Ryan Giggs

Personal information
Full name	Ryan Joseph Giggs
Date of birth	November 29, 1973 (1973-11-29) (age 33)
Place of birth	Cardiff, Wales
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Left winger/Second striker
Club information
Current club	Manchester United
Number	11
Youth clubs
	Manchester City Manchester United
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1990-	Manchester United	508 (98)
National team2
1991-2007	Wales	064 (13)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 13, 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of May 26, 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE (born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973 in Cardiff) is a Welsh footballer, currently playing for Manchester United in the English Premiership, and formerly for the Welsh national team prior to his retirement from international football on June 2, 2007. Giggs received an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours List, alongside his former team mate Teddy Sheringham, who received an MBE.

Giggs' father was Danny Wilson, a noted Rugby League player, and his mother was Lynne Giggs. Although born in Cardiff, he was raised in Pendlebury, England and speaks with a Mancunian accent. His father was of mixed race (of Sierra Leonean ancestry) and Giggs has always expressed pride at his mixed heritage.

Giggs is Manchester United's longest-serving current player, having made his first appearance for the club during the 1990-91 season and been a regular player since the 1991-92 season. He has played the second highest number of competitive games for the club (second only to Bobby Charlton), and holds the club record of team trophies won by a player (23). Since 1992, he has collected nine Premier League winners' medals, four FA Cup winner's medals, two League Cup winner's medals and one Champions League winner's medal. He also has runners-up medals from two FA Cup finals and two League Cup finals, as well as being part of four United teams who have finished second in the league.

Giggs captained England Schoolboys (which all schoolboys in England are eligible to play for, regardless of nationality), but played for the Welsh national team as an adult. At the time of his début in 1991, Giggs (still only 17 at the time) was the youngest player to represent his country at the highest level. He was appointed captain of Wales in 2004.

He also won the PFA Young Player of the Year award twice (1992 and 1993), making him the first player to win the award in consecutive years - a feat matched only by Robbie Fowler and current team-mate Wayne Rooney. Giggs holds many other records, including that of the top all-time scorer in the FA Premier League not to play regularly in the position of striker, and holds the record for scoring Manchester United's fastest goal (15 seconds), set in November 1995 against Southampton. Fans have also voted that Giggs scored Manchester United's greatest goal, in the semi-final of the 1999 FA Cup against Arsenal where he beat four defenders (Lee Dixon twice) to score.

Giggs has worn the squad number 11 since squad numbering came into effect in 1993.

Giggs is currently vice-captain to Gary Neville at Manchester United.

Beginnings

Giggs began his football career as a junior member of Deans Sports F.C. in Swinton and was spotted as a 14-year-old by Manchester City. His dribbling skills were compared to players such as George Best, Diego Maradona, and Johan Cruijff. Giggs' talent became widely recognised, and Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson went to his house personally to urge him to sign for Manchester United instead of Manchester City. He persuaded Giggs by waiving YTS forms with the opportunity to turn professional in three years. Giggs ended up signing with Manchester United.

Similarly, England Under-21 coach Lawrie McMenemy checked to see whether he was eligible to play for the nation. Contrary to popular belief, Giggs could not have played for the full England national side. He was only eligible to play for the England schools' team because he went to school there. To play for the England national football team, he would have needed to have been born in England or have had English parents or grandparents. However, both his parents and all four grandparents are Welsh.

He was arguably the first teenage football poster boy to have garnered such attention since the likes of George Best, a player Giggs has been compared to, and who, alongside Bobby Charlton, personally went down to United's training sessions at 'the Cliff' specifically to watch Giggs play. would earn two PFA Young Player of the Year awards.

Superstardom

In 1994, the BBC described Giggs as "one of the most photographed persons" in Great Britain. Giggs, or "Giggsy", as he was known, was also hailed as one of the FA Premier League's biggest stars and could often be found as the picture-book merchandising icon of the league's early years. He (along with Jamie Redknapp and Lee Sharpe) was part of the league's attempt to market itself globally, re-forging its image after the hooliganism-affected years of the 1980s.

Giggs turned professional on his 17th birthday in November 1990 and made his League debut against Everton F.C. at Old Trafford on 2 March 1991, as a substitute for Denis Irwin. In his first full start, Giggs was credited with his first ever goal in a 1-0 win in the Manchester derby, though it appeared to be a Colin Hendry own goal. He collected his first piece of silverware in April 1992 as United defeated Nottingham Forest in the League Cup Final, after Giggs had set up Brian McClair to score the only goal of the game.

By the start of the 1992-93 season - the first season of the newly-formed FA Premier League, Giggs made the left-wing position at United his own, and became known as one of British football's most prodigious young players. His emergence and the arrival of Eric Cantona (who later claimed that he had a telepathic understanding with/of Giggs) heralded the dominance of United in the new Premier League. His manager was very protective of him, refusing to allow Giggs to be interviewed until he turned 20, eventually granting the first interview to the BBC's Desmond Lynam for Match of the Day.

Giggs' ability to consistently dribble past opposing players by using his own exceptional balance, pace, and skill became the most noticeable aspect of his game. He was also renowned for pre-meditating celebrations with team-mates, such as Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis. He was afforded many opportunities which were not normally offered to footballers at his young age, such as hosting his own television show, Ryan Giggs' Soccer Skills, which was a hit with ITV and Granada in 1994.

Ryan Giggs chants often heard from the fans during the Manchester United games include:

"Ryan Giggs, Ryan Giggs, Running down the wing, Ryan Giggs, Ryan Giggs, Can do anything, Feared by the Blues, Loved by the Reds, Ryan Giggs, Ryan Giggs, Ryan Giggs"

and:

"Giggs, Giggs will tear you apart, again"

the former adapted from the Robin Hood theme; the latter from the Mancunian band Joy Division's song, 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'.

His goals were constantly on shortlists for Goal of the Season and tended to be memorable, particularly the ones against QPR in 1993, Tottenham in 1994, Everton in 1995, Coventry in 1996, and the most remarkable of all, his amazing solo-goal against Arsenal in the replay of the 1999 FA Cup semi-final. During extra time, Giggs picked up possession just after Patrick Vieira had given the ball away, then ran away from the half-way line, dribbling past the whole Arsenal back line, including Tony Adams and Martin Keown before launching his left-footed strike just under David Seaman's bar and beyond him. It has been hailed as the best FA Cup goal of all time by some sections of the media and football fans. It does have the distinction of being the last ever goal scored in an FA Cup Semi-Final Replay as, from the following season, the FA Cup Semi-Finals have been decided in a single game, with extra time and a Penalty Shoot Out if required.

By the late 1990s, with the retirement of Cantona and the emergence of Giggs' fellow fledgling young colleagues like David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Philip Neville and Nicky Butt, Giggs' popularity and fame gradually evened out and attention was paid to some of the younger stars, especially Beckham. However, his football skill was still marked genius, and he developed into a more mature senior player by the time United won their record breaking and unprecedented "Treble" in 1999. This achievement aided by Giggs' form and key contributions in several tournaments. Memorable moments were his extra-time goal in the FA Cup semi-final against arch-rivals Arsenal (see above) to give United a 2-1 win, and his 90th minute equalizer in the home leg of the Champions League semi-final against Juventus.

Giggs set up the equalising goal scored by Teddy Sheringham in the UEFA Champions League final that set United on their way to the treble. Giggs was also the man of the match as United beat Palmeiras to claim the Intercontinental Cup that year. He is considered by Manchester United fans as one of their greatest players of all time.

In November 2003, Giggs was mentioned in an episode of The Simpsons, entitled "The Regina Monologues", which takes place in England. In response to Marge complaining that Homer punched out three people on the street, Homer replies, "That was over soccer results. Can you believe they gave Giggs a yellow card in the box?!". Giggs therefore has the distinction of being the only Premiership footballer to be mentioned in the show.

The later years

Ryan Giggs playing for his club Manchester United during the 2005-06 season.

Giggs was one of United's most experienced and senior players at United when Denis Irwin left, and he became a pivotal part of the club. According to a BBC Sport article in 2003, "the trajectory of Giggs' United career follows that of the club almost exactly", underlining his importance to United.

Giggs' form in the years after the achievements of 1999 was reflective of Manchester United's dominance of the English game up until 2003 with Giggs still relishing his left wing slot. United won the League title four times in that period, and had always made it to UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals at the very least. He celebrated his 10-year anniversary at Old Trafford with a testimonial match against Celtic at the start of the 2001-02 campaign. A year later, he bagged his 100th career goal in a draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

He managed to win the FA Cup once more in 2004, making him one of only two players (the other being Roy Keane) to have won the trophy four times, while playing for Manchester United. He has also finished with a runners-up medal three times.

His participation in the victory over Liverpool in September 2004 made him the third player to play 600 games for United, alongside Sir Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes. He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of his contribution to the English game. During the first half of the 2004-05 season, Giggs was linked in a transfer speculation with Newcastle United, a club his best-friend at United, Nicky Butt, had left for. However, no move was made before the transfer window closed on 31 January 2005.

After that season, Giggs signed a two-year contract extension with Manchester United when chairman David Gill relented on his normal policy of not signing players over 30 to contracts longer than one year. The extension, which runs through to July 2008, will most probably keep him at Old Trafford for the remainder of his playing career.

Giggs has reinvented himself and continues to contribute positively to the Manchester United cause even after team-mates like David Beckham and Roy Keane had left. Giggs has also benefited from being largely injury-free aside from some trouble with his hamstrings which, according to his autobiography, prevents him from running at full throttle to this day.

Ryan Giggs made his 700th appearance for Manchester United on 3 March 2007 in a Premier League match against Liverpool, which Manchester United won 1-0. He is now less than 60 games away from breaking Bobby Charlton's appearance record for the club, set in 1973 - the year Giggs was born.

On 6 May 2007, with Chelsea drawing 1-1 with London rivals Arsenal, Manchester United became the champions of England. In doing so Ryan Giggs set a record of nine league titles thus beating the previous record of eight he shared with Alan Hansen and Phil Neal.

Giggs played a starring role in Manchester United's 2007 Charity Shield victory after netting in the first half to bring the game to a 1-1 draw, which led to penalty triumph for the Red Devils after keeper Van Der Sar saved all of Chelsea's first 3 penalties.

International career

Giggs won 64 caps and scored 12 goals for the Welsh national team between 1991 and 2007. However his international career was frustrating as, like Alfredo Di Stéfano and George Best, he did not play in either a European Championship or a World Cup finals, because Wales failed to qualify. He was appointed captain of Wales in 2004.

Giggs received criticism for his reluctance to participate in friendly international matches. Since his début in 1991 against West Germany, Giggs failed to attend a friendly international until some nine years later, missing a massive 18 consecutive friendly games.

In September 2006, Giggs put in a dazzling performance in a friendly against Brazil at White Hart Lane. Such was his display that, following the 2-0 win for Brazil, Brazil coach Dunga paid Giggs the ultimate compliment by stating he would not look out of place playing for the five-time world champions alongside stars such as Kaká and Ronaldinho.

Giggs announced his retirement from international football on Wednesday 30 May 2007 at a press conference held at The Vale of Glamorgan Hotel. His final game for Wales, and as captain, was the Euro 2008 Qualifier against the Czech Republic on 2 June at Cardiff. He earned his 64th cap in this game and won the Man of the Match award as Wales drew 0-0.

Personal life

Other than his notorious spate of womanising as alleged in tabloids such as the Daily Mirror over the years, Giggs has otherwise managed to avoid the limelight of celebrity trappings that tagged his earlier years. In his autobiography, Giggs: The Autobiography, he revealed possible reasons for his aversion to attention, and accounted for his quiet and bashful demeanour.

The biography described Giggs' difficult upbringing. He endured racial taunts as a child because he was the product of a mixed marriage. Although he admired his rugby-playing father's sporting gifts (Giggs' attributes his speed and balance to his father's genes), he hated the impact his "bullying aggressive nature" had on his family.

In an infamous interview with the Daily Telegraph, Giggs described his father as a "real rogue". He adopted his mother's surname after his parents' separation so that "the world would know I was my mother's son".^{[citation needed]}

Giggs is considered by many as a player who, unlike Lee Sharpe and George Best, achieved considerable fame despite a relatively low profile overall as a celebrity. He has done ads for Reebok, Sovil Titus, Citizen Watches, Givenchy, Fuji, Patek Phillipe, Quorn Burgers and Celcom, and has been used for video-mapping in computer game simulations like EA Sports' FIFA 2003, for which he also did a commercial.

According to an article by BBC Sport: "In the early 1990s, Giggs was David Beckham before Beckham was even holding down a place in the United first team. If you put his face on the cover of a football magazine, it guaranteed you the biggest sales of the year. Why? Men would buy it to read about 'the new Best' and girls bought it because they wanted his face all over their bedroom walls. Giggs had the million-pound boot deal (Reebok), the lucrative sponsorship deals in the Far East (Fuji) and the celebrity girlfriends (Dani Behr, Davinia Taylor) at a time when Beckham was being sent on loan to Preston North End."

Giggs married his long-term partner Stacey Cooke in a private ceremony on the 8th September, 2007. They have two children; daughter Liberty and son Zach. Giggs' younger brother, Rhodri Giggs, also a winger, currently plays for Curzon Ashton in the Manchester Football league. He was released by F.C. United in August 2007, the non-league club set up by disaffected Manchester United fans after Malcolm Glazer's takeover of United. Ryan attended Moorside High School on the East Lancs road in Swinton.

Campaigner

In recent years, Giggs has also become a UNICEF representative, launching a campaign to prevent landmines from killing children in 2002.

Giggs, who had visited UNICEF projects in Thailand, told the BBC: "As a footballer I can't imagine life without the use of one of my legs...Sadly this is exactly what happens to thousands of children every year when they accidentally step on a landmine." Giggs is also an active campaigner in the fight against racism in football, alongside fellow mixed-raced players like Rio Ferdinand and Thierry Henry.

He told the Football Anti-Racism site 'Stop the BNP' the following in 2004: "A lot of people don't know that my father is black. He was a professional rugby player in the area that I played as a youngster. So a lot of people who I went to school with knew who he was and knew that he was black. So I would get racist taunts in school."

He also added in the French sports newspaper, L'Equipe, "Looking at me from the outside, it is not very obvious, I know but half my family is black and I feel close to their culture and their colour. I am proud of my black roots and of the black blood that runs in my veins. I do not wish to hide my origins, nor do I seek to make it a subject of conversation. I am what I am."

Giggs is also a patron of the Manchester-based 'Five Star Scanner Appeal', a charity that aims to raise £1m to fund a new scanner at a new Manchester Children's Hospital due to be built ready for 2009.

Career statistics

Manchester United Career:

As of match played 21 August 2007

Competition	Start	End	All Appearances (as sub)	Goals	Assists
Domestic Leagues	1991		507 (61)	98	228
European Competitions	1994		109 (6)	25	28
FA Cup	1991		53 (7)	10	26
League Cup	1991		25 (5)	7	8
Other competitive matches	1991		14 (1)	1
Total	1991		720 (80)	141	290

Honours

Club

Manchester United (1990-present)

• FA Premier League - Champion (9): 1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07
• FA Premier League - Runner Up: 1994-95, 1997-98, 2005-06
• FA Youth Cup Winner: 1992
• FA Cup Winner (4): 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004
• FA Cup Runner Up: 1995, 2005, 2007
• League Cup Winner (2): 1992, 2006
• League Cup Runner Up: 1994, 2003
• Community Shield Winner (6): 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007
• Community Shield Runner Up: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004
• UEFA Champions League Winner: 1998-99
• UEFA Super Cup Winner: 1991
• UEFA Super Cup Runner Up: 1999
• Intercontinental Cup: 1999

Individual

• Barclays Premiership Player of the Month: August, 2006, February 2007.
• Intercontinental Cup Man of the Match: 1999
• Manchester United Players Player of the Year Award: 2005/2006^{[citation needed]}
• U-21 European Footballer of the Year: (1993)^{[citation needed]}
• Wales Player of the Year Award: 1996, 2006
• Inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame: 2005
• Inducted into the Premiership Team of the Decade: 2003^{[citation needed]}
• Inducted into the FA Challenge Cup Team of the Century: 2006 ^{[citation needed]}
• Only Manchester United player to have played in all 9 Premiership title winning teams; also a record of English title holders overall
• Only Manchester United player to have played in both League Cup winning teams
• Only player to scored in 12 consecutive Champion League goals
• Along with Gary Speed the only player have scored in every Premier League campaign since its inception
• Member of PFA Team of the Year: 2007
• OBE for services to football

Preceded by Lee Sharpe	PFA Young Player of the Year 1992 and 1993	Succeeded by Andy Cole
Preceded by Gary Neville	Manchester United F.C. Vice-captain 2005-	Succeeded by Incumbent

***From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kaká

Personal information
Full name	Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite
Date of birth	April 22, 1982 (1982-04-22) (age 25)
Place of birth	Brasília, Brazil
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder
Club information
Current club	A.C. Milan
Number	22
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1999-2003 2003-	São Paulo A.C. Milan	058 (23) 133 (40)
National team2
2002-	Brazil	052 (18)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 September 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 1 June 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (IPA: [xi'kaʁdu ˌizɛ'ksõ dusɐ̃tus lɛitʃi]; born April 22, 1982 in Brasília), better known as Kaká, is a Brazilian football midfielder who plays for A.C. Milan of the Italian Serie A.

Early life

Kaká was born to Simone Cristina dos Santos Leite and Bosco Izecson Pereira Leite. He has a younger brother, Rodrigo (known as Digão), who has followed in Kaká's footsteps by playing football for MIlan.

He suffered a career-threatening and possibly paralysis-inducing spine fracture at the age of 18 as a result of a swimming pool accident, but remarkably made a full recovery. The next year, Kaká made his comeback on the pitch, when he came in as a reserve-substitute in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo final match and scored two goals, among them the match-winner, in less than five minutes. He attributes his recovery to God and since tithed his income to his church.

Club career

Kaká began his club career with São Paulo at the age of 8. He signed a contract at 15 and led the SPFC youth squad to Copa de Juvenil glory. Kaká made his senior side debut in January 2001 and scored 12 goals in 27 appearances, in addition to leading São Paulo to its first and only Torneio Rio-São Paulo championship. He scored 10 in 22 matches the following season, and by this time his performance was soon attracting attention from European clubs.

AC Milan, fresh from winning the 2003 Champions League, brought him aboard in 2003 for $8.5 million, a fee described in hindsight as "peanuts" by club owner Silvio Berlusconi. Within a month, he cracked the starting lineup, and has remained there since. His Serie A debut was in a 2-0 Milan win at A.C. Ancona. He scored 10 goals in 30 appearances that season, as Milan won the Scudetto and the European Super Cup.

Kaká was a part of the five-man midfield in the 2004-05 season, usually playing in a withdrawn role behind striker Andriy Shevchenko. He scored 7 goals in 36 domestic appearances as Milan finished runner-up to Juventus. Despite Milan losing the 2004-05 Champions League final to Liverpool F.C. on penalties, he was nonetheless voted the best midfielder of the tournament, and also finished ninth, with 19 votes, in the running for the 2005 Ballon D'Or.

The 2005-06 season saw Kaká score his first hat-tricks in domestic and European competition. On April 9, 2006, he scored his first Rossoneri hat-trick against Chievo Verona. All three goals were scored in the second half. Seven months later, he scored his first Champions League hat-trick in a 4-1 group stage win over RSC Anderlecht. The football world was beginning to take notice of a superstar in the making. Following Rui Costa's departure to Benfica at the end of the season, and despite the insistence of many Milan fans, Kaká turned down the chance to switch from his number 22 to the now-vacant #10, a number typically associated with world-class playmakers. (The number was eventually claimed by teammate Clarence Seedorf.)

Shevchenko's departure to Chelsea FC for the 2006-07 season allowed Kaká to become the focal point of Milan's offense as he alternated between the midfield and striker positions. He finished as the top scorer in the 2006-07 CL campaign with ten goals, which proved a catalyst in steering Milan back to European success. One of them helped the Rossoneri beat Celtic FC 1-0 after extra time in the quarterfinals on a 1-0 aggregate, and three others proved fatal for Manchester United in the semifinals despite Milan losing the first leg. Following the convincing 3-0 second-leg defeat at the San Siro on May 2 that knocked out the English champions, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson declared that Kaka was one of the two best players in the world, alongside his charge Cristiano Ronaldo. The previous month, a panel of experts set up by Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport proclaimed Kaká as the world's best footballer. Shevchenko also included his endorsement, while suggesting that Kaká deserved to win the Ballon d'Or.

Kaká added the Champions League title to his trophy case for the first time when Milan defeated Liverpool F.C. 2-1 in Athens on May 23, 2007. Though he went scoreless, he won a free kick that led to the first of Filippo Inzaghi's two goals, and provided the assist for the second. For his stellar play throughout the competition, he was voted the Vodafone Fans' Player of the Season in a poll of over 100,000 UEFA.com visitors. In June 2007, German football publication Kicker named him the world's best player, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho finishing second and third, respectively, while he was also given this honor by UK publication The Times. On August 30, Kaká was named by UEFA as both the top forward of the 2006-07 CL season and Club Footballer of the Year.

National team

Kaká made his debut for the Brazil national football team in January 2002 against Bolivia. He was part of the 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning squad, but played only 19 minutes, all of which were in the first round match against Costa Rica. During the final against Germany, coach Luis Felipe Scolari was reportedly about to send Kaká on as a substitute, but he never made it into the game as the referee did not notice him waving on the sidelines to enter the pitch.

In 2003, Kaká was the captain for the Gold Cup tournament, where Brazil finished as runner-up, as did Kaká with a second-best three goals. He was also named as one of the competition's top eleven players by position. On June 29, 2005, he scored in a 4-1 defeat of Argentina in the 2005 Confederations Cup final, with a powerful shot into the upper right-hand corner of the net. He finished in joint tenth place in the voting for the 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year award, and finished two spots higher the following year.

Kaká started in his first FIFA World Cup Finals in 2006, scoring his first and only goal in a 1-0 victory over Croatia in Brazil's opening match. He was unable to keep up his momentum for the remainder of the tournament as Brazil were eliminated by France in the quarterfinals. On September 3, 2006, he scored again for Brazil, receiving the ball off a deflection from an Argentina corner kick and taking the ball down three quarters of the field to score.

On May 12, 2007, citing an exhaustive schedule of Serie A, Champions League and national team play, Kaká openly bowed out of the 2007 Copa América, which was won by Brazil. "I haven't had a break for three seasons. I won't have the form to achieve what is expected of me at an international level." Brazil coach Dunga took the optimistic route, declaring that while he was disappointed about Kaká's decision, his absence would subsequently free up a roster spot for a lesser-used player. Kaká, however, did play 70 minutes of Brazil's 1-1 friendly draw with England on June 1, but only 30 in a goalless draw with Turkey on June 5.

Personal life and religion

A devout evangelical Christian, Kaká became engrossed in religion at the age of 12: "I learnt that it is faith that decides whether something will happen or not." He removed his jersey to reveal an "I Belong to Jesus" T-shirt and openly engaged in prayer moments after the final whistle of Milan's 2007 Champions League triumph. Kaká previously sported the same shirt during Milan's 2004 Scudetto celebration and after Brazil's defeat of Germany in the 2002 World Cup final, and had the same phrase, along with "God Is Faithful," stitched onto the tongues of his boots. During the postmatch celebration following Brazil's 4-1 win over Argentina in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup final, he and several of his teammates, among them backup keeper Gomes and defender Lúcio, wore T-shirts with "Jesus Loves You" printed on them in various languages.

Two days before Christmas in 2005, Kaká married 18-year-old Caroline Celico at the Reborn in Christ Church in São Paulo. She was born on July 26, 1987 to Rosangela Lyra, the director of Dior in Brazil, and entrepreneur Celso Celico. She and Kaká met in 2001 while she was a student and he was playing for São Paulo FC. The wedding drew 600 guests, including fellow Brazilian footballers Cafu, Ronaldo, Adriano, Dida, Júlio Baptista, and then-Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira.

Kaká is a member of the organization Atletas de Cristo ("Athletes of Christ"). His goal celebration consists of him pointing to the sky as a sign of thanks to God after every score, and is proud that he was a virgin when he married. His favorite music is gospel music, and his favorite book is the Bible. Since November 2004, he has served as an Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations' World Food Programme, the youngest to do so at the time of his appointment.

Kaká was sworn in as an Italian citizen on February 12, 2007. He features prominently in Adidas advertising and also has a modeling contract with Armani, but the latter prevented him from appearing in a photo collection alongside his Milan teammates that was published by Dolce & Gabbana in early 2007.

Nickname

His nickname is pronounced as it is spelled, with stress on the second syllable. It is a common term of endearment of "Ricardo" in Brazil. In Kaká's case, however, it was born from younger brother Rodrigo calling him "Caca" due to his inability to pronounce "Ricardo"; it eventually evolved into Kaká.^[9] He is often called "Ricky Kaka" by the European media.

Career statistics

Club	Season	Domestic League		Domestic Cups		International		Total
		App	G	App	G	App	G	App	G
AC Milan	2007-08	2	3	0	0	1	1	3	4
	2006-07	31	8	2	0	15	10	48	18
	2005-06	35	14	2	0	12	5	49	19
	2004-05	36	7	2	0	14	2	52	9
	2003-04	30	10	4	0	14	4	48	14
	Total	133	41	10	0	56	22	199	63
São Paulo FC	2002-03	10	2			0	0	10	2
	2001-02	22	9			0	0	22	9
	2000-01	27	12			0	0	27	12
	Total	59	23	0	0	0	0	59	23
Career Totals		192	64	10	0	56	22	258	86

Honors

Club

• Torneio Rio-São Paulo 2001
• Supercampeonato Paulista 2002
• European Super Cup: 2003, 2007
• Serie A: 2004
• Italian Super Cup: 2004
• UEFA Champions League:2006-2007
• FIFA World Cup: 2002
• Confederations Cup: 2005

Individual honours

• Bola de Ouro (Golden Ball; Best Player Of Brazilian League), 2002
• Bola de Placar(Silver Ball; best player in his field position) , 2002
• 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI
• UEFA Club Football Award Best Midfielder 2004-05
• Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year 2004, 2006
• Serie A Footballer of the Year 2004
• UEFA Team of the Year 2006
• FIFPro World XI 2006
• UEFA Champions League Top scorer: 2006-2007
• UEFA Champions League Fans Player of the season: 2006-2007
• UEFA Champions League Best Forward: 2006-2007
• UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2006-2007

Runners-up

• Intercontinental Cup2004
• UEFA Champions League 2004-2005
• 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Preceded by Samuel Eto'o	UEFA Club Football Award Best Forward 2006-07	Succeeded by Current holder
Preceded by Ronaldinho	UEFA Club Footballer of the Year 2006-07	Succeeded by Current holder
Preceded by Zlatan Ibrahimović	Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year (Shared with David Suazo) 2006	Succeeded by Current holder
Preceded by Deco	UEFA Club Football Award Best Midfielder 2004-05	Succeeded by Deco
Preceded by Pavel Nedvěd	Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year 2004	Succeeded by Zlatan Ibrahimović

***From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo
Personal information
Full name	Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Date of birth	February 5, 1985 (1985-02-05) (age 22)
Place of birth	Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Right/Left Winger Forward
Club information
Current club	Manchester United
Number	7
Youth clubs
	Andorinha CD Nacional Sporting CP
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1999–2003 2003–	Sporting CP Manchester United	025 0(3) 131 (35)
National team2
2003–	Portugal	047 (18)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:11, 24 August 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 10:11, 24 August 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH (pron. IPA [kɾiʃ'tiɐnu ʁu'naɫdu]), (born 5 February 1985 in Funchal, Madeira), better known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a professional Portuguese footballer. He plays for the English club Manchester United F.C. and Portugal.

Biography

Ronaldo was born in Madeira, Portugal, to Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and the late José Dinis Aveiro (1954 – London, 5 September 2005). He has one older brother, Hugo (b. 1975), and two elder sisters, Elma (b. 1974) and Liliana Cátia (b. Madeira, 5 October 1976). Liliana Cátia works as a singer by the stage name "Ronalda" in Portugal. She is married to José Pereira and has a son named Rodrigo.^{[citation needed]} Cristiano's second name ("Ronaldo") is relatively rare in Portugal. His parents named him after former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.^{[citation needed]}

Early career

He began kicking a football when he was three, and when he started primary school at age six, his passion for the sport was obvious. His favourite boyhood team was SL Benfica even though he would later join their rival, Sporting. He first played for an amateur team, Andorinha, where his father was the kit man, when he was just eight years old. By 1995, at just ten years of age, Cristiano Ronaldo's reputation was growing in Portugal. Madeira's top two teams, CS Marítimo and CD Nacional were both interested in signing him. Marítimo, the bigger team, missed a crucial meeting with Rui Santos manager of Andorinha, and as a result Ronaldo signed for Nacional. After a title-winning campaign at Nacional, Ronaldo went on a three day trial with Sporting who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.

Sporting Clube de Portugal

Ronaldo joined Sporting's other youth players who trained at the Alcochete, the club's "football factory," where he received first-class instruction. Sporting realised that Ronaldo needed more support and arranged for his mother to join him. He made his debut for Sporting against Moreirense and scored two goals. He also featured for Portugal in the UEFA Under 17 Championships.

His performances at the UEFA Under 17 championship drew him to the attention of the wider football world. He was first spotted by former Liverpool F.C. manager Gérard Houllier at the age of 16. However, Liverpool later declined him because he was too young and needed some time to develop into a top footballer. However, he came to the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting beat Manchester United 3–1 in the inauguration of the Alvalade XXI stadium in Lisbon. Ronaldo demonstrated his ability to play on both wings. After the match, United's players spoke enthusiastically of the young talent that they had just played against, saying they would rather have him in their team than play against him in the future.

Manchester United

Ferguson decided that he wanted the youngster for his team, who were in the market for a right-sided midfielder with the departure of David Beckham to Real Madrid; Ronaldo was signed for a fee of £12.24 million. He made his debut for Manchester United as a 60th minute substitute against Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford. United were then 1-0 up but with just minutes on the pitch, Ronaldo won a penalty, which Ruud van Nistelrooy saw saved by Jussi Jääskeläinen. However, this did not affect the eventual outcome as the match ended in a 4-0 win to Manchester United. Ronaldo was handed the number 7 shirt on his arrival, a shirt number that has belonged to some of the greatest Manchester United legends like George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham. Ronaldo initially asked for the number 28 which he wore at Sporting, as he did not want the pressure of living up to expectations with the number 7. He has played primarily as a winger for United and can play on either wing. He has additionally also played in a central attacking role for Manchester United as well as a second striker.

In 2006, a row between him and Ruud van Nistelrooy at the Carrington training ground intensified speculation about their roles at the club. However, Ronaldo signed a new deal with United that would last until 2010. Ronaldo said of the deal, "United have stood by me and been there for me and I want to repay that."

Ronaldo playing for Manchester United

Ronaldo has occasionally had problems with his temper during games, he was sent off in a game against Manchester City and received a one-match ban imposed by UEFA for a "one-fingered gesture" towards Benfica fans in a UEFA Champions League match in December 2005. While playing for Portugal in a friendly against Luxembourg he was given a yellow card for pushing Jeff Strasser in the throat in retaliation after Strasser tackled him. Felipe Scolari warned Ronaldo to keep his temper in check during the World Cup.

On 29 October 2005, Ronaldo scored Manchester United's 1000th Premiership goal, in a 4–1 loss at the hands of Middlesbrough. He bagged a double double in February, with two goals at home to Fulham and another pair at Fratton Park, and also scored in the following Premiership game against Wigan taking his tally to 8 Premiership goals. On 26 February 2006, Ronaldo played in the Carling Cup Final against Wigan in the Millennium Stadium at Cardiff, and scored a goal - taking his season's tally to 10 goals.

He was named FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year 2005, the only award to be voted for by fans. He received the same accolade the following year in 2006. He was also ranked 20th in the FIFA Player of the Year 2005 standings.

Despite the World Cup incident, Ronaldo remained popular with the majority of Manchester United fans when he played (and scored) in his first Premiership match since the 2006 World Cup. Manchester United fans could clearly be heard chanting "there's only one Ronaldo" at various points in the game, in a 5-1 win over Fulham F.C.

He won the Barclays Player of the Month for November 2006. During a match with Middlesbrough F.C, he was criticised for diving by rival manager Gareth Southgate.

By December 2006, Ronaldo had become one of United's most influential players, scoring six goals in 3 league games to bring his overall tally up to 12 goals. He came on at half-time as a substitute against Wigan Athletic and immediately stamped his influence on the match with 2 goals in the space of a few minutes. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson concedes he would lose his wager with the Portuguese in his current form after setting a target of 15 goals for the season. The Scot remarked that he was "pleased for him because he works hard at his game. He's still learning the game. His ability to pass the ball has helped him this season. His passing has been very good. That just shows he is maturing. He's been fantastic, and he's getting better all the time."

In December, he was awarded the Barclays Player of the Month Award for the second successive month, becoming the third ever player in the Premiership to do so (after Arsenal's Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996). On 4 February 2007, in a match against Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Ronaldo was caught in yet another diving controversy, after winning United a controversial penalty despite seeming to receive little or no contact from Tottenham's Steed Malbranque.

As the end of each season approached, particularly in 2006 and 2007, it became traditional for rumours to start floating that Ronaldo was unsettled at Manchester United and wanted to play for Real Madrid - the rumours frequently originating from the board of Real Madrid who were reported in April 2007 to be willing to pay an unprecedented €80 million (£54 million) for Ronaldo. At the beginning of March 2007, however, Ronaldo, as well as Manchester United, confirmed that they would be negotiating an extension to his current contract. On 13 April 2007, Ronaldo signed a five-year, £120,000-a-week deal with United, making him the highest-paid player in United's history. He said, "I am very happy at the club and I want to win trophies and hopefully we will do that this season."

During the 2006-07 season, Ronaldo won the PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards. He received the two awards during a ceremony on the 22nd of April, 2007. In addition to winning the two awards (an accomplishment that has only been matched once - in 1977 by Andy Gray), Ronaldo was also named a member of the PFA Premiership Team of the Year, alongside seven of his fellow Manchester United teammates. On 24 April 2007, Ronaldo completed the treble by winning the PFA Fans' Player of the Year, an award which is given by winning the most votes from fans all over the United Kingdom. In addition, he was awarded the 2007 Portuguese Footballer of the Year, and at the beginning of May 2007 Ronaldo was also awarded the Football Writers' Association Award. He also received two awards from the club itself, the Player of the Year award, and the Fans' Player of the Year award. Ronaldo scored his 50^th goal for Manchester United in the game against arch-rivals Manchester City which turned out to be the decisive goal which helped Manchester United claim the Premiership for the first time in 4 years.

During United's second match of the 2007-08 season against Portsmouth, Ronaldo was sent off for his alleged headbutt of Richard Hughes. Although there appeared to be little contact between the two players, referee Steve Bennett was standing right next to Ronaldo and was quick to show him the red card. After the match, Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that Ronaldo was provoked by Hughes, and that he had "fallen into the trap".

International career

Ronaldo made his international debut in August 2003, against Kazakhstan. He scored Portugal's only goal in their 2–1 loss to Greece in the opening match of Euro 2004 and the first goal of the semi final against the Netherlands, which Portugal won 2–1. The final saw a rematch of the opening game of the tournament, and again, Greece emerged victorious.

Ronaldo represented Portugal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and was the second highest scorer in FIFA World Cup qualification in the European zone with 7 goals. As of 17 June 2005, he has scored 11 goals in 25 appearances for his country.

Ronaldo scored his first World Cup goal against Iran with a penalty kick.

In the Round of 16, he left Portugal's 1-0 win over Netherlands injured after a high tackle by Khalid Boulahrouz.

Ronaldo was named the national team captain for the first time in a friendly match against Brazil on February 6, 2007, a day after his 22nd birthday. This move was in honor of the Portuguese Football Federation president, Carlos Silva, who had died two days before. Scolari explained, "Mr Silva asked me to make him captain as a gesture. He thought the English fans would give him a difficult time and this was a response. He is too young to be captain, but Mr Silva asked me, and now he is no longer with us."

World Cup incident

On 8 July 2006, after the sending off of United team-mate Wayne Rooney for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho in the Quarter Final of the 2006 World Cup between England and Portugal, there was much speculation in the English media that he had influenced Rooney's red card by complaining agressively to the referee. Ronaldo has said that Rooney was a friend, and that he was not trying to get Rooney a red card. Rooney said, "I bear no ill feeling to Cristiano but am disappointed that he chose to get involved."

The Sun published a dart board with a picture of Ronaldo as the bull's-eye in a similar fashion to the one made after the 1998 World Cup for David Beckham by The Daily Mirror, another English tabloid.^[22][23][24] The angry reaction in England forced Ronaldo to consider leaving United. After the incident, he told reporters that he thought he "should get out of Manchester as the circumstances are not right to keep playing there". He allegedly told the Spanish sports daily Marca that he wished to move to Real Madrid.

In response to the specultion, Sir Alex Ferguson sent his assistant manager Carlos Queiroz to speak to Ronaldo in Portugal, hoping to change the young player's mind, whilst Rooney pleaded with Ronaldo not to leave the team. Ronaldo chose to stay on at United and signed a new five-year contract months later.

Ronaldo was booed by some French and English fans during Portugal's semi-final defeat against France, and missed out on the tournament's Best Young Player award, partly due to an e-mail campaign against him by England fans. Though the online vote only affected the nomination process, FIFA Technical Study Group awarded the honours to Germany's Lukas Podolski, citing Ronaldo's behaviour as a factor.

Personal life

In October of 2005, Ronaldo and another man were questioned by police for an alleged sexual assault. Ronaldo denied the accusation and the Crown Prosecution Service stated there was insufficient evidence to press charges. Ronaldo previously dated model Jordana Jardel and talk-show host Merche Romero. He is now rumoured to be dating Hollyoaks star Gemma Atkinson. Ronaldo was recently seen kissing Bollywood beauty Bipasha Basu at a nightclub in Lisbon. Ronaldo has done charity work, as well as flying out Martunis, an 11-year-old Indonesian tsunami survivor and his father to attend one of their World Cup qualifiers in June 2005; covering all their expenses. Subsequently all the players contributed money to buy them a house in Indonesia. Cristiano opened a fashion store, "CR7", in his home town of Funchal in February 2006. His elder sisters manage the store. After the two World Cup qualifiers, Ronaldo flew to Indonesia to visit the areas affected by the tsunami and to raise funds. He met the Vice President of the Indonesian Republic Jusuf Kalla and the President of East Timor Xanana Gusmão, and raised £66,000 (about $130,000 USD) by auctioning off his personal sports gear in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Honours

Team honours with Manchester United

• FA Premier League: 2006-2007
• FA Cup: 2004
• Football League Cup: 2006
• Community Shield: 2007

Individual honours and awards

• PFA Players' Player of the Year: 2007
• PFA Young Player of the Year: 2007
• PFA Fans' Player of the Year: 2007
• PFA Premiership Team of the Year: 2005-2006, 2006-2007
• Football Writers' Association Award: 2007
• Barclays Player of the Season: 2006-2007
• Barclays Player of the Month: November 2006, December 2006
• PFA Fans' Player of the Month: October 2006, February 2007
• FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year: 2005, 2006
• Portuguese Sports Personality: 2006
• Portuguese Footballer of the Year: 2007
• Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year: 2006-2007
• Manchester United Players' Player of the Year: 2006-2007

Special achievements

• One of only two players to have won both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards in the same year, the other being Andy Gray in 1977.
• Also won the PFA Fans' Player of the Year award, becoming the first player to win all three Professional Footballers Association awards in one season.
• Only the third player in Premiership history to win back-to-back Barclays Player of the Month awards, and the first since the 1995-1996 season.
• Holds the Premiership record for most goals scored in one season by a midfielder, having scored 17 times during the 2006-2007 Premiership campaign.
• One of only two players to feature in the PFA Premiership Team of the Year for both the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons, the other being Steven Gerrard.

Non-hereditary Orders and Titles

Orders and decorations received by Cristiano Ronaldo:

• Officer of the Order of Infante D. Henrique (Portugal)
• Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (House of Braganza).

Career stats

All-Time Club Performance

Club	Season	Domestic League			Domestic Cups			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assts	Apps	Goals	Assts	Apps	Goals	Assts	Apps	Goals	Assts
Sporting Clube de Portugal	2002-03	25	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	25	3	-
	Total	25	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	25	3	-
Manchester United	2003-04	29	4	4	6	2	0	5	0	-	40	6	4
	2004-05	33	5	4	9	4	-	8	0	-	50	9	4
	2005-06	33	9	6	6	2	1	8	1	0	47	12	7
	2006-07	34	17	14	8	3	1	11	3	5	53	23	20
	2007-08	2	0	-	1	0	-	-	-	-	3	0	-
	Total	131	35	28	30	11	2	32	4	5	185	50	34
Career Totals		156	38	28	30	11	2	32	4	5	210	53	34

***From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Francesco Totti

Personal information
Full name	Francesco Totti
Date of birth	27 September 1976 (1976-09-27) (age 30)
Place of birth	Rome, Italy
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder, Forward
Club information
Current club	A.S. Roma
Number	10
Youth clubs
1988 1989-1993	A.S. Lodigiani A.S. Roma
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1993-	A.S. Roma	372 (152)
National team2
1998-2006	Italy	058 00(9)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 02 September 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 28 May 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Francesco Totti, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born 27 September 1976 in Rome) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer, and is widely recognized as one of the most talented players in the past two decades. He plays for A.S. Roma in Italy's Serie A, a league where he also stands as the top active scorer, with over one hundred goals. Between 1998 and 2006 he was a regular member of the Italian national team, with whom he won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Francesco Totti's position is that of a striker or an attacking midfielder, though he is best known for playing as the trequartista (or second striker), a compromise between the two positions where the player acts as a link between midfield and attack. He is also Roma's first choice to take free kicks and penalties, having scored a number of goals from dead-ball situations.

Totti is widely recognised as the symbol of Roma, having never left the team despite the possibility of playing in stronger and richer clubs, and being the number one goalscorer and the most capped player in the club's history. On 7 June 2007 Totti was declared the winner of the prestigious European Golden Boot, the award given to the top scorer in all the European leagues.

Childhood

Totti was born and raised in Rome, in the Porta Metronia city neighborhood. His parents are Enzo and Fiorella Totti. Unlike other children his age who preferred to watch cartoons, Totti was always more interested in watching football matches instead. Totti constantly played football with older boys. His mother refused a big deal for her son from A.C. Milan while waiting for a deal from his favourite club A.S. Roma. His mother intended to never let her son set foot out of the "Eternal City". Totti finally joined the A.S. Roma junior team in 1989.

AS Roma

Francesco Totti was just 16 when he made his first appearance for AS Roma in a 2-0 away victory at Brescia Calcio on 28 March 1993. He scored four goals in twenty one outings in 1994-95 and over the ensuing seasons became a team regular. He was named Serie A Player of the Year in 2000 and in 2003. The following season (2000-01) he helped AS Roma secure their first league title since 1982-83, having scored thirteen Serie A goals. In the 2001-02 campaign Roma finished runners-up to Juventus, but Totti returned with a then personal-best of fourteen goals during the 2002-03 season.

• 2003-04: Playing in a more advanced role, Totti hit a career-high twenty goals as Roma finished second in Serie A behind A.C. Milan.
• 2004-05: A very disappointing season, the only bright side of which was Roma finishing second in the Italian Cup and thus qualifying for the UEFA Cup. In the 2004-05 season Roma had to replace four coaches. Despite all the problems, Totti scored twelve goals, and helped Vincenzo Montella score 21 with numerous assists. On 19 December 2004, Totti broke A.S. Roma's goal scoring record when he scored against Parma. It was Totti's 107th goal for the club, a record previously held by Roberto Pruzzo.
• 2005-06: A strange season for Roma and Totti. On 19 February the 2006, while playing in the Italian Championship against Empoli F.C., he suffered a fracture of his left fibula, and severed the interconnecting ligaments with the malleolus. He returned from his injury on 11 May 2006 as a substitute in Roma's 3-1 defeat to Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia. As in the 2004-05 season, A.S Roma came in second in the Italian Cup (again trailing to Inter Milan). In the Serie A they finished 5th, and only qualified for the Champions League after the Calciopoli verdicts stripped Juventus and Fiorentina of their Champions League spots. Roma were then awarded 2nd place.

Francesco Totti with AS Roma shirt

The team won eleven consecutive matches, beating previous record (ten consecutive matches by Juventus 1931-'32, Milan 1950-'51 and Bologna 1963-'64). The last match of the streak was a 2-0 victory against rivals S.S. Lazio, before a home draw thanks to a late goal from Inter ended the run. The record only lasted a matter of months as Inter beat it the following season. Coach Luciano Spalletti turned the team's line up from a defensive one to an attacking one (despite playing without strikers for most of the season, and for the last 8 or so games playing without Totti), and the team moved from fifteenth to fifth by the end of the season, with Totti scoring fifteen goals from midfielder or as a lone striker.

• In the 2006-07 season, A.S. Roma won the Italian Cup beating Inter Milan in the finals. Totti also hit a career high of 26 goals in that season winning the Capocannoniere title (Serie A top scorer) as well as winning the ESM European Golden Boot award.

On June 2, 2007, Totti visited Dr. Paolo Mariani, the surgeon who operated on him after he broke his ankle in February of 2006. The doctor examined him and they both decided not to operate on the ankle again to remove the metal plate. Totti was reassured by the doctor that the plate will not cause any problems for next season. There were concerns that the plate could change the positioning of the bone and tendons in the area, but after testing everything was clear.

National team

Totti scored in Italy's 4-1 defeat by Spain in the final of the UEFA European Under-18 Championship in July 1995. In the final of the Under-21 competition in 1996, Totti opened the scoring in a 1-1 draw against the Spanish before triumphing on penalties.

Totti made his senior Azzurri debut in the Euro 2000 qualifying victory against Switzerland on 10 October 1998. He played in the finals tournament and scored against Romania and Belgium and played in the final; losing to France. Although he was on the losing side, Totti was named Man of the Match in the final and described by many footballing legends, including Michel Platini (France), as the best player of the tournament.

Disappointment followed at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, with Totti failing to make a significant impact and then being sent off as Italy lost to South Korea in the second round, when he received a second yellow card for diving in the penalty area by referee Byron Moreno.

At Euro 2004, Totti garnered negative media attention when he spat at Christian Poulsen, a midfielder playing for Denmark. Totti was subsequently banned until the semi-finals, but did not play in the tournament again, as Italy failed to qualify for the next round.

On 20 July 2007, Totti announced his retirement from the national team after he had made it clear that his intention was to retire from the national team after the World Cup. He plans to concentrate solely on playing for AS Roma. He also stated that he has been often criticized by the press because he is Roman and that players such as Paolo Maldini and Roberto Baggio were not treated as bad as he was, when they decided to retire. About Roman players in the national team he also added that they are not treated in the same way of players from North Italy and that also Daniele De Rossi and Alberto Aquilani may have the same problems.

2006 World Cup

Totti's participation in the 2006 FIFA World Cup was put at risk by the broken ankle he suffered a few months before the tournament. He recovered in time to join the national team, although he was far from his best, and played with metal plates in his ankle that had yet to be removed. During the match with Australia, he scored from the penalty spot in the closing seconds of regulation time to give Italy a 1-0 victory. Italy then went on to face Ukraine, a match in which Totti provided an assist to defender Gianluca Zambrotta. Italy won the match 3-0 and moved on to the semifinals to face Germany. Totti started the game against Germany and played the entire match in which Italy defeated Germany 2-0. He also started in the final against France, but came off after 61 minutes for Daniele De Rossi. Italy went on to win the World Cup. Totti was selected for the 23-man Mastercard All-Star Team.

Celebration

Francesco Totti uses a variety of celebrations for special occasions. His most famous celebration was in the Rome derby of the 1998/1999 season. Totti scored the third and final goal for Roma in the final minutes of the game, and celebrated by flashing a t-shirt which read, "Vi ho purgato ancora". This translates to, "I've purged you again". This was in reference to the fact that he scored a goal against Lazio in the previous derby on November 29th, 1998. Another memorable celebration was when he took his shirt off and had a shirt under that said "6 (sei) Unica!" meaning "you are unique", he flashed this to Ilary Blasi, his wife. His most common celebrations are the one where he runs to the side, kissing his ring finger in honor of his wife and, then pointing upwards with his finger, thanking God. When his son, Christian, was born, he began sucking his thumb as a celebration to dedicate his goals to him.

He had a few celebrations that were unique. One time he put the ball under his shirt and he lay on his back as his teammates pulled the ball out. That of course was a skit of childbirth for his newborn son. Another time after he scored in the derby against Lazio he ran to the camera and started filming the crowd.

Personal life

Totti is married to Ilary Blasi, a former showgirl, who currently works as commentator and host on several RAI TV programs. The couple had their first baby, named Cristian, on 6 November 2005. Their second child, a daughter, Chanel, was born on 13 May 2007.

Totti also runs a football school, named Number Ten, and owns a motorcycle racing team called "Totti Top Sport".

His best friend is his brother, Riccardo. However, Totti always says that his brother was the better player when they were kids, but he was unlucky on his way. Totti had a strong bond with Riccardo so today, Riccardo is Totti's agent.

He also had a bad relationship with his previous coach Fabio Capello. Totti accused Capello of being a traitor for leaving Roma suddenly without a warning, and left the Roman team in a very bad shape which had them almost relegated to the second division in 2004-05 season. This rift started on Capello's last days with Roma: according to Totti, his behaviour to most of the players changed, and he once advised the younger players not to take Totti as their role model player, but to take Brazilian Emerson as an idol for his hard work. Several months later, Capello, Emerson and Frenchman Jonathan Zebina all left AS Roma for rivals Juventus suddenly.

His close friendship with former teammate Antonio Cassano was ended as well when Cassano created a ton of problems for AS Roma before moving off to join Real Madrid where he was later joined by Capello and Emerson. Currently Totti and Cassano are not on talking terms. In a public bust up with Capello, Cassano claimed that he was wrong to leave Roma and he hopes that Roma and Totti will forgive him.

Honours

Decal of Francesco Totti, on the wall of a house in Rione Monti, in Rome. It celebrates the 2000-01 scudetto won by Totti's club, A.S. Roma.

A.S. Roma

• Serie A:
  • Winner: 2001
  • Runner-up: 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007
• Coppa Italia:
  • Winner: 2007
  • Runner-up: 2003, 2005, 2006
• Supercoppa Italiana:
  • Winner: 2001, 2007
  • Runner-up: 2006

National Team

• FIFA World Cup:
  • Winner: 2006
• UEFA European Championship:
  • Runner-up: 2000
• UEFA Under-21 European Championship:
  • Winner: 1996

Personal

• FIFA 100 (125 greatest living players, as selected by Pelé)
• 2006 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
• EURO 2000 Team of the Tournament
• Italian Footballer of the Year:
  • 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004
• Serie A Young Footballer of the Year:
  • 1999
• Serie A top scorer
  • 2006-07
• European Golden Boot:
  • 2007

Career statistics

• Correct as of 2 September 2007.

Season	Team	League	Domestic League		Domestic Cups		European Games		Total
			App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
1992-93	A.S. Roma	Serie A	2	0	-	-	-	-	2	0
1993-94	A.S. Roma	Serie A	8	0	2	0	-	-	10	0
1994-95	A.S. Roma	Serie A	21	4	4	3	-	-	25	7
1995-96	A.S. Roma	Serie A	28	2	1	0	7	2	36	4
1996-97	A.S. Roma	Serie A	26	5	1	0	3	0	30	5
1997-98	A.S. Roma	Serie A	30	13	6	1	-	-	36	14
1998-99	A.S. Roma	Serie A	31	12	3	1	8	3	42	16
1999-00	A.S. Roma	Serie A	27	7	2	0	4	1	33	8
2000-01	A.S. Roma	Serie A	30	13	2	1	2	2	34	16
2001-02	A.S. Roma	Serie A	24	8	1	1	11	3	36	12
2002-03	A.S. Roma	Serie A	24	14	5	3	6	3	35	20
2003-04	A.S. Roma	Serie A	31	20	-	-	1	0	32	20
2004-05	A.S. Roma	Serie A	29	12	7	3	4	0	40	15
2005-06	A.S. Roma	Serie A	24	15	2	0	3	2	29	17
2006-07	A.S. Roma	Serie A	35	26	6	2	9	4	50	32
2007-08	A.S. Roma	Serie A	2	1	1	0	-	-	3	1
Total			372	152	43	15	58	20	473	187

Additional information

A goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, Totti published two self-effacing joke books in order to raise money for a children's charity. They were bestsellers for many months. Some of the jokes were filmed into short clips that were acted out by Totti himself, along with some of his national team mates such as Alessandro Del Piero, Gianluigi Buffon, Marco Delvecchio, Alessandro Nesta and Antonio Cassano.

Totti's idol player in his childhood was ex-Roma captain Giuseppe Giannini, whom he considers as his elder brother: he always wished to just shake hands with Giannini, and was one of his biggest fans. Several years after, Totti himself had the opportunity to play alongside Giannini on the pitch in the AS Roma kit.

Totti is famous for his chipping technique, called in Italian il cucchiaio (in English, "spoon" or in his Roman dialect (Romanesco), "er cucchiaio"). He has scored many beautiful goals using this technique. His famous early goals using this technique was in a shoot-out against Netherlands in the Euro 2000 semi-final when he scored against Netherlands keeper Edwin van der Sar, he also scored a second famous goal two years later against Lazio in the derby, which ended 5-1 to A.S. Roma, and against Inter a few years later after dribbling Marco Materazzi. Consequently, his autobiography is entitled "Mo' Je Faccio Er Cucchiaio", which is Roman dialect (Romanesco) for "I'll Chip Him".

He was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations in March 2004.

Totti also collects sports shirts from teams around the world. In 2003 after a Six Nations rugby game between Italy and Ireland, two Irish players Brian O'Driscoll and Denis Hickie were approached by one of Totti's representitives offering two Totti shirts for each of theirs, the players duly accepted the honourable exchange.

***From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia