, the 1981 Intercontinental Cup, and four national titles (1980/82/83/87). On the field, Zico made goals in all imaginable ways, was also a great assister and team organizer, and was known for his excellent vision of the field. He was a two-footed player and an expert at free kicks.[5]

In the 1978 World Cup against Sweden, Zico headed a corner kick into the goal in the final minute of the match, apparently breaking a 1-1 tie. However, in a call that became infamous, the Welsh referee Clive Thomas disallowed the goal, saying that he had blown the whistle to end the match while the ball was still in the air.[7]

In a multi-million dollar transaction, he was hired to play for Udinese, in Italy, from 1983 to 1985. Though leaving some Brazilian fans in sadness, he led Udinese to be among the best Italian teams. In Italy, Zico had personal disputes against Juventus's Michel Platini and Napoli's Diego Maradona. In the 1983-84 Italian League season, Zico scored 19 goals - one less than the championship top scorer Platini, having played 6 matches less than the French footballer.

Ultimately Udinese failed to win any relevant competition and Zico eventually went back to Brazil and Flamengo, sponsored by a group of companies.

On his return, he suffered a knee injury after a violent tackle from Bangu's defender Marcio Nunes, which interrupted his career for several months. He played in the 1986 FIFA World Cup while still injured, and missed a penalty during regular time in the quarter-final match against France. The match ended in a tie which led to a shootout. Zico then scored his goal but after penalties missed by Sócrates and Júlio César, Brazil was knocked out. Recovered from injuries, things improved for Zico in 1987 when he led Flamengo to their fourth national title.[8]

In December 1989 Zico made his last official appearance for Flamengo in a Brazilian National Championship match against rivals Fluminense. Zico made the first goal and Flamengo won the match by 5-0[9].

Two months later, he would play his last match as a Flamengo player facing a World Cup Masters team composed of names like Gerets, Gentile, Causio, Tarantini, Valdano, Kempes, Breitner, Rummenigge and Falcão.[10]

With 731 matches for Flamengo, Zico is the player with the 2nd most appearances for the club. His 508 goals make him the club's top scorer ever.

The achievements of the greatest idol in Flamengo's history[11][12] inspired the Brazilian singer Jorge Benjor to write a song in his honour - Camisa 10 da Gávea - helping create the mystique of the club's number 10.

Zico also represented Brazil in the World Cup of Masters, scoring in the final of the 1990 and 1991 editions.
[edit] Brief retirement

After Brazil's first presidential election in many years, the new president Fernando Collor de Mello appointed Zico as his Minister of Sports. Zico stayed at this political assignment for about a year and his most important contribution was a piece of legislation dealing with the business side of sport teams.
[edit] Japan

Zico interrupted his political assignment when he accepted the offer to join the Sumitomo Metal Industries Soccer Club in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture to help the club secure a place in Japan's first professional soccer league that was set to launch in 1993. Zico played for Sumitomo in 1992, the last season before the old Japan Soccer League was disbanded and reformed as the fully professional J. League. When the new league launched, the small town club, renamed Kashima Antlers, was not expected to compete with richer, more glamorous clubs like Yokohama Marinos and Verdy Kawasaki. However, Zico helped the Antlers to a runners-up finish in its inaugural season and the club cemented its place among the league's elite.

His discipline, talent and professionalism meshed very well with Japanese culture, and his influence earned him the nickname, "God of Soccer" (サッカーの神様, sakkā no kamisama?) from Japanese soccer fans.[13]
[edit] Retirement, Beach Soccer and CFZ

Zico retired from professional football during the 1994 season but received an invitation to play Beach Soccer. He returned to Kashima to become the Antlers' technical adviser in 1995, splitting his time between Japan and Brazil - where he still managed to find time to play Beach Soccer. One year later, in 1996, he founded CFZ (Zico Football Centre) in Rio de Janeiro. By this time, he was a local legend in Japan for having built a contender from almost nothing and putting the city of Kashima on the map. A statue in his honor stands outside Kashima Stadium.[14]
[edit] Statistics

* This information includes Zico's official, friendly, and exhibition games.

Team Matches Goals Goal average
Flamengo 731 508 0.69
Udinese 79 56 0.69
Sumitomo Metals 31 27 0.87
Kashima Antlers 57 27 0.47
Brazil National Team 88 66 0.75
Brazil Olympic Team 8 1 0.12
Youth Teams 116 81 0.69
Various Select Teams 70 60 0.85
Total 1,180 826 0.70

* This information is based on Zico's senior career totals. [15]

Club Season Domestic
League Domestic
Regional League Domestic
Cups1 Continental
Competitions2 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Flamengo 1971 15 2 - - - - - - 15 2
1972 4 0 2 0 - - - - 6 0
1973 26 8 9 0 - - - - 35 8
1974 19 12 31 20 - - - - 50 32
1975 27 10 28 30 - - - - 55 40
1976 20 14 27 18 - - - - 47 32
1977 18 10 29 27 - - - - 47 37
1978 0 0 22 19 - - - - 22 19
1979 8 5 17 + 26 (43) 26 + 34 (60) - - - - 51 65
1980 19 21 26 19 - - - - 45 40
1981 8 3 33 25 - - 13 11 54 + 13 39
1982 23 21 21 21 - - 4 2 48 44
1983 25 17 - - - - 3 3 28 20
Total 212 123 271 239 - - 20 16 504 378
Udinese 1983-84 24 19 - - 9 5 - - 33 24
1984-85 15 3 - - 5 3 - - 20 6
Total 39 22 - - 14 8 - - 53 30
Flamengo
1985 3 1 3 2 - - - - 6 3
1986 0 0 4 3 - - - - 4 3
1987 12 5 5 1 - - - - 17 6
1988 14 4 6 0 - - - - 20 4
1989 8 2 11 2 7 2 1 0 27 6
Total 37 12 29 8 7 2 1 0 74 22
Sumitomo Metals
1991-92 22 21 - - - - - - 22 21
Kashima Antlers
1992 - - - - 12 7 - - 12 7
1993 17 10 - - 7 3 - - 24 13
1994 7 5 - - - - - - 7 5
Total 46 36 - - 19 10 - - 65 46
Career Totals 334 193 300 247 40 20 21 16 696 476

1Domestic Cups include Copa do Brasil, Coppa Italia, J. League Cup and Emperor's Cup
2Continental competitions include Copa Libertadores and Supercopa Sudamericana
3Include Intercontinental Cup
[edit] Major achievements
[edit] Club honours

* Rio State Championship 1972, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1979 (special), 1981, 1986
* Brazilian Championship 1980, 1982, 1983, 1987
* Libertadores Cup 1981
* Intercontinental Cup 1981
* J.League 1st Stage Championship 1993

[edit] International honours

* 1978 FIFA World Cup: Third place
* 1982 FIFA World Cup: Round 2 (5th place)
* 1986 FIFA World Cup: Quarter-finals (5th place)

[edit] Individual honours

* 1974 "Bola de Ouro" Brazilian Footballer of the Year Placar Magazine (Brazil)
* 1974 Silver Ball Placar Magazine (Brazil)
* 1974 - Set a goal record in a single season as a Flamengo player - 49 goals
* 1975 Rio State Championship Top Scorer - 30 goals
* 1975 Silver Ball Placar Magazine (Brazil)
* 1976 - Set a goal record in a single season as a Flamengo player - 56 goals
* 1977 Rio State Championship Top Scorer - 27 goals
* 1977 Silver Ball Placar Magazine (Brazil)
* 1977 South American Footballer of the Year - El Mundo (Venezuela)
* 1978 Rio State Championship Top Scorer - 19 goals
* 1979 Rio State Championship Top Scorer - 26 goals
* 1979 Rio State Championship Top Scorer(Special) - 34 goals
* 1980 Brazilian Championship Top Scorer - 21 goals
* 1981 Libertadores Cup Best Player
* 1981 Libertadores Cup Top Scorer - 11 goals
* 1981 Intercontinental Cup Best Player
* 1981 South American Footballer of the Year - El Mundo (Venezuela)
* 1981 World Footballer of the Year - Guerin Esportivo (Italy), El Mundo(Venezuela), El Balón (Spain), Placar Magazine (Brazil)
* 1982 Rio State Championship Top Scorer - 21 goals
* 1982 "Bola de Ouro" Brazilian Footballer of the Year Placar Magazine (Brazil)
* 1982 Silver Ball Placar Magazine (Brazil)
* 1982 Brazilian Championship Top Scorer - 21 goals
* 1982 Brazilian Top Scorer of the year - 59 goals
* 1982 World Cup bronze shoe
* 1982 World Cup All-Star Team player
* 1982 South American Footballer of the Year - El Mundo (Venezuela) - El Gráfico (Argentina), El Mundo (Venezuela)
* 1983 Player of the year World Soccer
* 1984 Premier (chevron[disambiguation needed]) Player of the Year Italian League 83/84
* 1984 Second highest scorer of the Italian League - 19 goals
* 1984 3rd Best Player of the Year - World Soccer Magazine
* 1987 Silver Ball Placar Magazine (Brazil)
* 1992 Japan Soccer League record for goals scored in consecutive matches - 11 goals in 10 straight matches
* Top Scorer in Flamengo's history - 568 goals
* Top Scorer in Maracanã Stadium's history - 333 goals
* 1999 3rd best Brazilian player of the 20th century
* 1999 IFFHS 7 Best player in South America in the 20th century
* 1999 IFFHS Players of the 20th century
* France Football Players of the 20th century
* World Soccer Players of the 20th century
* FIFA 100
* 2000 Hall of the Fame FIFA
* 2006 Prize Golden Foot Award (Legend of Football)

[edit] Beach Soccer

* Beach Soccer World Championship 1995, 1996
* American cup Beach Soccer 1995, 1996
* 1995 Beach Soccer World Championship Top Scorer - 12 goals
* 1995 Beach Soccer World Championship Best Player

[edit] Coaching career
[edit] Japan

After the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Japan Football Association looked for a replacement for the outgoing Philippe Troussier, and chose Zico as his successor. Despite his lack of coaching experience besides his stint as Brazil's technical coordinator during the 1998 World Cup, Zico had great understanding of Japanese soccer from his playing days and his role as Kashima's technical director. In addition, JFA had grown tired of Troussier's clashes with the media while the players were frustrated with his micromanagement. In contrast, Zico commanded respect from reporters and urged players to express themselves on the pitch.[16]

Although Zico attempted to instill a free-flowing, attacking mentality to the team, his regime got off to an uneven start, which included a 4-1 loss to Argentina in 2003. Japan had a respectable showing at that year's Confederations Cup but struggled again in the beginning of 2004, only narrowly beating Oman in the first stage of qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and several players were suspended after a drinking incident.[17] Although Japan had not lost in its nine previous matches, he was rumored to be on the verge of resigning and a small group of fans marched in the streets of Tokyo demanding his firing.[18]

He stayed on, however, and won the 2004 Asian Cup despite intimidation from Chinese fans and a team that featured just one European-based player, Shunsuke Nakamura.[19] He then helped Japan qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup with just one loss.

Despite the rocky start, injuries to key players and even a bizarre offer from Garforth Town,[20] Zico has led Japan to its third World Cup finals appearance and the third Asian Cup title in four tries. His Japanese team is heavily influenced by Brazil's short passing style, but he has been flexible enough to switch between 4-4-2 and 3-5-2 formations. In addition, he has had a respectable record on European soil, beating Czech Republic and Greece and drawing with England, Brazil and most recently Germany.

However, Japan failed to win a single match at the Finals, losing twice (to Australia and Brazil) and drawing once (to Croatia), and scoring just two goals while conceding seven. He resigned from Japan at the end of the World Cup campaign.
[edit] Fenerbahçe

In July 2006, signed a two-year deal with Fenerbahçe.[21] He won the league title in 2007 and won Turkish Super Cup on the first year of his job. Under his command Fenerbahce has qualified from UEFA Champions League 2007-08 groups stage for the first time of club's history and beat Sevilla FC to become a quarter-finalist in 2007-08 season. So far, he also is the team's most successful manager in the history of the European arena.

Zico was given a new nickname by Fenerbahçe fans: Kral Arthur (meaning "King Arthur" in Turkish). For the team's nickname King Arthur and his Knights. In a chat hosted by uefa.com he pointed out that it is unlikely he will sign a contract extension with Fenerbahçe. This was confirmed on 10 June 2008 when he resigned as Fenerbahce manager.

On 8 September 2008, Zico revealed that he would be interested taking over the vacant managers position at Newcastle United following the resignation of Kevin Keegan. He is quoted saying "The Newcastle job is one that I would be very interested in taking. It would be a privilege and an honour, I've always wanted to experience the Premier League as I believe I could enjoy much success coaching in England." He also commented that he isn't bothered about the structure of the board at Newcastle United, "I am used to working alongside technical directors so this isn't an issue for me. It's normal for me to work in those conditions."
[edit] Bunyodkor

In 2008, he coached FC Bunyodkor in Uzbekistan, where he won the Uzbekistani Cup and the Uzbek League.
[edit] CSKA Moscow

He has last coaching CSKA Moscow and was fired on 10 September 2009
[edit] Olympiakos C.F.P

He signed a 2-year contract with Greek side Olympiacos F.C. on September 16, 2009.[22][23]
[edit] Honours as a manager

* Japan Japan
o Asian Cup: 2004
* Fenerbahçe Turkey
o Turkcell Super League: 2006-07
o Turkish Super Cup: 2007
* Bunyodkor Uzbekistan
o Uzbekistani Cup: 2008
o Uzbek League: 2008
* CSKA Moscow Russia
o Russian Super Cup: 2009
o Russian Cup (football): 2008-09

[edit] Trivia
Ambox style.png
Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (November 2007)

* Zico has appeared on the cover of the Japanese releases of Winning Eleven video games between 2003 and 2006 (Winning Eleven 7 - Winning Eleven 10).
* Kiatisuk Senamuang, the most capped player in Thailand national football team, has been named "Zico" adapted from his since-born nickname, "Ko".
* He was featured in the FIFA 06, FIFA 07, FIFA 08 and FIFA 09 Classic XI team.
* Zico has a Super Famicom game named after him called Zico Soccer.
* He has assembled a veteran team in Turkey which has as members Roberto Carlos's father Oscar Silva, Zico's brother and Fenerbahçe Assistant Manager Edu and Fenerbahçe Conditioner Moraci Vasconcelos Sant'anna (who has won 3 world cups as coach of Brazil).
* He lists 1981 Copa Libertadores final vs Cobreloa, and winning the 2004 AFC Asian Cup as his most memorable moments as a player and as a coach, respectively.[24]
* When he was still a kid in the youth team of Flamengo, he was chosen to receive the shoes from the famous Flamengo midfield player Carlinhos in his farewell match. Some years later, Carlinhos would become Zico's coach in the campaign of his fourth Brazilian Championship title, in 1987.[25]
* He, his brother Edu and his son Thiago Coimbra all played for Rio de Janeiro club Flamengo.
* His son, Thiago Coimbra currently plays for Portuguese Liga Vitalis team Portimonense S.C..

[edit] References

1. ^ "Biography for Zico". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0955999/bio.
2. ^ Brazil - Record International Players
3. ^ John Brewin (2002-04-23). "World Cup 1982 (Spain)". Soccernet. http://worldcup.espnsoccernet.com/story?id=203639. Retrieved 2006-07-03.
4. ^ Oswaldo Tinhorão
5. ^ a b Daniel Pearl (2006-04-03). "No flair please, he's Brazilian". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/4866312.stm. Retrieved 2006-07-03.
6. ^ "From Quintino's Juventude to Flamengo". http://www.ziconarede.com.br/znrpub/historia/ig_hist_idolo.htm#Do%20Juventude%20ao%20Flamengo..
7. ^ "Zico - Legends of the Football World Cup". http://www.world-cup-betting-2006.com/legend-zico.htm. Retrieved June 23 2006.
8. ^ "Zico conquers The World". http://www.ziconarede.com.br/znrpub/historia/ig_hist_idolo.htm#Zico%20conquista%20o%20Mundo.
9. ^ http://www.flaestatistica.com/t1989.htm (See match 62: C.R. Flamengo 5 x 0 Fluminense (RJ)
10. ^ "Maracanã 90: Almost a goodbye". http://www.ziconarede.com.br/znrpub/historia/ig_hist_evehist.htm#maracana%2090..
11. ^ (Portuguese) "Zico: Profile". http://esporte.uol.com.br/copa/2006/selecaobrasileira/jogadores/idolos/zico.jhtm..
12. ^ (Portuguese) "Zico - 50 years". http://jbonline.terra.com.br/jb/esporte/zico/.
13. ^ (German) Matthias Greulich (June 22 2006). "The savior ventures more democracy". Der Spiegel. http://www.spiegel.de/sport/fussball/0,1518,422830,00.html.
14. ^ Dominic Raynor (2006-05-24). "Rising sons with higher hopes". Soccernet. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=368863&root=worldcup&cc=5901.
15. ^ According to data from rsssf.com, ziconarede.com and flaestatistica.com
16. ^ "Japan look to Zico". 2002 FIFA World Cup. 2002-08-01. http://2002.fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/02/en/020731/2/1caf.html.
17. ^ "Japanese players dropped over alleged drinking incident". Associated Press. 2004-03-19. http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/latest_soccer_news/416326.html.
18. ^ "Under-fire Zico gets boost from supporters". Agence France-Presse. 2004-03-06. http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/040306/6/sk3.html.
19. ^ "Hand of Nakata gives Japan Asian Cup victory". Agence France-Presse. 2004-08-07. http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/040807/6/1yfk.html.
20. ^ "Samba stars to join Garforth Town". BBC. 2004-10-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/funny_old_game/3957519.stm. Retrieved 2005-10-29.
21. ^ "Fenerbahçe sign Zico as coach". Reuters. 2006-07-04. http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldFootballNews&storyID=2006-07-04T144440Z_01_L04655526_RTRIDST_0_SPORT-SOCCER-FENERBAHCE.XML. Retrieved 2006-07-04.
22. ^ "Zico takes charge at Olympiacos". UEFA (uefa.com). 2009-09-16. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/news/kind=1/newsid=888959.html. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
23. ^ "Brazilian Zico appointed as Olympiakos coach". ESPN (soccernet.espn.go.com). 2009-09-16. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=676789&cc=5739. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
24. ^ "Zico: I'm living out my passion". Fifa.com World Football. August 13, 2007. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=568540.html#zico+im+living+passion. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
25. ^ "Biografia". Jornal do Brasil Online. http://jbonline.terra.com.br/jb/esporte/zico/biografia.html. Retrieved 2007-09-28.

Markus Haris Maulana

Markus Haris Maulana

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(Find sources: Markus Haris Maulana – news, books, scholar)
Markus Haris Maulana
Personal information
Full name Markus Haris Maulana
Date of birth March 14, 1981 (1981-03-14) (age 28)
Place of birth Pangkalan Brandan, Indonesia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club Indonesia Arema Malang
Youth career
1998-2000 Diklat PPLP Sumatra Selatan
Senior career1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-08
2008
2009 Indonesia PSL Langkat
Indonesia PS Batam
Indonesia PSKB Binjai
Indonesia PSMS Medan
Indonesia Persik Kediri
Indonesia PSMS Medan
Indonesia Arema Malang
National team
2007- Indonesia Indonesia 3 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Markus Haris Maulana (born Markus Horison Ririhina on 14 March 1981 in Pangkalan Brandan, North Sumatra) is an Indonesian footballer. He is a goalkeeper and he stands 183 cm.

He is now the regular member of the Indonesia national football team. His debut in the Senior National Team Squad came in a friendly match Indonesia against Hongkong on 1 June 2007, which Indonesia won the match 3–0. He played one time in Asian Cup 2007 for Indonesia's match against South Korea on 18 July 2007. Indonesia lost 0–1 in this game. He participated in PON 2000 in East Java and PON 2004 in Sumatera Selatan.

Markus now plays for his new club Persik Kediri, after being transferred from PSMS Medan. But in the mid season of 2008/09, he was transferred to his former club, PSMS Medan.

As of 2009–10 season of Indonesia Super League, Markus is currently playing for Arema Malang.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Achievements
o 1.1 With PSMS Medan
o 1.2 With National Team
* 2 External links

[edit] Achievements
[edit] With PSMS Medan

* 3 times winning Bang Yos Gold Cup (2004, 2005, 2006)
* 1 time chosen as man of the match final in Bang Yos Gold Cup 2006

[edit] With National Team

* First Round in Asian Cup (2007)

[edit] External links

* Markus Haris Maulana at National-Football-Teams.com
* (Indonesian) Markus Page on Friendster
* (Indonesian) Second Page Markus on Friendster

[hide]
v • d • e
Indonesia squad – 2007 AFC Asian Cup
1 Pitoy · 2 Ridwan · 3 Iba · 4 Salampessy · 5 Abdurahman · 6 Yulianto · 7 Ramdani ·8 Aiboy · 9 Panggabean · 11 Astaman · 12 Rotinsulu · 13 Sudarsono · 14 Sofyan · 15 Utina · 16 Chaeruddin · 17 Atep · 19 Arief ·20 Pamungkas · 21 Saputra · 22 Supardi ·23 Horison · 27 Amiruddin · 28 Jufriyanto · Coach: Kolev

Indonesia

Bambang Pamungkas

Bambang Pamungkas

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Bambang Pamungkas
Personal information
Full name Bambang Pamungkas
Date of birth June 10, 1980 (1980-06-10) (age 29)
Place of birth Salatiga, Indonesia
Height 171 cm
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Persija Jakarta
Senior career1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1999-2000
2000-2001
2001-2004
2005-2006
2007- Persija Jakarta
EHC Norad
Persija Jakarta
Selangor FA
Persija Jakarta 30 (24)
?? (??)
96 (52)
42 (39)
?? (13)
National team
1999- Indonesia 64 (34)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Bambang Pamungkas is an Indonesian footballer. His natural position is central forward. Pamungkas made his name in South East Asian football when he scored the lone goal for Indonesia at the 2002 Tiger Cup against Malaysia.[citation needed]
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Club career
* 2 Honours
o 2.1 Club and national team
o 2.2 Individual honors
* 3 External links

[edit] Club career

Pamungkas spent most of his playing career in Indonesia. According to his agent in Europe, Anthony van Dalen, there were several clubs in Europe that would hand him trials, such as Roda JC Kerkrade from Holland, and FC Koeln and Borussia Mönchengladbach from Germany. However, Pamungkas decided to join EHC Norad, a Third Division club in Holland.

After a year of playing in Holland, he decided not to extend his contract and returned to Indonesia. Soon afterwards, he received an offer to play in the Malaysian Football League with Selangor FC. He completed the transfer to Malaysia along with national team-mate Elie Aiboy. In his first season in Malaysia, he won the Malaysian Premier League, Malaysian FA Cup, and Malaysian Cup) and became the top-scorer with 24 goal in 24 matches in Malaysian Premier League with total of 39 goals in 3 competitions (Malaysian Premier League, Malaysian FA Cup, Malaysian Cup).

He was chosen Most Valuable Player in the 1996 Haornas Cup. He, with the Indonesian youth team, won the top-scorer in Asian Cup U-19 Group V, collecting 7 goals in the process.
[edit] Honours
[edit] Club and national team

* Liga Indonesia: 2000
* Malaysia Premier League: 2005
* Malaysia FA Cup: 2005
* Malaysia Cup: 2005

INDONESIA(1999-now)
[edit] Individual honors

* Liga Indonesia Top Scorer: 2000
* Liga Indonesia Player of the Year: 2001
* Malaysia Cup Player of the Year: 2005
* Copa Djie Sam Soe Player of the Year: 2007
* Copa Djie Sam Soe Striker of the Year: 2007
* Copa Djie Sam Soe Best Duet: 2007

Pamungkas made his 33rd goal in AFF Suzuki Cup 2008 first round against Cambodia. He made the fourth goal for Indonesia's winning 4-0. It was his second goal of the tournament. The first goal came when played against Myanmar (3-0).
[edit] External links

* (Indonesian) Official Website for Bambang Pamungkas

[hide]
v • d • e
Indonesia squad – 2007 AFC Asian Cup
1 Pitoy · 2 Ridwan · 3 Iba · 4 Salampessy · 5 Abdurahman · 6 Yulianto · 7 Ramdani ·8 Aiboy · 9 Panggabean · 11 Astaman · 12 Rotinsulu · 13 Sudarsono · 14 Sofyan · 15 Utina · 16 Chaeruddin · 17 Atep · 19 Arief ·20 Pamungkas · 21 Saputra · 22 Supardi ·23 Horison · 27 Amiruddin · 28 Jufriyanto · Coach: Kolev