::featured
footballers::
the cute, the bad, and the wonderful
an additional surprise... we have two players today!!
today's
featured footballer: Steven Pienaar (van S.
Africa!) #21
click here for 411
today's featured footballer: Rivaldo (all are #10 unless otherwise specified)
Rivaldo took the well trodden path to Europe just after the Atlanta Olympic
Games, joining Deportivo La Coruna, where he immediately stole the limelight,
finding the back of the opposition's net no less than 21 times in his first
season.
One year later and he was packing his bags yet again, this time for FC
Barcelona, who secured his services for the paltry sum of 24 million euros,
as a
replacement for Ronaldo, who had left in search of even greater fame and
fortune in Italy. Rivaldo has since flourished into one of the best players
in the
world, as testified by the numerous awards he has picked up, including
the
Ballon d'Or, and the coveted FIFA World Footballer of the Year in 1999.
Things have not gone quite so smoothly for Rivaldo at international level,
however. He made his debut way back in December 1993, but was desperately
disappointed to miss out on selection to the Brazilian squad for the FIFA
World
Cup USA 94TM, and for the Copa America a year later.Rivaldo only returned
to
the Auriverde team at the Atlanta Olympic tournament in 1996, but this
turned out
to be a bitter experience as Brazil were dumped out of the competition
in the
semi-finals (1-3) by future Olympic champions Nigeria. Rivaldo, along with
a few
other players, was made something of a scapegoat for this defeat and had
to
wait until December 1997 for a recall to the Seleção.
He was unquestionably one of the stars of the FIFA World Cup France 1998TM.
Even though Brazil lost ingloriously (0-3) to France in the final, Rivaldo
was
consistently brilliant, proving many of his detractors wrong, and was rightly
named in the FIFA All-Star Team of the tournament.
Rivaldo is a fabulous player to watch. He is capable of doing things with
a ball
that most players can only dream about, combining faultless touch with
an
outstanding reading of the game. Yet he is something of a headache for
coaches. He is often criticised for being selfish, preferring to furrow
a lone path
rather than take the easy team option. He is not renowned for his love
of tackling
back and finds it hard to fit into a specific tactical system. All of which
does not
prevent him from being one of the greatest players in the world today!.
Previous FIFA World Cup Matches:
12 July 1998
Brazil - France 0-3 (0-2)
1998 FIFA World Cup France (TM)
7 July 1998
Brazil - Netherlands 1-1 (0-0)
1998 FIFA World Cup France (TM)
3 July 1998
Brazil - Denmark 3-2 (2-1)
1998 FIFA World Cup France (TM)
27 June 1998
Brazil - Chile 4-1 (3-0)
1998 FIFA World Cup France (TM)
23 June 1998
Brazil - Norway 1-2 (0-0)
1998 FIFA World Cup France (TM)
16 June 1998
Brazil - Morocco 3-0 (2-0)
1998 FIFA World Cup France (TM)
10 June 1998
Brazil - Scotland 2-1 (1-1)
1998 FIFA World Cup France (TM)
today's featured footballer: Zinedine Zidane #10 (i like those number 10s!)
Birth Date:
23 June 1972
Height:
185 cm
Weight:
80 kg
Position:
MF
Current Club:
Real Madrid (ESP)
Int'l Goals:
19 (as of 27 May 2002)
Int'l Caps:
74 (as of 27 May 2002)
First Int'l Cap:
Czech Republic (17 August 1994)
Profile:
Zinédine Zidane learned to play football in the backstreets of Marseilles.
The son
of Algerian immigrants, he was discovered by a talent-scout at 14 and signed
as
a schoolboy with Cannes FC.
""Zizou"" was barely 17 when he made his debut for Cannes in the French
first
division. By the 1990/1 season he had become a regular in the side, although
he
could do nothing to prevent Cannes from being relegated at the end of the
1991/2
season. He responded by packing his bags and seeking a fresh challenge
with
Girondins de Bordeaux.
With Zidane in their ranks, Bordeaux were consistent contenders for the
French
championship, though his first major achievement came in the UEFA Cup at
the
end of the 1995/6 season, when Bordeaux reached the final before losing
out to
mighty Bayern Munich. By this time Zidane was already being compared to
the
legendary Michel Platini, a player he had watched at close range when he
was a
ball-boy at the UEFA European Championship 1984.
His dazzling entrance onto the international stage was a foretaste of greater
things to come. He came on as a substitute against the Czech Republic with
France trailing 2-0 and salvaged his side a draw, scoring two memorable
goals.
But his real breakthrough with ""Les Bleus"" came in the 1995/6 European
Championship season. National coach Aimé Jacquet placed his trust
in Zidane
because the midfielder had the two qualities Jacquet most admired in a
footballer:
brilliant ball-control and outstanding work-rate.After a series of consistently
brilliant performances for both club and country, Zidane was swamped with
offers to join Europe's top clubs in the spring of 1996. He eventually
decided on a
move to the Italian club Juventus during the close season. His first success
in
Italy came at the 1996 FIFA Club World Championship, when ""Juve"" overcame
South American champions River Plate.
This was followed by the 1997 and 1998 Italian league titles, before Zidane
was
handed the chance to grasp the most prestigious prize of all in front of
his home
fans at the FIFA World Cup France 98TM.
The rest, of course, is history. Zidane chose the Final against Brazil
in Paris to
score his first two FIFA World Cup goals and become the toast of the
tournament. In the summer of 2000, France added the European Championship
to
their accolades, prompting national coaches from around the globe to name
Zidane World Footballer of the Year for the second time in three years.
A year later, Zidane moved to Spanish club Real Madrid for a world record
transfer fee of £47.2 million where he continutes to play magical
football. His
annual income is estimated at approximately £5 million.
Previous FIFA World Cup Matches:
12 July 1998
Brazil - France 0-3 (0-2)
1998 FIFA World Cup France (TM)
8 July 1998
France - Croatia 2-1 (0-0)
1998 FIFA World Cup France (TM)
3 July 1998
Italy - France 0-0 (0-0)
1998 FIFA World Cup France (TM)
18 June 1998
France - Saudi Arabia 4-0 (1-0)
1998 FIFA World Cup France (TM)
12 June 1998
France - South Africa 3-0 (1-0)
1998 FIFA World Cup France (TM)
today's featured footballer: Francesco Totti # 10
irth Date:
27 September 1976
Height:
180 cm
Weight:
78 kg
Position:
FW
Current
Club:
AS Rome (ITA)
Int'l Goals:
5 (as of 27 May 2002)
Int'l Caps:
29 (as of 27 May 2002)
First Int'l
Cap:
Switzerland (10 October 1998)
Profile:
Any attacking player that shines consistently in such a defensive league
as Serie
A will almost certainly be one of the most talented players in the world.
Francesco Totti has already proved he is one of the best second strikers
in Italy
and the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/JapanTM will give him the perfect platform
to
prove it to a watching world.
Totti began his professional career at 16 when he debuted for AS Roma in
March
1993. Though he would play in just ten games the next two seasons, Totti
already had invaluable experience that would only help him down the road,
and
by 1995, he was a regular. His eye for goal did not focus until the 1997-98
season. Totti scored 13 goals that year and showed the rest of the country
that
he had arrived.
Totti is best suited as an attacking midfielder/withdrawn forward. With
the
national team, he is part of Italy's three-man strike corps, along with
Christian
Vieri and Alessandro del Piero. But the Roma captain typically stays tucked
behind the two, where he is just as lethal as any other striker.
At the UEFA European Championship Belgium/The Netherlands 2000, Totti
displayed his skills to the rest of Europe. He scored an amazing goal against
Romania, scored a crucial penalty kick against Holland and played superbly
in the
final against France. He played so well, he was named Man of the Match,
despite
losing to France, 2-1.
The next Serie A season, Totti was a vital member of AS Roma's squad. With
Argentine superstar Gabriel Batistuta, Totti formed one of the most potent
offences in Italy. Roma captured the Serie A title, and along the way,
Totti,
Roma's captain, collected 13 goals.
In Korea/Japan, Totti will be given control of the squad and will be counted
on
heavily to help Italy capture their fourth world championship. If they
do, Italy
manager Giovanni Trapattoni feels Totti will be the difference because
of his
unique talent.
""Every player has some genius, but there's only one Van Gogh, and there
is
nobody like Totti,"" Trapattoni has said.
Previous FIFA World Cup Matches: None
information taken from the official 2002 world cup website.