Leonardo Nascimento de Araújo, known simply as Leonardo (born 5 September 1969 in Niterói, Brazil), is a retired football midfielder, who played for Brazil. He played in the 1994 FIFA World Cup winning side, as well as the runners up side in the 1998. On May 31, 2009, it was announced that Leonardo would succeed Carlo Ancelotti as coach of the Italian giants, AC Milan, with whom Leonardo had played as an attacking midfielder for several years, including his very last season.

Marco van Basten

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marcel "Marco" van Basten (31 October 1964 in Oog in Al, Utrecht) is a Dutch football manager, currently in charge of the Eredivisie side Ajax, having stepped down as coach of the Dutch national team upon their exit from Euro 2008. Previously, he was a football player who played for Ajax and Milan in the 1980s and early 1990s. He is regarded as one of the finest forwards of all time and scored 277 goals in a career cut short by injury. Known for his strength on the ball, his tactical awareness and spectacular strikes and volleys, van Basten was named European Footballer of the Year three times (1988, '89 and '92) and FIFA World Player of the Year in 1992. Van Basten was voted eighth in a poll organised by the French weekly magazine France Football consulting their former Ballon d'Or winners to elect the Football Player of the Century.

Playing career

Early years

Marco van Basten was born on 31 October 1964 in Utrecht. He began playing for a local team, EDO, when he was seven years old. A year later, he moved to UVV Utrecht. After ten years there, he briefly played for another club from Utrecht, Elinkwijk.

Ajax

Ajax signed van Basten for the 1981–82 season. He played his first game for Ajax in April 1982, scoring a début goal in the 5–0 victory over NEC.

In the 1982–83 season, he competed with the European top scorer, Wim Kieft, for the position of a centre forward, and scored 9 goals in 20 league matches. After Kieft left for Serie A club Pisa the next season, however, van Basten solidified his position as the team's main attacker.

He became a top scorer in the league for four seasons from 1983–84 to 1986–87, scoring 117 goals in 112 matches. In the 1985–86 season, he scored 37 goals in 26 league matches, including six goals against Sparta and five against Heracles, and won the European Golden Boot. He also scored the winning goal in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final against Lokomotive Leipzig in 1987.

Milan

In 1987, Silvio Berlusconi signed van Basten for Milan, with fellow countrymen Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard joining in 1988. In his first season, Milan won their first scudetto in eight years, but van Basten played only eleven games and was constantly troubled by an ankle injury.

In 1988–89, as van Basten won the European Footballer of the Year. He scored 19 goals in Serie A and scored two goals in the final of European Cup against Steaua Bucureşti.

In 1989–90, he became Capocannoniere, Serie A's leading goal scorer, and Milan successfully defended the European Cup after beating Benfica in the final match.

Milan struggled in the 1990–91 season, as Sampdoria won the scudetto. After van Basten fell out with Arrigo Sacchi, Berlusconi sacked the manager. Fabio Capello took over the following season, and Milan went undefeated in the league to win the scudetto. Van Basten scored 25 league goals, and became Capocannoniere again.

In November 1992, he scored four goals in a match against the Swedish team Göteborg, setting a record for the number of goals scored by one player in a Champions League match. The record still stands, although there have been other players who subsequently scored four goals in a match in the European competition.

Milan stretched their unbeaten run into the 1992–93 season, going 58 matches over two seasons before they lost a game. Van Basten played exceptionally well in the early part of the season. He was again voted the European player of the year, becoming the third player after Johan Cruijff and Michel Platini to win the award three times.

His troublesome ankle injury recurred in a game against Ancona, forcing him to undergo another series of surgery. He returned for the last few games in the season, before Milan lost to Marseille in the Champions League final. The match was van Basten's final game for the Italian club. He thereafter spent two years fighting to come back, but eventually announced retirement in 1995.

After retirement

He played in the Demetrio Albertini testimonial at San Siro in March 2006, and headed in a goal before being substituted early in the first half. On 22 July 2006, he also returned for the testimonial to celebrate the 11-year Arsenal career of Dennis Bergkamp, in what was the first game played at the new Emirates Stadium. He played in the second half for the Ajax legends team. He entered the match as part of a double substitution that also introduced Johan Cruijff.

In March 2007, Sky Sports ranked Marco van Basten the first on its list of the great footballers who had their careers cut short.

The Netherlands

The Dutch national team won Euro 88. Van Basten scored a total of five goals, a hat trick against England, the winning goal in the semi-final against West Germany, and a spectacular volley in the final against the Soviet Union. He was the tournament's top scorer, and was the only player to score more than two goals.

The Dutch national side exited early in the World Cup in 1990, losing to West Germany in the second round.

The Netherlands reached the semi-final of Euro 92 when they lost to Denmark in a penalty shootout, with Peter Schmeichel saving a penalty shot from van Basten.

Managing career

Van Basten while manager of the Netherlands.

Van Basten officially left Milan in 1995 and retired from football, stating he would never try management. However, he changed his mind and took a course with the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB). His first stint as a manager was as an assistant to his former teammate John van 't Schip with the second team of Ajax in 2003-04. On 29 July 2004, van Basten was named the new manager of the Dutch national team, with van 't Schip as his assistant.

As a coach, he soon established himself as a man of strong principles. Van Basten famously dropped regulars like Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids and Roy Makaay and benched Mark van Bommel, because he believed that they were either past their prime or constantly underachieving.

There were also calls for van Basten to call up Dennis Bergkamp who had retired from the national team 6 years earlier for a final hurrah as he was retiring that season. Van Basten then revealed to the media that he never intended to do so despite Bergkamp's own willingness.

For probably the first time in decades, none of the "Big Three" Clubs (Ajax Amsterdam, PSV Eindhoven, and Feyenoord Rotterdam) provided the backbone for the national team. Instead newcomer AZ Alkmaar led the way with players like Denny Landzaat, Barry Opdam, Barry van Galen, Ron Vlaar, Jan Kromkamp and Joris Mathijsen. Other unheralded choices were Khalid Boulahrouz, Hedwiges Maduro, Ryan Babel and Romeo Castelen. Van Basten had also wanted to include Ivorian forward Salomon Kalou, but was thwarted when Kalou was denied Dutch citizenship by the immigration authorities headed by Rita Verdonk. Kalou eventually accepted a call-up to play for Côte d'Ivoire.

Van Basten (left) with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar during a training prior to Euro 2008.

Under his guidance, the team were unbeaten in their World Cup qualification group and made it through the group stages at the FIFA World Cup 2006, but were eliminated in a frenzied 1-0 loss to Portugal in the Round of 16. Van Basten was heavily criticised for dropping Ruud van Nistelrooy (who had scored twenty-eight goals for the Netherlands) before this game, in favour of Dirk Kuyt, who did not score throughout the entire tournament.

In November 2006, van Basten recalled exiled Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf for a friendly against England at the Amsterdam Arena. In May 2007, van Basten announced the end of his long-running dispute with Real Madrid forward Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had previously declared never to play for a Dutch national squad with van Basten as its manager. Other players, such as Roy Makaay, Mark van Bommel, Boudewijn Zenden, and Edgar Davids, however, remain out of favour.

Van Basten had a contract with the KNVB for managing the Dutch national side until 2008. The KNVB had expressed its wishes to extend his contract to include the World Cup qualification route to 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. On 22 February 2008, van Basten signed a four-year contract with Ajax, starting from 1 July.His last tournament thus was Euro 2008, where the Netherlands surprised with a strong round 1 performance. They were beaten by Guus Hiddink's Russia in the quarter finals.

Van Basten became trainer of Ajax after Euro 2008.

Honours

Club honours

Ajax

• UEFA Cup Winners Cup
  • Winner (1): 1987
• Dutch Championship
  • Winner (3): 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85
• Dutch Cup
  • Winner (3): 1983, 1986, 1987

Milan

• European Cup (now called: UEFA Champions League)
  • Winner (2): 1989, 1990
• Intercontinental Cup
  • Winner (2): 1989, 1990
• European Supercup
  • Winner (2): 1989, 1990
• Serie A
  • Winner (3): 1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93
• Italian Super Cup
  • Winner (3): 1988, 1992, 1993

International honours

• UEFA European Championship
  • Winner (1): 1988

Individual honours

• FIFA World Player of the Year: 1992
• World Soccer Player of the Year: 1988, 1992
• UEFA Best Player of the Year: 1989, 1990, 1992
• IFFHS Best Player of the Year: 1988, 1989, 1990
• Onze d'Or: 1988, 1989
• Onze d'Argent: 1987, 1992
• Bravo Award: 1987
• UEFA European Championship 1988 Top Scorer and Best Player with 5 goals
• European Footballer of the Year: 1988, 1989, 1992
• Dutch Footballer of the Year: 1984–85
• FIFA 100 (List of the greatest living footballers picked by Pelé): 2004
• European Golden Boot: 1985–86
• European Silver Boot: 1983–84
• European Cup Top Scorer: 1989
• European Cup Silver Top Scorer: 1993
• Dutch League Top Scorer: 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87
• Serie A Top Scorer: 1989–90, 1991–92
• Serie A Silver Top Scorer: 1988–89

Pelé

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Edison (Edson) Arantes do Nascimento, KBE (born 23 October 1940), best known by his nickname Pelé (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation /pɛˈlɛ/, in English usually /'pɛleɪ/) is a retired Brazilian football player, rated by many as the greatest footballer of all time. He was given the title of Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee. While his birth certificate shows his first name as Edison (after Thomas Edison), he prefers to call himself Edson, but it is as Pelé that he has become a sporting legend.

In his native Brazil, Pelé is hailed as a national hero. He is known for his accomplishments and contributions to the game of football in addition to being officially declared the football ambassador of the world by FIFA and a national treasure by the Brazilian government. He is also acknowledged for his vocal support of policies to improve the social conditions of the poor (when he scored his 1,000th goal he dedicated it to the poor children of Brazil). During his career, he became known as "The King of Football" (O Rei do Futebol), "The King Pelé" (O Rei Pelé) or simply "The King" (O Rei). He is also a member of the American National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Spotted by football star Waldemar de Brito, Pelé began playing for Santos Futebol Clube at 15 and his national team at 16, and won his first World Cup at 17. Despite numerous offers from European clubs, the economic conditions and Brazilian football regulations at the time benefited Santos FC, thus enabling them to keep Pelé for almost two decades until 1974. Pelé played as an inside forward, striker, and what later became known as the playmaker position. Pelé's technique and natural athleticism have been universally praised and during his playing years he was renowned for his excellent dribbling and passing, his pace, powerful shot, exceptional heading ability, and prolific goalscoring.

He is the all-time leading scorer of the Brazil national football team and is the only footballer to be a part of three World Cup-winning teams. In 1962 he was on the Brazilian squad at the start of the World Cup but due to an injury suffered in the second match, he wasn't able to play the remainder of the tournament. In November 2007 FIFA announced that he would be awarded the 1962 medal retroactively, making him the only player in the world to have three World Cup winning medals.

Since his retirement in 1977, Pelé has been a worldwide ambassador for football and has undertaken various acting roles and commercial ventures.

Early years

He was born in Três Corações, Brazil, the son of a Fluminense footballer Dondinho (born João Ramos do Nascimento) and Maria Celeste Arantes. He was named after the American inventor Thomas Edison, but prefers to call himself Edson. He was originally nicknamed Dico by his family. He did not receive the nickname "Pelé" until his school days, when it is claimed he was given it because of his pronunciation of the name of his favorite player, local Vasco da Gama goalkeeper Bilé, which he misspoke "Pilé". He originally disliked the nickname, being suspended from school for punching the classmate that coined it, but the more he complained the more it stuck. In his autobiography, Pelé stated he had no idea what the name means, nor did his old friends. Apart from the assertion that the name is derived from that of Bilé, the word has no known meaning, although it is the name of a Hawaiian volcano goddess and it does resemble the Irish language word peil, meaning football.

Growing up in poverty in Bauru, São Paulo, Pelé earned extra money by shining shoes at the Bauru Athletic Club on match days. Taught to play by his father, whose own professional football career with Atlético Mineiro ended prematurely due to a knee injury, he could not afford a proper football and usually played with either a sock stuffed with newspaper, tied with a string or a grapefruit.

In 1954, several members of the Ameriquinha team, including Pelé, were invited to join the Baquinho boys' team to be managed by former Brazilian international Waldemar de Brito, who played in the 1934 World Cup in Italy.^{[citation needed]}

At the age of 15 and a half, he joined the Santos FC junior team. He played for one season before joining the senior team.

Club career

Santos

In 1956, de Brito took Pelé to Santos, an industrial and port city in the state of São Paulo, to try out for professional club Santos Futebol Clube telling the directors at Santos that the 15-year-old would be "the greatest football player in the world."

During his time at Santos, Pelé played alongside many gifted players, including Zito, Pepe, and Coutinho; the latter partnered him in numerous one-two plays, attacks, and goals.

Pelé made his debut for Santos in 7 September 1956, scoring one goal in a 7–1 friendly victory over Corinthians. When the 1957 season started, Pelé was given a starting place in the first team and, at the age of just 16, became the top scorer in the league. Just ten months after signing professionally, the teenager was called up to the Brazil national team. After the World Cup in 1962, wealthy European clubs such as Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United tried to sign the young player, but the government of Brazil declared Pelé an "official national treasure" to prevent him from being transferred out of the country.

On 19 November 1969, Pelé scored his 1000th goal in all competitions. This was a highly anticipated moment in Brazil. The goal, called popularly O Milésimo (The Thousandth), occurred in a match against Vasco da Gama, when Pelé scored from a penalty kick, at the Maracanã Stadium.

Pelé states that his most beautiful goal was scored at Rua Javari stadium on a Campeonato Paulista match against São Paulo rivals Juventus on 2 August 1959. As there is no video footage of this match, Pelé asked that a computer animation be made of this specific goal. In March 1961, Pelé scored the gol de placa (goal worthy of a plaque), a goal against Fluminense at the Maracanã which was regarded as so spectacular that a plaque was commissioned with a dedication to the most beautiful goal in the history of the Maracanã.

In 1967, the two factions involved in the Nigerian Civil War agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire so they could watch Pelé play an exhibition game in Lagos.

New York Cosmos

After the 1972 season (his 17th with Santos), Pelé retired from Brazilian club football although he continued to occasionally suit up for Santos in official competitive matches. Two years later, he came out of semi-retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1975 season. Though well past his prime at this point, Pelé is credited with significantly increasing public awareness and interest in soccer in the United States. (Previously, a video clip of Pelé scoring with a bicycle kick for the Brazilian National Team was part of the opening video montage of the popular sports TV series ABC's Wide World of Sports and was probably many Americans' initial viewing of the sport.) He led the Cosmos to the 1977 NASL championship, in his third and final season with the club.

On 1 October 1977, Pelé closed out his legendary career in an exhibition match between the Cosmos and Santos. Santos arrived in New York and New Jersey after previously defeating the Seattle Sounders 2–0. The match was played in front of a capacity crowd at Giants Stadium and was televised in the United States on ABC's Wide World of Sports as well as throughout the world. Pelé's father and wife both attended the match. Pelé gave a brief pre-match speech during which he asked the crowd to say the word "love" with him three times. He played the first half for the Cosmos and the second half for Santos. Reynaldo scored the first goal for Santos, kicking the ball into the net after it had deflected off the crossbar. Pelé then scored his final goal on a direct free kick, driving the ball past the diving Santos goalkeeper. At halftime, the Cosmos retired Pelé's number 10. Pelé presented his Cosmos shirt to his father, who was escorted to the field by Cosmos captain Werner Roth. During the second half, Cosmos striker Ramon Mifflin, who had replaced Pelé when he switched sides at halftime, scored on a deflected cross, and the Cosmos won the match 2–1. After the match, Pelé was embraced by the Cosmos players, including longtime rival Giorgio Chinaglia, and then ran around the field while holding an American flag in his left hand and a Brazilian flag in his right hand. Pelé was soon lifted by several Cosmos players and carried around the field.

National team career

Pelé's first international match was a 2–1 defeat against Argentina on 7 July 1957. In that match, he scored his first goal for Brazil aged 16 years and 9 months to become the youngest player to score in International football.

1958 World Cup

His first match in the World Cup was against USSR in the first round of the 1958 FIFA World Cup. He was the youngest player of that tournament, and at the time the youngest ever to play in the World Cup. He scored his first World Cup goal against Wales in quarterfinals, the only goal of the match, to help Brazil advance to semifinals, while becoming the youngest ever World Cup goalscorer at 17 years and 239 days. Against France in the semifinal, Brazil was leading 2–1 at halftime, and then Pelé scored a hat-trick, becoming the youngest in World Cup history to do so.

On 19 June 1958 Pelé became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final match at 17 years and 249 days. He scored two goals in the final as Brazil beat Sweden 5–2. His first goal, a lob over a defender followed by a precise volley shot, was selected as one of the best goals in the history of the World Cup. When the match ended, he passed out on the field, and had to be attended by the medical staff. He then recovered, and was visibly compelled by the victory, in tears as being congratulated by his teammates. He finished the tournament with six goals in four matches played, tied for second place, behind record-breaker Just Fontaine.

1962 World Cup

In the first match of the 1962 World Cup, against Mexico, Pelé assisted on the first goal and then scored the second one to go up 2–0 after a run past four defenders. He injured himself while attempting a long-range shot against Czechoslovakia.^[13] This would keep him out of the rest of the tournament, and forced coach Aymoré Moreira to make his only lineup change of the tournament. The substitute was Amarildo, who performed well for the rest of the tournament. Yet it was Garrincha who would take the leading role and carry Brazil to their second World Cup title.

1966 World Cup

The 1966 tournament was remembered for its excessive physical play, and Pelé was one of the players affected by such play. After becoming the first player ever to score in three World Cups, with a direct free kick against Bulgaria, he had to rest, due to fatigue, for the match against Hungary, which Brazil lost 1–3. He then faced Portugal, and several violent tackles by the Portuguese defenders caused him to leave the match and the tournament. Brazil lost that match and were eliminated in the first round of the World Cup for the first time since 1934. After the tournament, Pelé declared that he did not wish to play in the World Cup again.

1970 World Cup

When Pelé was called to the national team in early 1969, he first refused, but then accepted and played in six World Cup qualifying matches, scoring six goals. The 1970 tournament in Mexico was to be Pelé's last. Brazil's squad for the tournament featured major changes in relation to the 1966 squad. Players like Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Djalma Santos, and Gilmar had already retired, but the team, with Pelé, Rivelino, Jairzinho, Gérson, Tostão, and Clodoaldo, is widely considered one of the greatest football teams ever.

In the first match, against Czechoslovakia, Pelé gave Brazil a 2–1 lead after controlling Gerson's pass with his chest. Brazil went on to win the match, 4–1. In the first half of the match against England, he nearly scored with a header that was spectacularly saved by Gordon Banks. In the second half, he assisted Jairzinho for the only goal of the match. Against Romania, he opened the score on a direct free kick goal, a strong strike with the outside of his right foot. Later on the match he scored again to put the score 3–1. Brazil won by a final score of 3–2. In quarterfinals against Peru, Brazil won 4–2, with Pelé assisting Tostão on his team's third goal. In the semi-finals, Brazil faced Uruguay for the first time since the 1950 World Cup final round match. Jairzinho put Brazil ahead 2–1, and Pelé assisted Rivelino for the 3–1. During that match, Pelé made one of his most famous plays. Tostão gave Pelé a through ball, and Uruguay's goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz took notice of it. The keeper ran off of his line to get the ball before Pelé, but Pelé got there first, and without touching the ball, he caused it to go past the keeper, to the latter's left, while Pelé went right. Pelé went around the goalkeeper and took a shot while turning towards the goal, but he turned in excess as he shot, and the ball drifted just wide of the far post.

Brazil played Italy in the final, with Pelé scoring the opener on a header over defender Tarcisio Burgnich. He then made assists on Jairzinho's and Carlos Alberto's goals, the latter one after an impressive collective play. Brazil won the match 4–1, keeping the Jules Rimet Trophy indefinitely. Burgnich, who marked Pelé during the match, was quoted saying "I told myself before the game, he's made of skin and bones just like everyone else — but I was wrong".

Pelé's last international match was on 18 July 1971 against Yugoslavia in Rio de Janeiro. With Pelé on the field, the Brazilian team's record was 67 wins, 14 draws, and 11 losses, and went on to win three World Cups. Brazil never lost a match while fielding both Pelé and Garrincha.

South American Championship

Pelé also played in the South American Championship. In the 1959 competition he was top scorer with eight goals, as Brazil came second in the tournament.

Family

On 21 February 1966, Pelé married Rosemeri dos Reis Cholby. From the marriage were born daughters Kelly Cristina (13 January 1967) and Jennifer (1978) as well as the son Edson ("Edinho" – little Edson, 27 August 1970). The couple divorced in 1978.

His eldest son Edinho was arrested for drug possession in 2005.

Since April 1994 Pelé has been married to psychologist and gospel singer Assíria Lemos Seixas, who gave birth on 28 September 1996 to twins Joshua and Celeste through fertility treatments.

Club

• Santos (Official Tournaments)
  • Campeonato Paulista: 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1973^[28]
  • Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 1959, 1963 and 1964^[29]
  • Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa (Taça de Prata): 1968
  • Taça Brasil: 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965
  • Copa Libertadores: 1962 and 1963
  • Intercontinental Cup: 1962 and 1963
  • South-American Recopa: 1968
  • Intercontinental Recopa: 1968
• New York Cosmos
  • NASL Champions: 1977

Country

• Brazil
  • FIFA World Cup:
    • Winner (3): 1958, 1962, 1970
    • Appearances (4): 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970
  • Roca Cup:
    • Winner (2): 1957, 1963

The tally of 32 team trophies makes him, together with Vítor Baía, the player with most career titles.

Individual

• FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (Best Player):
  • Winner (1): 1970

• Athlete of the Century, elected by world wide journalists, poll by French daily L'Equipe: 1981

• Athlete of the Century, elected by International Olympic Committee: 1999

• Athlete of the Century, by Reuters News Agency: 1999

• UNICEF Football Player of the Century: 1999

• FIFA Player of the Century : 2000 (view : http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/players/player=63869/bio.html )

In December 2000, Pelé and Maradona shared the prize of FIFA Player of the Century by FIFA. The award was originally intended to be based upon votes in a web poll, but after it became apparent that it favoured Diego Maradona, many observers complained that the Internet nature of the poll would have meant a skewed demographic of younger fans who would have seen Maradona play, but not Pelé. FIFA then appointed a "Family of Football" committee of FIFA members to decide the winner of the award. The committee chose Pelé. Since Maradona was winning the Internet poll, however, it was decided he and Pelé should share the award.

• Football Player of the Century, elected by France Football's Golden Ball Winners : 1999

• Football Player of the Century, by IFFHS International Federation of Football History and Statistics: 1999

• South America Football Player of the Century, by IFFHS International Federation of Football History and Statistics: 1999

• Laureus World Sports Awards Lifetime Achievement Award from South African President Nelson Mandela: 2000

A consensus of media and expert polls rank Pelé as the greatest footballer of all time.

• BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality:
  • Winner (1): 1970

• BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award:
  • Winner (1): 2005

Some historical perspective

Pelé and Bill Clinton in 1997

• Pele's 1281 goals are recognized by FIFA as the highest total achieved by a professional footballer. All of these goals have been checked by more than one recognized statistic institution. Pele played between 1957 and 1973 not just in official championships but also in short term International Tournaments between European and South American teams – a very common event in 1960s. However some critics claim that the goals scored in those tournaments should not count because they consider the short term tournaments to be "friendlies".
• Pelé is in third place on the list of all-time top goalscorers in international matches between National Teams; in 92 appearances for the Brazil national football team, he scored 77 goals. He is in fourth place behind Ronaldo, Gerd Müller, and Just Fontaine on the list of goalscorers in World Cup matches, with 12 goals. He has been part of three World Cup-winning teams, although he did not play in the 1962 final due to injury and did not receive a medal. He is one of only two players to have scored in four World Cups (the other being Uwe Seeler, who did it in the same four tournaments). Pelé is one of only four footballers to have achieved the feat of scoring in two different World Cup final matches, sharing that honor with Paul Breitner, Vavá, and Zinedine Zidane.^[40] He is one of five players to have scored twice from direct free kicks in World Cups (The others are Rivelino, Teófilo Cubillas, Bernard Genghini, and David Beckham).
• Due to the sheer size of Brazil and the problems and costs related to air travel at the time, until 1959 there was nothing that could be called a National Football Tournament between the best teams from across the whole of Brazil. Generally the Brazilian football season was occupied first by state championships (between teams of the same state), followed by the Torneio Rio-São Paulo, a competition between the teams from the two strongest states in the country, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. And last but not least, from 1959, by the national team competition. This league system provided all the players (i.e., no foreign-based players) for the 1958, 1962 and 1970 Brazil World Cup Champions.^[41]
• Given the global economic conditions and the football regulations at the time (especially in Brazil) the only players who left the Brazilian leagues for the European ones were usually those who could not get a regular place in one of the top teams or who were at the end of their careers. Sometimes a great player who was eclipsed by a more talented footballer in his position, in an era when substitutions during the matches were not allowed, made this change. Current regulations restricting players from playing in the World Cup for more than one country were not yet introduced. For this reason, some argue that Brazil had the world's strongest league during the years of Pelé's career. It must be added that contrary to most European national championships – which had only two or three leading teams – there were 11 direct competitors for the national cup: Santos, Botafogo, Palmeiras, Flamengo, Corinthians, São Paulo FC, Vasco, Fluminense, Bahia, Cruzeiro and Atlético. Despite this, Santos won it five times in a row.
• At that time the Santos team spent a third or sometimes almost half of the year in the São Paulo State League, even when running for the South American Teams Cup or other international tournaments. Before Pelé's era the cup of the São Paulo League was monopolized by the so-called "Iron Trio", the three most prestigious teams of São Paulo city, the capital of São Paulo: Corinthians, Palmeiras and São Paulo FC.
• Some of the best players were spread among teams all across Brazil, for example Didi, Garrincha, Zagallo and Jairzinho played in the Rio de Janeiro League, Tostão, Piazza and Dario played in the Minas Gerais League and Figueroa in the Rio Grande do Sul League. In the São Paulo league while Footballers like Carlos Alberto, Zito, Pepe and Gilmar ( this one from the 1960s ) played with Pelé for Santos; there were however many others playing for Santos' rivals like Rivelino, Dino Sani, Luizinho and later Garrincha by Corinthians; Gérson, Pedro Rocha and Pablo Forlán by São Paulo FC; Félix, Djalma Santos and Zé Maria by Portuguesa and Leão, Luís Pereira, Leivinha, Julinho, Vavá and Ademir da Guia by Palmeiras just to mention a few. All of these great teams and players played against Pelé between 1957 and 1974.

After football

Pelé, right, with Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, left, and First Lady Marisa, 13 July 2004.

Prime Licensing, the company created and owned by the long time friend and fashion businessman Jose Alves de Araujo, now manages the Pele brand including contracts with Puma, Pelestation, QVC, Freemantle Media(American Idol), Pele L'uomo, Pele Arena coffee houses, etc.

The most notable area of Pelé's life since football is his ambassadorial work for various bodies. In 1992, Pelé was appointed a United Nations ambassador for ecology and the environment.

He was awarded Brazil's Gold Medal for outstanding services to the sport in 1995, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso appointed him to the position of "Extraordinary Minister for Sport" and he was appointed a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. During this time he proposed legislation to reduce corruption in Brazilian football, which became known as the Pelé law. Pelé left his position in 2001 after he was accused of involvement in a corruption scandal, although nothing has been proved so far. In 1997 he was given an honorary British knighthood.

Pelé at Bramall lane, celebrating Sheffield F.C.'s 150th anniversary

Pelé scouted for Premier League Fulham in 2002. He was chosen to do the draw for the qualification groups for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals.

Pelé has published several autobiographies, starred in documentary and semi-documentary films and composed various musical pieces, including the entire soundtrack for the film Pelé in 1977. He appeared, alongside other footballers of the 1960s and 1970s, Michael Caine, and Sylvester Stallone, in the 1981 film Escape to Victory, about an attempted escape from a World War II Nazi POW Camp. Pelé was featured in a video game with the Atari 2600 Pelé's Soccer.^{[citation needed]}

Pelé signed a major autobiographical book deal in 2006, resulting in a giant-sized, 45 cm × 35 cm, 2,500 unit limited-edition collectible "Pelé", created by UK luxury publishers, Gloria, as the first-ever football "big book". In the same period, Pelé received a lifetime achievement award from the BBC and in June 2006, helped inaugurate the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, alongside supermodel Claudia Schiffer. Pelé has also helped to promote viagra and raise the awareness of impotency.

Pelé was guest of honour at the world's oldest football club, Sheffield F.C.'s 150th anniversary match v Inter Milan in November 2007. Inter won 5–2 in front of an appreciative crowd of nearly 19,000 at Bramall Lane. As part of his visit, Pelé opened an exhibition which included the first public showing in 40 years of the original hand written rules of football.

Acting and film career

• Os Estranhos (1969) (TV series)
• O Barão Otelo no Barato dos Bilhões (1971)
• A Marcha (1973)
• Os Trombadinhas (1978)
• Escape to Victory (1981)
• A Minor Miracle (1983)
• Pedro Mico (1985)
• Os Trapalhões e o Rei do Futebol (1986)
• Hotshot (1987)
• Solidão, Uma Linda História de Amor (1990)
• Mike Bassett: England Manager (2001)
• ESPN SportsCentury (2004)
• Pelé Eterno (2004) - a documentary about Pelé's career

Diego Maradona

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, FC Barcelona, and, most distinguishedly, Napoli. In his international career, playing for Argentina, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals. He played in four FIFA World Cup tournaments, including the 1986 World Cup where he captained Argentina and led them to their victory over West Germany in the final, winning the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player. In that same tournament's quarter-final round he scored two remarkable goals in a 2-1 victory over England which instantly cemented his fame. The first goal was an unpenalized handball known as the "Hand of God", while the second goal was a spectacular 60-metre weave through six England players, commonly referred to as "The Goal of the Century".

For various reasons, Maradona is considered one of the sport's most controversial and newsworthy figures. He was suspended from football for 15 months in 1991 after failing a doping test for cocaine in Italy, and he was sent home from the 1994 World Cup in the USA for using ephedrine.

After retiring from playing on his 37th birthday in 1997, he increasingly suffered ill health and weight gain, hardly helped by ongoing cocaine abuse. In 2005 a stomach stapling operation helped control his weight gain. After overcoming his cocaine addiction, he became a popular TV host in Argentina.

Although he had little previous managerial experience, he became head coach of the Argentina national football team in November 2008.

Early years

Diego Armando Maradona was born in Lanús, but raised in Villa Fiorito, a shantytown on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, to a poor family that had moved from Corrientes Province. He was the first son after three daughters. He has two younger brothers, Hugo (el Turco) and Eduardo (Lalo), both of whom were also professional football players.

At age 10, Maradona was spotted by a talent scout while he was playing in his neighborhood club Estrella Roja. He became a staple of Los Cebollitas (The Little Onions), the junior team of Buenos Aires's Argentinos Juniors. As a 12-year-old ball boy, he amused spectators by showing his wizardry with the ball during the halftime intermissions of first division games.

Club career

Maradona playing for Boca Juniors during 1981

On 20 October 1976, Maradona made his professional debut with Argentinos Juniors, only ten days before his sixteenth birthday. He played there between 1976 and 1981, before his £1m transfer to Boca Juniors. Joining the squad midway through the 1981 season, Maradona played through 1982, and secured his first league winners' medal.

After the 1982 World Cup, in June, Maradona was transferred to FC Barcelona in Spain for a then world record £5m. In 1983, under coach César Luis Menotti, Barcelona and Maradona won the Copa del Rey (Spain's annual national cup competition), beating Real Madrid, and the Spanish Super Cup, beating Athletic de Bilbao. However, Maradona had a difficult tenure in Barcelona. First a bout with hepatitis, then a broken leg caused by an ill-timed tackle by Athletic Bilbao's Andoni Goikoetxea jeopardized his career, but Maradona's physical strength and willpower made it possible for him to soon be back on the pitch. At Barcelona Maradona got into frequent disputes with the team's directors, especially club president Josep Lluís Núñez, and in 1984, he demanded a transfer out of Camp Nou. He was transferred to SSC Napoli in Italy's Serie A for another record fee, £6.9m.

In Napoli, Maradona reached the peak of his professional career. He quickly became an adored star among the club's fans, and in his time there he elevated the team to the most successful era in its history. Led by Maradona, Napoli won their only Italian Championships in 1986/87 and 1989/1990, placing second in the league twice, in 1987/88 and 1988/89. Other honors during the Maradona era at Napoli included the Coppa Italia in 1987, (second place in the Coppa Italia in 1989), the UEFA Cup in 1989 and the Italian Supercup in 1990. Maradona was the top scorer in Serie A in 1987/88.

However, during his time in Italy, Maradona's personal problems increased. His cocaine use continued, and he received US $70,000 in fines from his club for missing games and practices, ostensibly because of 'stress'. He faced a scandal there regarding an illegitimate son; and he was also the object of some suspicion over an alleged friendship with the Camorra.

After serving a 15-month ban for failing a drug test for cocaine, Maradona left Napoli in disgrace in 1992. By the time he joined his next team, Sevilla (1992-93), he had not played professional football for two years, and he would never again reach his previous heights. In 1993 he played for Newell's Old Boys and in 1995 he returned to Boca Juniors for 2 years.

International career

Maradona made his full international debut for Argentina aged 16 in a game against Hungary on 27 February 1977

Along with his time at Napoli, international football is where Maradona found his fame. Playing for the Albicelestes of the Argentina national football team, he participated in four consecutive FIFA World Cup tournaments, leading Argentina to victory in 1986 and to second place in 1990.

He made his full international debut at age 16, against Hungary on 27 February 1977. At age 18, he played the World Youth Championship for Argentina, and was the star of the tournament, shining in their 3–1 final win over the Soviet Union. On 2 June 1979, Maradona scored his first senior international goal in a 3–1 win against Scotland at Hampden Park.

1982 World Cup

Maradona played his first World Cup tournament in 1982. In the first round, Argentina, the defending champions, lost to Belgium. Although the team convincingly beat Hungary and El Salvador to progress to the second round, they were defeated in the second round by Brazil and by eventual winners Italy. Maradona played in all five matches without being substituted, scoring twice against Hungary, but was sent off with 5 minutes remaining in the game against Brazil for serious foul play.

1986 World Cup

Maradona captained the Argentine national team to victory in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, winning the final in Mexico against West Germany. Throughout the 1986 World Cup, Maradona asserted his dominance and was the most dynamic player of the tournament. He played every minute of every Argentina game, scored 5 goals and made 5 assists. However, it was the two goals he scored in a 2–1 quarter-final win against England which cemented his legend.

This particular match was played in the background of the Falklands War between those 2 very countries and emotions still were lingering in the air throughout the entire match. Replays showed that the first goal was scored by striking the ball with his hand. Maradona was coyly evasive, describing it as "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God." It became known as the "Hand of God," or "la mano de Dios." Ultimately, on 22 August 2005 Maradona later acknowledged on his television show that he had hit the ball with his hand purposely, and that he immediately knew the goal was illegitimate. However, the goal stood, much to the wrath of the England players.

Maradona's second goal was to be later voted by FIFA as the greatest goal in the history of the World Cup. He picked up the ball in his own half and with 11 touches swiveled around and ran more than half the length of the field, dribbling past five English players: (Glenn Hoddle, Peter Reid, Kenny Sansom, Terry Butcher, and Terry Fenwick) and goalkeeper Peter Shilton. This goal was voted the Goal of the Century in a 2002 online poll conducted by FIFA.

Maradona followed this with two more goals in the semi-final against Belgium, including another virtuoso dribbling display for the second goal. In the final, the opposing West German side attempted to contain him by double-marking, but he nevertheless found the space to give the final pass to Jorge Burruchaga for the winning goal. Argentina beat West Germany 3–2 in front of 115,000 spectators at the Azteca Stadium and Maradona lifted the World Cup trophy, ensuring that he would be remembered as one of the greatest names in football history. In a tribute to him, the Azteca Stadium authorities built a statue of him scoring the "goal of the century" and placed it at the entrance of the stadium.

1990 World Cup

Maradona and the Youth World Cup trophy in 1979

Maradona captained Argentina again in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. An ankle injury affected his overall performance, and he was much less dominant than four years earlier. Argentina were almost eliminated in the first round, only qualifying in third position from their group. In the round of 16 match against Brazil, Claudio Caniggia scored the only goal after being set up by Maradona.

In the quarter final, Argentina faced Yugoslavia, the match ending 0–0 after 120 minutes, and Argentina advancing on penalty kicks, despite Maradona missing one of the penalties in the shootout with a weak shot at the centre of the goal. The semifinal against the host nation Italy was also resolved on penalties after a 1–1 draw; this time, Maradona was successful with his effort, daringly placing the ball at the exact same spot as his missed penalty in the previous round. In the final, Argentina lost 1–0 to West Germany, the only goal being a penalty by Andreas Brehme in the 85th minute after a controversial foul on Rudi Völler.

1994 World Cup

At the 1994 FIFA World Cup Maradona played in only two games, scoring one goal against Greece, before being sent home after failing a drug test for ephedrine doping. In his autobiography, Maradona argued that the test result was due to his personal trainer giving him the power drink Rip Fuel. His claim was that the U.S. version, unlike the Argentine one, contained the chemical and that, having run out of his Argentinian dosage, his trainer unwittingly bought the U.S. formula. FIFA subsequently expelled him from USA '94 and Argentina were subsequently eliminated in the second round. Maradona has also separately claimed that he had an agreement with FIFA, on which the organization reneged, to allow him to use the drug for weight loss before the competition in order to be able to play.According to Maradona, this was so that the World Cup would not lose prestige because of his absence. This allegation has never been proven.

Playing style

Maradona playing for Argentinos Juniors in 1980

Maradona had a compact physique and could withstand physical pressure well. His strong legs and low center of gravity gave him an advantage in short sprints. His physical strengths were illustrated by his two goals against Belgium in the 1986 World Cup. Maradona was a strategist and a team player, as well as highly technical with the ball. He could manage himself effectively in limited spaces, and would attract defenders only to quickly dash out of the melee (as in the second 1986 goal against England), or give an assist to a free teammate. Being short, but strong, he could hold the ball long enough with a defender on his back to wait for a teammate making a run or to find a gap for a quick shot.

One of Maradona's trademark moves was dribbling full-speed as a left wing, and on reaching the opponent's goal line, delivering lethally accurate passes to his teammates. Another trademark was the Rabona, a reverse-cross pass shot behind the leg that holds all the weight. This maneuver led to several assists, such as the powerful cross for Ramón Díaz's header in the 1980 friendly against Switzerland. He was also a dangerous free kick taker.

Retirement and honours

Hounded for years by the press, Maradona once fired a compressed-air rifle at reporters who he claimed were invading his privacy. This quote from former teammate Jorge Valdano summarizes the feelings of many:

In 2000, Maradona published his autobiography Yo Soy El Diego ("I am The Diego"), which became an instant bestseller in his home country. Two years later, Maradona donated the Cuban royalties of his book to "the Cuban people and Fidel."

FIFA conducted a fan poll on the Internet in 2000, to elect the Player of the Century. Maradona finished top of the poll with 53.6% of the vote. Subsequently, however, and contrary to the original announcement of how the award would be decided, FIFA appointed a "Football Family" committee of football experts that voted to award Pelé the title. Maradona protested at the change in procedure, and declared he would not attend the ceremony if Pelé replaced him. Eventually, two awards were made, one to each of the pair. Maradona accepted his prize, but left the ceremony without waiting to see Pelé receive his accolade.

Maradona at the Soccer Aid friendly match in 2006, after losing weight

In 2001, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) asked FIFA for authorization to retire the jersey number 10 for Maradona. FIFA did not grant the request, even though Argentine officials have maintained that FIFA hinted that it would.

Maradona has won other fan polls, including a 2002 FIFA poll in which his second goal against England was chosen as the best goal ever scored in a World Cup; he also won the most votes in a poll to determine the All-Time Ultimate World Cup Team.

Argentinos Juniors named its stadium after Maradona on 26 December 2003.

On 22 June 2005, it was announced that Maradona would return to Boca Juniors as a sports vice president in charge of managing the First Division roster (after a disappointing 2004–05 season, which coincided with Boca's centenary). His contract began 1 August 2005, and one of his first recommendations proved to be very effective: he was the one who decided to hire Alfio Basile as the new coach. With Maradona fostering a close relationship with the players, Boca went on to win the 2005 Apertura title, the 2006 Clausura title, the 2005 Copa Sudamericana and the 2005 Recopa Sudamericana.

On 15 August 2005, Maradona made his debut as host of a talk-variety show on Argentine television, La Noche del 10 ("The Night of the no. 10"). His main guest on opening night was Pelé; the two had a friendly chat, showing no signs of past differences. However, the show also included a cartoon villain with a clear physical resemblance to Pelé. In subsequent evenings, he led the ratings on all occasions but one. Most guests were drawn from the worlds of football and show business, including Zidane, Ronaldo and Hernán Crespo, but also included interviews with other notable personalities such as Fidel Castro and Mike Tyson.

On 26 August 2006, it was announced that Maradona was quitting his position in the club Boca Juniors because of disagreements with the AFA, who selected Basile to be the new coach of the Argentina National Football Team.

The award-winning Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica made a documentary about Maradona's life, entitled Maradona.

In May 2006, Maradona agreed to take part in UK's Soccer Aid (a program to raise money for Unicef).In September 2006, Maradona, in his famous blue and white number 10, was the captain for Argentina in a three-day World Cup of Indoor Football tournament in Spain.

Also in 2006, Diego Maradona was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador of the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition, IIMSAM.

Managerial career

Club management

He attempted to work as a coach on two short stints, leading Mandiyú of Corrientes (1994) and Racing Club (1995), but without much success.

International management

After the resignation of Argentina national football team coach Alfio Basile in 2008, Diego Maradona immediately proposed his candidacy for the vacant role. According to several press sources, his major challengers included Diego Simeone, Carlos Bianchi, Miguel Ángel Russo and Sergio Batista. On October 29, 2008, AFA chairman Julio Grondona confirmed that Maradona would be the head coach of the national side from December 2008. On 19 November, 2008, Diego Maradona managed Argentina for the first time when Argentina played against Scotland at Hampden Park in Glasgow which Argentina won 1-0. The city of Glasgow plays a significant part in Maradona's history as it was at Hampden Park in Glasgow that Maradona scored his first goal for Argentina in 1979.^[22]. After winning his first three matches in charge of the national team, he oversaw a 6-1 defeat to Bolivia on 1 April 2009.

Personal life

Family

Maradona in 1981

Maradona married long-time fiancée Claudia Villafañe on November 7, 1989 in Buenos Aires, after the birth of their daughters, Dalma Nerea (b. 1987) and Giannina Dinorah (b. 1989), by whom he became a grandfather in 2009.In his autobiography, Maradona admits he was not always faithful to Claudia, even though he refers to her as the love of his life.

Maradona and Villafañe divorced in 2004. Daughter Dalma has since asserted that the divorce was the best solution for all, as her parents remained on friendly terms. They traveled together to Napoli for a series of homages in June 2005 and were seen together on many other occasions, including the Argentina matches during 2006 FIFA World Cup.

During the divorce proceedings, Maradona admitted he was the father of Diego Sinagra (b. Naples, 1986). The Italian courts had already so ruled in 1993, after Maradona refused to undergo DNA tests for proving or disproving his paternity. Diego Jr. met Maradona for the first time in May 2003 after tricking his way onto a golf course in Naples where Maradona was playing.

After the divorce, Claudia embarked on a career as a theatre producer, and Dalma is seeking an acting career; she has expressed her desire to attend the Actor's Studio in Los Angeles.