Cesc Fàbregas

Technorati Profile

Personal information
Full name	Francesc Fàbregas Soler
Date of birth	May 4, 1987 (1987-05-04) (age 20)
Place of birth	Arenys de Mar, Spain
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Centre Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Arsenal
Number	4
Youth clubs
	FC Barcelona
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2003-	Arsenal	112 (11)
National team2
2006-	Spain	018 0(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:09, 22 September 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 21:59, 23 May 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (IPA: ['sɛsk 'faβɾəɣəs su'ɫeʁ̞]) (born May 4, 1987 in Arenys de Mar, Catalonia, Spain) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Arsenal in the English Premier League and for the Spanish national team. Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with FC Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in July 2003. He did not feature much in his first season for the Gunners, but following injuries to key midfielders in the 2004–05 season, his playing time increased. Before long, he established himself as Arsenal's starting central midfielder alongside Gilberto Silva.

Having made the first team at a young age, the teenager went on to break several of the club's records as he began to earn a reputation of a technically-gifted player, excellent passer of the ball and key component of the Arsenal lineup. While Gilberto Silva provides a more defensive presence, Fàbregas functions primarily as a playmaker. In international football, the Spaniard's national career began at the youth level, representing the Under-17 side at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship. As a result of his club performances, he was called up the senior squad and played in the 2006 World Cup. In 2006, Fàbregas committed his long-term future to Arsenal and signed an eight-year contract.

Career

Arsenal

Fàbregas started playing his club football at FC Barcelona. During his youth career, he was played mostly as a volante (defensive midfielder), yet he was also a prolific scorer, sometimes scoring more than 30 goals in a season. However, he did not play a first-team game at the Camp Nou. Sensing that he would have limited opportunities at Barcelona if he stayed, he decided to join Arsenal, signing for the London club on 11 September 2003. Initially, he found life difficult in England's capital but soon struck a friendship with team-mate Philippe Senderos, who helped him settle down. As a 16-year-old, Fàbregas did not even think about breaking into the first team but looked up to his seniors Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva, while concentrating on training and learning the English language. He made his début not long after, on October 23, 2003, in a League Cup tie at home to Rotherham United. In doing so he became Arsenal's youngest ever first-team player, aged 16 years and 177 days. He then became the youngest goalscorer in Arsenal's history in a later round of the League Cup, scoring from close range in a 5–1 victory against Wolves. Although Arsenal went on to win the league unbeaten in the 2003–04 season, Fàbregas was not given a winner's medal because he did not play in a single league game.

Fàbregas takes a shot at goal in a game against Sheffield United in 2006.

It was not until the start of the 2004–05 season that the Spaniard started making first-team appearances in matches outside the League Cup. His first match of the season was against Manchester United in the Community Shield. Following an injury to Vieira, Fàbregas stepped in and made four consecutive Premier League starts. He earned praise for his performances in those games, even claiming a goal against Blackburn Rovers in a 3–0 victory, and becoming Arsenal's youngest ever goalscorer in a league game. With further injuries to Edu and Gilberto Silva, more playing time in all competitions was extended to the teenager. In the UEFA Champions League, he became the second-youngest goalscorer in the competition's history after scoring the third goal against Rosenborg in a 5–1 victory. He concluded his season by winning his first honours with Arsenal when he was in the starting eleven that defeated Manchester United on penalties in the 2005 FA Cup Final.

After the departure of Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira to Juventus, Fàbregas featured regularly in the Arsenal central midfield alongside Gilberto Silva. Inheriting the number 4 jersey from Vieira, he made 49 appearances in all competitions during the 2005–06 season. Despite his young age, his performances came under greater scrutiny due to his increased involvement in the first team. Further, as Fàbregas possessed a smaller frame and played with less aggression than Vieira, there were initially doubts over his ability to fill in the void left by the Frenchman. Nevertheless, Fàbregas asserted his own style of play and impressed pundits in the Champions League against Real Madrid and Juventus. In the latter, he scored Arsenal's first goal and set up Thierry Henry for the second, at the same time proving that he could compete against tough, hard-tackling midfielders like Vieira. He then played in the final against his former club Barcelona, but Arsenal were defeated 1–2, completing a trophyless 2005-06 campaign for Arsenal.

Fàbregas celebrates a goal with his Arsenal team-mates.

Fàbregas' increase in stature drew transfer speculation during the summer; Real Madrid expressed a desire to sign the Spaniard despite his long-term contract with Arsenal, but Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger stated that Arsenal would not listen to any offers. In September 2006, with six years left on his deal, Arsenal offered a new eight-year deal to the midfielder, which he signed on October 19, 2006. While the contract was unusually long, Fàbregas cited Arsenal's playing style and Wenger as reasons for his long-term commitment to the club.

The 2006–07 season was another learning experience for the young Arsenal squad and Fàbregas. The club again failed to secure any major honours and was defeated by city rivals Chelsea in the League Cup final. However, Fàbregas emerged as one of the key creative players for the team, playing in every single league game. He kickstarted Arsenal's UEFA Champions League 2006-07 campaign when he scored a brace in a 3–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in a qualifier match. In the Premier League, he notched up 13 assists, which was the second-highest in the league. He ended the season with several individual honours, including the Golden Boy award, presented by the Italian paper TuttoSport, based on a poll of leading writers across Europe. He was also named in the 2006 UEFA Team of the Year, and named FA Premier League Player of the Month for January 2007. Additionally, he was nominated for both PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year, although both awards went to Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo. In June 2007, he was named Arsenal's Player of the Season, taking in 60% of the votes.

The 2007–08 season began with much uncertainty for Arsenal. First, David Dein, the club's vice-chairman, left amidst allegations of internal strife. This was followed by the departure of the club's all-time top goalscorer and captain, Thierry Henry, who signed for Barcelona, as well as speculation over Wenger's future with the club. Fàbregas knew immediately that he would become the most important player for Arsenal, but stated he was ready for the challenge. He started the season well, scoring seven goals and providing six assists in his first nine games of the season, and soccernet attributed the early success of Arsenal to the young Spaniard.

Spanish national team

Although he features regularly for the Spain national football team,^[1][36] Fàbregas' international career had already begun at the youth level. At the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Finland, he finished as top scorer of the tournament despite playing in midfield, and was voted Player of the Tournament. Spain finished runners-up in the tournament to Brazil.

After emerging as one of Arsenal's key players in only his second season at the club, it did not take long for Fàbregas to be called up to the senior squad. Noting his impressive performances in Arsenal's 2006 Champions League campaign, Spain coach Luis Aragones named the teenager in the team for a friendly against the Ivory Coast. In that game, Fàbregas became the youngest player capped for Spain in 70 years. He received good reviews for his début, and was involved in the build-up to Spain's first goal in the 3–2 victory over the Ivorians.

On May 15, 2006, Fàbregas was selected for the Spanish 2006 World Cup squad. During the tournament, he came on as a second-half substitute in Spain's first two group matches, contributing an assist in their 3–1 victory against Tunisia. He then started alongside Spain's reserve players (including then-Arsenal teammate José Antonio Reyes) in Spain's third group match against Saudi Arabia. He earned a starting role in Spain's first knockout-stage match against France, in place of Marcos Senna, but Spain lost 3–1. Fàbregas also became the youngest player in Spanish football history to participate in a World Cup when he came on as a substitute for Luis García after 77 minutes in the 4–0 victory against Ukraine on 13 June 2006; he was then 19 years and 41 days old. He was later nominated for the Gillette Young Player of the World Cup, but Germany's Lukas Podolski won the award.

Style of play

Fàbregas runs up to take a corner kick.

Originally brought to Arsenal as a youth to slowly develop via the League Cup, Fàbregas was unexpectedly deployed as Arsenal's starting central midfielder following injuries to fellow midfielders Patrick Vieira, Gilberto Silva and Edu during the 2004–05 season. Fàbregas functions mostly as a playmaker and his main asset is his passing range. As one of the most coveted young talents in the game today, he has been described as being a vital part of Arsenal's first team, bringing vision, creativity and selflessness to Arsenal's intricate passing game, and displaying maturity that belies his age. In set pieces, he is one of the first-choice corner kick and free kick takers in the team.

Fàbregas has stated in interviews that while Vieira served as his role model and mentor, he styles his game after his childhood hero and compatriot Josep Guardiola. In that sense he is of a different mold from his Arsenal predecessors who play in the same position, preferring skill over strength. Initially, this led to criticisms of his lightweight frame and less aggressive style of play, but his statistics have improved over the seasons, and his importance to the team as the main creative force is reflected in his contributing 15 assists in all competitions in the 2006–07 season. By his own admission, scoring was a weaker part of his game in his first few seasons at Arsenal; wasteful finishing also being symptomatic of the larger problem surrounding Arsenal in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In the 2007–08 season however, he scored seven goals in his first nine games and Arsenal manager Wenger claimed that the Spaniard's previous inability to score was down to a mental state. Given his young age, concerns have also been raised over the large number of games Fàbregas has played for club and country in the last few seasons, as burnout may become an issue if he is not adequately rested, but to date the midfielder has yet to sustain any major injuries.

Club career statistics

(correct as of 22 September, 2007)

Club	Season	League			Cup			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Arsenal	2003–04	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	3	1	0
	2004–05	33	2	4	6	0	0	5	1	0	43	3	4
	2005–06	35	3	5	1	1	0	13	1	0	49	5	5
	2006–07	38	2	13	6	0	1	10	2	1	54	4	15
	2007–08	6	4	5	0	0	0	3	3	1	9	7	6
Career totals											158	20	30

Career honours

Arsenal

• Winner
  • FA Cup: 2005
  • FA Community Shield: 2004

• Runner-up
  • UEFA Champions League: 2005–06
  • League Cup: 2006–07
  • FA Community Shield: 2005

Spain

• Runner-up
  • 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship

Personal

• UEFA Team of the Year: 2006

***From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robin van Persie

Personal information
Date of birth	August 6, 1983 (1983-08-06) (age 24)
Place of birth	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Arsenal
Number	11
Youth clubs
	Excelsior Rotterdam
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2001-2004 2004-	Feyenoord Arsenal	61 (14) 77 (23)
National team2
2005-	Netherlands	22 0(7)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 September 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 26 December 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Robin van Persie (born August 6, 1983 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch footballer currently playing at English Premier League team Arsenal as a striker. He can play as a striker (as he normally does for Arsenal) or on either wing, as he primarily does for the Netherlands. He is also a free kick specialist.

Van Persie was brought up in the Kralingen area of east Rotterdam.

Club career

Feyenoord

Robin Van Persie began his career as a youth player for Dutch side Excelsior Rotterdam and later Feyenoord Rotterdam, earning caps in the process for Netherlands U21 and U21 teams. He was called up to Feyenoord's injury plagued first-team squad soon after he signed a three-and-a-half year deal with the club in January 2002. His performances with Feyenoord, including his playing an integral part in the 3-2 UEFA Cup final victory over Borussia Dortmund at the De Kuip on May 8, 2002, earned him the prestigious Best Young Talent award given by the KNVB for the 2001-02 season.

As a result of a back injury suffered during the summer of 2002, there was uncertainty as to whether Van Persie could start the new season. Van Persie, however, showed no such worries come the beginning of the season, scoring 8 goals in 28 league games as well as playing twice in the UEFA Champions League. Despite his talent, Robin Van Persie had a difficult relationship with the Feyenoord manager Bert van Marwijk, a strict disciplinarian, who sent him home on the eve of the European Super Cup against Real Madrid in Monaco.

With Van Persie's Feyenoord contract due to expire in 2005, a disagreement with Bert van Marwijk combined with the fact that the club had not offered him a new contract meant that he spent most of the following season as a fading light at the club.

Arsenal

English club Arsenal, undeterred by a rebuff during the January 2004 transfer window, made a move for the striker at the end of the 2003-04 season. Van Persie also emerged as a target for Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, Bundesliga outfit Werder Bremen, and Spanish side Sevilla. However Arsenal fended off other club interest and signed van Persie, despite already having signed Spanish striker José Antonio Reyes from Sevilla. Van Persie completed his move for a fee believed to be in the range of £3 million to the Premiership on May 17, 2004. Praised by Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger for the strength of his talent and touted as a long-term replacement of Dennis Bergkamp, the young Dutchman made his debut for the team in the 3-1 FA Community Shield victory over Manchester United on August 8, 2004. Early on, he played as a left winger, but subsequently featured as a striker.

Van Persie with Thierry Henry.

He spent most of his time on the bench during earlier parts of the season and looked to have earned himself a permanent place there with his sending off against Southampton which cost Arsenal two points, and caused Wenger to display uncharacteristic anger in public with a player. To his credit, Van Persie redoubled his efforts in training during his suspension and was reintroduced in to the team when injuries to Thierry Henry forced Wenger's hand. His return to the first team has been marked with numerous goals, the pinnacle of his achievements (at that time) coming in the FA Cup semi-final against Blackburn Rovers where he scored two goals to secure victory for Arsenal. He also scored the vital breakthrough goal against West Bromwich Albion to help Arsenal secure second place in the Premiership after the Albion defence had proved difficult to break down. As a result of his good play he won the The Barclay's Premiership Player of the Month.

Playing for Arsenal

Van Persie scored in the first game of the 2005-06 season and he continued to show good form, winning the prestigious Player of the Month award in November after scoring six goals in just four starts. He signed a contract extension keeping him at the North London club until 2011.

In the early part of the 2006-07 season, against Charlton Athletic, he scored what turned out to be BBC's Goal of the Month, an airborne volley from the edge of the 18-yard box. Arsène Wenger described it as "technically perfect". Another notable contribution was made during a 2-1 loss to Fulham FC. As Arsenal's inconsistent form continued with Fulham taking a shock lead, Robin gave the Gunners a glimmer of hope with a blistering free kick from the better part of 30 yards. These and his international performances for his country earned him the title Rotterdam Sportsman of the year 2006. Shortly after being named Rotterdam sportsman of the year, five goals in four games against Blackburn Rovers, Watford F.C. and Charlton illustrated his importance to Arsenal. Van Persie's season was soon ended by injury however. In a match against Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on 21 January 2007, Van Persie came on as a substitute and scored the equaliser in the 84th minute. In doing so, Van Persie fractured his fifth metartarsal in his right foot while celebrating, an injury that kept him out till the end of the season, where he managed to remain as the top scorer for the season with Arsenal.

Following the departure of Arsenal star striker Thierry Henry prior to the 2007-08 season, Van Persie was expected to assume the role as the main striker of the club. He showed good form in the pre-season Emirates Cup, scoring the winning goal in Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Internazionale, a goal described by one journalist as "of sublime execution".

International career

Playing for the Netherlands

Robin van Persie received his first full international cap against Romania on 4 June 2005. Despite not being an automatic first choice to start for Arsenal, Van Persie was selected as one of the Netherlands' forwards for the 2006 FIFA World Cup by national coach Marco Van Basten. His first World Cup goal came in the group match against Côte d'Ivoire, a free kick in the 23rd minute.

During the Euro 2008 qualifiers, van Persie made an impact during games against Luxembourg and Belarus. Two goals in either halves and an assist helped the Netherlands claim a 3-0 win. He continued his form in the next two games, scoring against Bulgaria in a 1-1 draw and also in the 2-1 victory against Albania a few days later.

Personal life

Van Persie's mother is a teacher and his father an artist. His father brought him up as a single parent. He grew up in a rough neighbourhood of Rotterdam. He had a series of behavioral problems at school and was often excluded from classes. He is married to Bouchra, a Dutch-Moroccan. They have one child together, a boy named Shaqueel, born on November 16, 2006. They live in Enfield, North London.

During the 2005 close season van Persie was accused of rape by a Dutch-Nigerian beauty queen. Dutch police eventually released van Persie without charge after they completed their investigations.

Honours

Arsenal

• Winner
  • FA Cup 2005
  • FA Community Shield 2004
• Runner-up
  • UEFA Champions League 2006

Club career statistics

(correct as of 21 September, 2007)

Club	Season	League			Cup			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Feyenoord	2001-02	8	-	-	-	-	-	7	-	-	15	-	-
	2002-03	23	9	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	25	9	-
	2003-04	28	6	-	-	-	-	3	0	-	31	6	-
	Total										71	15	-
Arsenal	2004–05	26	5	1	9	4	0	6	1	0	41	10	1
	2005–06	24	5	1	7	4	0	7	2	0	38	11	1
	2006–07	22	11	7	1	0	0	8	2	1	30	13	8
	2007–08	5	2	1	0	0	0	2	1	0	7	3	1
	Total										116	37	11
Career Total											187	52	11

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2005-06-08	Olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland	Finland	0-4	0-4	2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying
2	2006-06-11	Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany	Côte d'Ivoire	1-0	2-1	2006 FIFA World Cup
3	2006-08-16	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland	Ireland	0-4	0-4	Friendly match
4	2006-09-06	Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands	Belarus	1-0	3-0	2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying
5	2006-09-06	Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands	Belarus	2-0	3-0	2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying
6	2006-10-07	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	1-1	1-1	2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying
7	2006-06-11	Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Albania	1-0	2-1	2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying

***From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

José Antonio Reyes

Personal information
Full name	José Antonio Reyes Calderón
Date of birth	September 1, 1983 (1983-09-01) (age 24)
Place of birth	Utrera, Spain
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Winger, Striker
Club information
Current club	Atlético Madrid
Number	17
Youth clubs
1994–1999	Sevilla
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1999–2004 2004–2007 2006–2007 2007–	Sevilla Arsenal → Real Madrid (loan) Atlético Madrid	95 (25) 69 (16) 30 0(6) 00 0(0)
National team2
2003–	Spain	21 0(4)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 June 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of October 11, 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

José Antonio Reyes Calderón (born September 1, 1983 in Utrera, Seville) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for Spanish club Atlético Madrid. He is also a member of the Spanish national team.

Club career

Early career

Born into a Romani family in Utrera, a town south-east of Seville, Reyes joined the youth ranks of Seville club Sevilla FC at the age of 10. His talent was identified, and he represented the club at all youth levels. He finally signed a full contract in 1999 at the age of 15. Reyes made his senior debut a year later as a substitute in a game against Real Zaragoza and was later called up to Spain's under-17 youth national team for the Under-17 European Championships.

Reyes established his reputation as a versatile forward, playing either as a left winger or a support striker. His 22 goals in 86 matches, over four seasons at Sevilla led to other clubs taking notice, but Reyes' popularity with the club's fans made a move to a bigger Spanish club politically difficult for Sevilla FC's club president.

Arsenal

Despite Sevilla manager Joaquín Caparrós wishing to hang onto him, Reyes signed with English club Arsenal F.C. during the January transfer window of the 2003-04 season. The £10.5m fee was negotiated with top ups, depending on the success of Arsenal, which could rise to £17m.

He made his debut on February 1, 2004 in a 2-1 win over Manchester City. Two days later, he scored an own goal against Middlesbrough in the Carling Cup. Later that month, Reyes scored twice against Chelsea to knock them out of the FA Cup. He also scored against Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal, and his goals in the penultimate two games of the season helped keep Arsenal's unbeaten run in the FA Premier League going.

Hat tricks in friendlies during the summer 2004 showed his improvement and Reyes was a prominent influence on Arsenal's impressive start to the 2004-05 season, in which he managed to score in each of the first six games. However, Reyes struggled during the middle of the season after Arsenal's defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford. His inconsistent performance brought little reward for much of the season, and yet towards the end of it he scored three valuable goals.

In early 2005, he was reported to be homesick while at Arsenal, even though José's parents Mari and Francisco as well as brother Jesús lived with him in England. During a prank call perpetrated by COPE Radio of Spain in February 2005, a prankster claiming to be the president of Spanish club Real Madrid reportedly called Reyes' agent and spoke to Reyes himself about a possible transfer deal. In the ensuing conversation, Reyes allegedly declared that life in London was far from what he had envisioned and he would welcome a move back to his native Spain. Reyes also supposedly said that he wanted out of the club as there were "bad people" at Arsenal.

On May 21, 2005, Reyes became the only second player in history (after Kevin Moran) to be sent off in an FA Cup final, when he was dismissed for a second yellow card.

He temporarily ended speculation about a move away from Highbury in July 2005, when he signed a new six-year contract and declared that he was "looking forward to having many more successful years at the club."

In Arsenal's 2005-06 UEFA Champions League run, Reyes featured heavily against, among others, Real Madrid, Juventus F.C. and Villarreal CF, in the most impressive Champions League results for Arsenal to date. He came on as a substitute in the May 17, 2006 final against Spanish champions F.C. Barcelona, which Arsenal lost 2-1. However, in August 2006 he expressed a desire not to play in Arsenal's 2006-07 Champions League qualifying match against Dynamo Zagreb - to do so would render him 'cup-tied' and complicate a move to Real Madrid. Wenger left him out of the team, thus fuelling speculation that a transfer was soon to be agreed.

Reyes was linked to Real Madrid along with Arsenal teammate Cesc Fàbregas in the summer of 2006, when the candidate Arturo Baldasano of the then on-going Real Madrid presidential campaign claimed he would sign them, if elected. Reyes further hinted towards a transfer to Real Madrid. After making two official statements on Arsenal's website denying media reports of being unhappy, alleged quotes from Reyes in the Spanish press contradicted his denials. This tested the patience of Arsène Wenger, who reacted angrily to Real Madrid's attempts to unsettle his player, suggesting that it was not the first time Real Madrid had used the media and agents in Spain as a destabilising tactic. Shortly before the closure of the 2006 summer transfer window, Madrid and Arsenal agreed to exchange Reyes for Brazilian international Júlio Baptista, each on a season-long loan deal.

Reyes scored his first goal for Real Madrid on September 17, 2006 with a free kick against Real Sociedad.

On the final day of the 2006-07 season, the focus was on David Beckham in his final match for Real but Reyes, in the final game of his loan spell, came on as a substitute for the injured Beckham, scoring with his first touch and again later on. Real came back from a 1-0 deficit to win 3-1, claiming the La Liga title. It had been rumoured that he may leave for Olympique Lyonnais.

Real Madrid appointed former Getafe coach Bernd Schuster on July 8, 2007 increasing the chances that Reyes would sign a permanent deal and stay in Spain.

Atletico Madrid

However, reports surfacing on July 29 indicated that Madrid rivals Atletico Madrid were on the verge of landing the player. Later that day, Wenger confirmed that Reyes's departure was imminent, and that a more specific announcement would be made "shortly".

On July 30, Reyes passed his medical. He was unveiled on July 31 as an Atletico player for the next four years. It is believed Arsenal will receive €12m (£8.1m) for the transfer. Reyes made his debut for Atlético in a match against Lazio Roma, in which he scored a goal and made an assist in a 3-1 victory in the annual Amsterdam Tournament. Reyes has had previous success in this pre-season tournament, being named player of the tournament in the 2004 Amsterdam Tournament while playing for Arsenal. Ironically, Arsenal were winners of the 2007 Amsterdam Tournament.

International career

Reyes earned his first full cap in September 2003 against Portugal. However, he was left out of Iñaki Sáez's 2004 European Championship squad. Although Reyes has been picked consistently in national team squads, he has only 20 caps and 4 goals. He is not a regular starter, due to current national team coach Luis Aragonés' preference to play Fernando Torres, David Villa, and Luis García up front. Most recently, Reyes played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup game against Saudi Arabia.

Club career statistics

(correct as of 13 July 2006)

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sevilla FC	1999-00	1	0	?	-	-	-	-	1	0
	2000-01	1	0	?	1	0	-	-	2	0
	2001-02	29	8	?	1	0	-	-	30	8
	2002-03	34	9	?	3?	2?	-	-	37?	11?
	2003-04	21	5	?	4	1	-	-	25	6
	Total	86	22	?	9?	3?	-	-	95?	25?
Arsenal FC	2003-04	13	2	1	4	2	4	1	21	5
	2004-05	30	9	10	7	2	8	1	45	12
	2005-06	26	5	10	6	1	12	0	44	6
	Total	69	16	21	17	5	24	2	110	23
Real Madrid	2006-07	30	6	2	2	0	4	1	36	7
	Total	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Career total		155	38	23?	26?	8?	24	2	205?	48?

Honours

Sevilla

• Segunda División 2000-01

Arsenal

• FA Premier League 2003-04
• FA Cup 2005
• UEFA Champions League runner-up 2005-06

Real Madrid

• La Liga 2006-2007

***From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Ballack

Personal information
Full name	Michael Ballack
Date of birth	September 26, 1976 (1976-09-26) (age 30)
Place of birth	Görlitz, Germany
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Chelsea
Number	13
Youth clubs
1983-1995	Chemnitzer FC
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1995-1997 1997-1999 1999-2002 2002-2006 2006-	Chemnitzer FC 1. FC Kaiserslautern Bayer Leverkusen Bayern Munich Chelsea	049 (10) 063 (12) 079 (27) 107 (44) 026 0(4)
National team2
1999-	Germany (Captain)	077 (35)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:55, 17 March 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 19 March 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Michael Ballack (born September 26, 1976 in Görlitz, Saxony) is a German football player. He is the current captain of the German national team, and plays club football for Chelsea F.C. in the English FA Premier League.

Biography

He made his name as a classic box-to-box midfielder with Bayer Leverkusen, where he operated as the central midfielder, taking on both defensive and attacking responsibilities. Later in his career, at FC Bayern Munich, under the guidance of Ottmar Hitzfeld and Felix Magath, Ballack played in a deeper role, where he went forward less often and instead concentrated on protecting the back four and distributing the ball. However, he remained a box-to-box midfielder for the German national team.

He is capable with both his left and right foot, as well as in the air. These attributes earned him the German player of the year award on three occasions (2002, 2003, 2005). He is one of Germany's leading sports icons of recent times. Pelé named Ballack among the world's greatest 125 living footballers in FIFA's 2004 FIFA 100

Then, in 2004, the national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann elected Ballack as captain. Following Germany's third place finish in the World Cup in summer 2006, the new Germany head coach Joachim Löw chose to keep Ballack as his national team captain. Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every club that he has played for, as well as the German national team.

Ballack and his girlfriend Simone Lambe have three children: Louis (born August 16, 2001), Emilio (September 19, 2002), and Jordi (born March 17, 2005).

Career

Chemnitzer FC

His parents sent him to train with the side when he was seven years old. He later moved on to FC Karl-Marx-Stadt (renamed Chemnitzer FC in 1990). His father had played second-division football himself in Germany. Unusual for his early age was Ballack's ability to use both feet with equal authority.

In 1995, Ballack earned his first professional contract, thanks to his impressive performances in the role of central midfielder. He was dubbed the "Little Kaiser", in reference to Franz Beckenbauer, who was nicknamed "The Kaiser". His professional debut came on 4 August 1995, on the first day of the new Second Bundesliga season. Chemnitz lost the game 2-1, against VfB Leipzig.

At the end of the season, during which Ballack made fifteen appearances, Chemnitz were relegated to the multi-tiered, regional third division. For Ballack himself, however, that season held one great success: on 26 March 1996, he made his debut for Germany's Under-21 side.

The following season, Ballack became a regular first-team player and almost helped Chemnitz to bounce straight back. He did not miss a game and scored ten goals for the "Sky Blues". It was not enough for Chemnitz to go up, but Ballack managed to win his own, personal promotion: in the summer of 1997, decorated German coach Otto Rehhagel of just-promoted 1. FC Kaiserslautern, signed Ballack at their return to top flight football.

FC Kaiserslautern

It was during the seventh game of the 1997-98 season, away to Karlsruher SC, that Rehhagel decided to throw young Ballack into the Bundesliga for the first time, if only for the final five minutes of the encounter. On 28 March 1998, Ballack found himself in the starting line-up for the first time - the opponents were Bayer Leverkusen, and the manager charged him with the crucial task of marking playmaker Emerson, his future team-mate, out of the game.

Ballack made sixteen appearances for his new team during the season and thus played a part in Kaiserslautern's success - the club became the first-ever newly promoted team to lift the league title. In the following season, Ballack became both a regular (he made 30 appearances, scoring four goals) and one of the side's leading players. Kaiserslautern reached the quarter finals of the Champions League, but were knocked out by Bayern Munich.

On 1 July 1999, some two months after his first full international, Ballack moved to Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 22, for a transfer fee of 8 m Deutsche Mark (€4.8 m).

Bayer Leverkusen

It was at Bayer Leverkusen that Ballack made his big breakthrough. Coaches Christoph Daum and Klaus Toppmöller granted him the whole of the pitch as his sovereign territory. With Bayer, Ballack was the man who pulled the strings in the centre of the pitch, making late runs into the opponents' penalty box, and also the reliable finisher upfront. Over his three seasons at the BayArena, he scored 27 goals in the league, and a further nine goals in Europe.

In 2000, Bayer needed only a draw against minnows SpVgg Unterhaching to lift the league title, but an unexpected own goal by Ballack sunk the club. Still, the disappointment of costing his team the title did not stymie his development into one of Europe's best midfielders.

He left Leverkusen after a memorable, if ultimately heartbreaking, 2001-02 season when they again came second in the Bundesliga to Borussia Dortmund and were beaten in both the UEFA Champions League final by Real Madrid and the German Cup final by Schalke 04. This became known as the "Treble Nightmare".

Ballack and Leverkusen teammates Bernd Schneider, Carsten Ramelow, and Oliver Neuville were even beaten finalists with Germany in the 2002 World Cup, although Ballack was suspended for the Final itself. Ballack finished with 17 league goals, and his remarkable season led to him being voted into the uefa.com users' Team of 2002 as well being named Germany's Footballer of the Year.

Bayern Munich

Ballack playing for Bayern Munich

In spite of Spanish giants Real Madrid's interest, Ballack decided to sign with Bayern Munich in a €12.9 m deal in 2002.

The second season with the Bavarian giants, Ballack enjoyed more success in the 2004/05 season as Bayern Munich completed another double. New coach Felix Magath stated he was the only automatic starter in their midfield. In four seasons at Bayern, Ballack won three Bundesliga and German Cup doubles and scored 47 goals in 135 matches. Between 1998 and 2005, Ballack notched up 61 goals in his domestic league.

However, Ballack's critics noted his frequent choking in important UEFA Champions League matches, as well as continually looking for a big international move. This resulted in open public criticism from club general manager Uli Hoeness, communications director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and club president Franz Beckenbauer (all former Bayern players). Beckenbauer later went as far as to accuse Ballack of "saving his strength" for prospective employers Chelsea after Ballack turned in an average performance in the 2006 DFB-Pokal final against Eintracht Frankfurt.

During his few final games for Bayern, supporters at the stadium jeered at Ballack, angering him because he felt that he honoured his contract and conducted himself professionally on and off the pitch as a Bayern player. Shortly after his transfer to Chelsea, Ballack proclaimed sarcastically that the acrimony surrounding his departure made him glad as it proved how important he had been to Bayern. Ballack also rubbished accusations that money was his primary motivation in moving to Chelsea, stating that he earned well at Bayern. Ballack stated that he joined Chelsea to fulfill his dream of playing abroad. He also stated that Chelsea's fellow Premiership club Manchester United had made an approach, but he decided that Chelsea were a more attractive team to join. It could be said that United were in more need of such a player after the departure of Roy Keane, but the appeal of living in London probably made the decision for Ballack. Another mitigating factor is the amount of money that they offered him. It is rumoured that the club actually lent him a wheelbarrow take his wages home with him, and that this may have been a bigger influence on his decision than as to which dreary, grey, overpriced and crime infested British city he would have to live in.

Chelsea F.C.

Ballack agreed to join Chelsea on a Bosman transfer on 15 May 2006. During his last season as a Bayern player there were rumours of interest from Manchester United, Real Madrid and A.C. Milan,^[5] but Ballack instead chose to go to Stamford Bridge. Shortly after arriving at Chelsea, Ballack stated that he hoped to end his career at Stamford Bridge.

Ballack's Chelsea debut came on Monday 31 July 2006, during a practice match at UCLA's intramural football pitch. Chelsea presented him to the media the following day where the club also gave him his favoured number 13 shirt, worn throughout his career. On 27 August 2006, Ballack earned his Premiership debut for Chelsea against Blackburn Rovers F.C., and his UEFA Champions League debut for Chelsea against Werder Bremen.

Ballack scored his first goal for Chelsea on 12 September 2006 in the Champions League group stage match against SV Werder Bremen. He received his first straight red card of his career in Chelsea's 1-0 win over Liverpool F.C. September 17, 2006, after being judged to have stamped on Mohamed Sissoko's leg. Ballack scored his first Premiership goal on 21 October 2006 against Portsmouth F.C. in a home game at Stamford Bridge with a header. He and Andriy Shevchenko scored. His first FA Cup goal came in the 109th minute in a match against Blackburn Rovers on 15 April 2007. This goal resulted in Chelsea progressing into the FA Cup final. He scored 8 goals in all competitions for the club in the 2006-07 season.

Ballack with Chelsea

On 28 April 2007, Chelsea released a statement on their official website, informing fans that Ballack had undergone ankle surgery in Munich. As a result of the surgery, Ballack did not play in the FA Cup Final against Manchester United, which Chelsea won 1-0 through Didier Drogba's extra time goal. This was Ballack's second trophy this season, his first being the Carling Cup.

On August 4, Spanish media reported that Real Madrid was close to signing Ballack and/or his Chelsea teammate Arjen Robben. Madrid coach Bernd Schuster told Spanish radio, "Hopefully, we'll be able to announce the signing of one or two big players soon." Schuster is said to have demanded Ballack, while Madrid's president Ramon Calderon, is known to favor Robben.

On August 7, Ballack released a statement on Chelsea FC's official website, saying:

“

I am totally committed to Chelsea. I came here to win trophies and be successful in English football, I want to assure the Chelsea fans of that. I am very happy in London professionally and for my family. The speculation about me leaving is not true. I have no interest in leaving Chelsea and I have had no contact with Real Madrid whatsoever. I am frustrated by my injury at the moment but I am working hard to be fit and hope to be back very soon to join my team-mates.

”

Chelsea have left Michael Ballack out of their Champions League squad despite the possibility he could be fit to play in four of their six group matches. The German international had an ankle operation in the summer and Chelsea have decided not to register him for the competition. This means Ballack cannot play before the knockout stages begin in February. The Guardian claims this is further proof that Chelsea might be willing to sell Ballack in the winter transfer window as other Champions League teams will be more interested if he is still allowed to play in the Champions League. Mourinho has only selected 23 out of a possible 25 players for his Champions League squad. Chelsea have since, rubbished rumours of Ballack leaving Chelsea, stating that their decision to omit him from Chelsea's UEFA Champions League squad was taken only based on his injury.

International career

On March 26, 1996, Ballack debuted for the national U21 team's encounter with Denmark, shortly after signing for Chemnitz. In all, he played 19 matches for this side, scoring four goals. Then, following his move to Kaiserslautern, national coach Berti Vogts called him up to the senior team.

Ballack's first appearance, however, did not come until April 28, 1999, by which time the man in charge was Erich Ribbeck. Germany was playing Scotland on that day, and Ballack came on after sixty minutes to replace Dietmar Hamann.

Ballack only played 63 minutes at Euro 2000. In 2002 FIFA World Cup he scored in matches against USA and South Korea during the knock-out rounds as Germany reached the final, from which he was suspended.

Following Euro 2004, Jürgen Klinsmann replaced Rudi Völler at the helm of the national team and made Ballack the side's captain. Ballack is one of five national team captains in the current Chelsea team, along with Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast captain), Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine captain), John Terry (England captain) and Claudio Pizarro (Peru captain). In the 2006 FIFA World Cup he was unable to start in Germany's first game against Costa Rica due to a calf strain, but appeared in the following five matches. Germany were eliminated in the semi-finals, but they managed to clinch 3rd place. He was named Man of the Match in the games against Ecuador and Argentina, and was included in FIFA's World Cup All Star Team.

Statistics

Club

All-Time Club Performance

Club	Season	Domestic League		Domestic Cup		European Competition		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Chemnitzer FC	1995-96a	15	0			-	-	15	0
	1996-97					-	-
	Total	15	0			-	-	15	0
Kaiserslautern
	1997-98	16	0	2	0	-	-	18	0
	1998-99	30	4	2	0	5	0	37	4
	Total	46	4	4	0	5	0	55	4
Bayer Leverkusen	1999-00	23	3	0	0	2	2	25	5
	2000-01	27	7	2	0	5	1	34	8
	2001-02	29	17	4	1	15	7	48	25
	Total	79	27	6	1	22	10	107	38
Bayern Munich	2002-03	26	10	5	4	7	1	38	15
	2003-04	28	7	3	2	8	0	39	9
	2004-05	27	13	4	3	9	2	40	18
	2005-06	26	14	5	1	6	1	37	16
	Total	107	44	17	10	30	4	153	57
Chelsea	2006-07	26	5	9	1	10	2	45	8
	Total	26	5	9	1	10	2	45	8
Bundesliga Totals		247	75	27	11	57	14	331	99
FA Premier League Totals		26	5	9	1	10	2	44	8
Career Totals		273	80	36	12	67	16	376	107

^a Games were played in 2^nd Division

National team

All-time national team performance

National team	Year	Friendlies		International competition		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Germany	2006	5	3	7	2	13	5
	2005	7	3	4	4	11	7
	2004	10	7	3	1	13	8
	2003	1	0	4	2	5	2
	2002	3	1	8	5	11	6
	2001	2	0	7	6	9	6
	2000	5	0	4	0	9	0
	1999	1	0	2	0	3	0
Total		33	15	35	20	75	35

Honours

Award/Milestone/Championship	Year(s)
German Championship	1998 2003 2005 2006
FIFA World Cup Runner up	2002
FIFA World Cup 3rd Place	2006
UEFA Champions League Runner up	2002
German Player of the Year	2002 2003 2005
UEFA Midfielder of the Year	2002
Soccer Digest World Player of the Year	2002
German Cup Winner	2003 2005 2006
English League Cup Winner	2007
FA Cup Winner	2007
FA Premier League Runner up	2007

• Confederations Cup Bronze medallist: 2005
• Selected in FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players

***From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Andriy Shevchenko

Personal information
Full name	Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko
Date of birth	September 29, 1976 (1976-09-29) (age 30)
Place of birth	Dvirkivschyna, Ukraine
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Chelsea
Number	7
Youth clubs
1986-1994	Dynamo Kyiv
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1994-1999 1999-2006 2006-	Dynamo Kyiv A.C. Milan Chelsea	117 0(60) 208 (127) 031 00(4)
National team2
1994-1995 1994-1995 1995-	Ukraine U18 Ukraine U21 Ukraine	008 00(5) 007 00(6) 076 0(34)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of March 31, 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 12 September 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (Ukrainian: Андрій Миколайович Шевченко, Andrij Mykolajovyč Ševčenko, born 29 September 1976, Dvirkivschyna, Kiev Oblast) is a Ukrainian football striker who plays for Chelsea in the Premier League.

Shevchenko began his career in the youth team at Dynamo Kyiv and soon played in the first team. He won five consecutive domestic league titles from 1994–99. Shevchenko played for A.C. Milan from 1999–2006, scoring 127 goals in 208 appearances and becoming the club's second-highest all-time goal scorer. He joined Chelsea in 2006.

Shevchenko won the 2004 European Footballer of the Year award, and was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in 2004. He was named a starting striker on the 2005 FIFPro World XI team, and is the second-highest goal scorer of all-time in European club competitions with 60 goals, behind only Gerd Müller.

Biography

Andriy was nine when the Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred in April 1986. His village, not far from Chernobyl, was also affected by the disaster, and his family was one amongst the thousands who had to abandon their homes and relocate to the coast to escape the after effects. At an early age, he was a competitive boxer in the LLWI Ukrainian junior league, but due to his size, he was forced to move on to football, where he flourished.

Club career

Dynamo Kyiv

In 1986, after his family relocated to escape the Chernobyl disaster, Shevchenko failed a dribbling test for entrance to a specialist sports school in Kiev. However, he happened to catch the eye of a Dynamo Kyiv scout while playing in a youth tournament, and was thus brought to the club. He was extremely successful in the youth system at the club, honing his skills on the junior teams. In 1990, Shevchenko, playing for the Dynamo Kyiv under-14 team in the Ian Rush Cup in Wales, was top scorer in the tournament, and was awarded a pair of Rush's boots as a prize by the Liverpool F.C. player himself.

In 1992-93, he was the top scorer for Dynamo-2 with twelve goals, and he made an appearance in the first team list, taking Dynamo to their second successive league victory. He scored his first international goal in May 1996, in a friendly against Turkey, at Samsun. Shevchenko won the league again next season with Dynamo, scoring 6 goals in 20 games. The next two seasons, 1997-98 and 1998-99, were abundantly productive for Shevchenko. The highlight of his 1997-98 season was his first-half hat-trick against FC Barcelona in the 1997-98 Champions League, helping Dynamo produce a shock 4-0 away win. His 19 goals in 23 league matches, 6 goals in 10 Champions League matches, and another league victory with Dynamo in 1997-98 were followed by 28 goals in all competitions in 1998-99, and the league top-scorer award for his 18 goals there. Shevchenko's exploits in the Champions League took Dynamo to the semi-final stage of the tournament, before they lost to Bayern Munich 3-4 on aggregate.

Shevchenko won the domestic league title with Dynamo in each of his five seasons with the club. Under the guidance of Valeri Lobanovsky, the Dynamo manager from January 1997 to May 2002, Shevchenko flourished into one of the team's most prominent and skillful players.

A.C. Milan

In 1999, Shevchenko joined the then five-time European Cup champions A.C. Milan for $25 million, breaking the club's transfer record (it was later broken by Manuel Rui Costa in 2001) and instantly became one of their top players. He made his Serie A debut on 28 August 1999 in a 2-2 away draw with U.S. Lecce. His impressive haul of 24 league goals in 32 matches earned him the Serie A scoring title, becoming the first non-Italian player to accomplish the feat in his debut season. Over the next two seasons, Shevchenko scored 34 goals in 51 matches then 17 goals in 38 matches in all competitions, but Milan could not win any silverware in either season.

The disappointment of those two seasons was overcome in 2002-03 when Milan won the Coppa Italia, as well as the Champions League, making Shevchenko the first Ukrainian-born player ever to win a Champions League title. Though Shevchenko was not in top offensive form, netting only five times in 24 matches, he scored the winning penalty kick in the shoot out against arch-rivals Juventus in the final, giving the Rossoneri their sixth title. 2003-04 was another successful season for both Milan and Shevchenko. He was the Serie A scoring champion for the second time in his career, duplicating his previous effort of 24 goals in 32 matches en route to Milan winning the Scudetto after a four-year drought. He also scored the winning goal in the UEFA Super Cup victory over F.C. Porto, leading to Milan's second trophy of the season. In August 2004, he scored three goals against S.S. Lazio as Milan won the Italian Super Cup. He capped off the year in dramatic fashion by being named the 2004 European Player of the Year and thus becoming the third Ukrainian player ever to win the Golden Ball, following Oleg Blokhin in 1975 and Igor Belanov in 1986 (latter two won the award as Soviet internationals).

In 2004–05, Milan finished runner-up to Juventus in the Serie A standings, helped in part by the seventeen goals of Shevchenko, but Milan's domestic success was promptly deflated in the wake of the 2005 Champions League final, in which they lost a 3-0 lead to Liverpool F.C. during a six-minute span in the second half. The match ended 3–3 after extra time. Shevchenko's decisive penalty was blocked by Liverpool goalie Jerzy Dudek in the shoot-out, which gave the English side the title.

Shevchenko scored 19 goals in the 22 games that he played in the 2005-06 Serie A campaign to go with nine goals in 12 total matches in the Champions League, making history along the way. On 23 November 2005, Shevchenko scored all four goals in Milan's 4-0 drubbing of Fenerbahçe SK, becoming only the fifth player to do so in a CL match (his company includes Marco van Basten, Simone Inzaghi, Dado Pršo and Ruud van Nistelrooy). However, he scored only once in the last four matches of the quarter-final and semi-final stages as Milan eliminated Olympique Lyonnais thanks to a last-minute comeback, but were then held scoreless in both semi-final legs en route to falling to eventual winners, Barcelona. He ended the season as the CL's fourth-highest scorer with a total of 43 career goals, in addition to ten qualifying-round scores.

On 8 February 2006, he became Milan's second all-time goalscorer, behind legend Gunnar Nordahl, after netting against Treviso.

Chelsea

During the summer of 2004, there were persistent reports that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich offered a record sum of £50 million and striker Hernán Crespo to A.C. Milan in exchange for Shevchenko. Milan refused the monetary offer but took Crespo on loan. Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon was quoted as saying, "I think Shevchenko is the type of player we would like. At the end of the day to improve what we have got, it has to be a great player and Shevchenko certainly comes into that class." Meanwhile, Shevchenko repeatedly denied that he wanted to leave, claiming that he wanted to become a Milan legend like Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini. But on 11 May 2006, Shevchenko publicly announced that he would be leaving the club after all, to join the Premier League holders.

On May 14, 2006, during the last Serie A encounter between Milan and Roma, Shevchenko watched the first half in the stands with Milan supporters; two weeks later, he left Milan for Chelsea. The fee was disclosed on the official website of UEFA as £30 million, which would make it the most expensive transfer in English football. Shevchenko joined up with his new team after the 2006 World Cup. He received the number seven shirt, as Chelsea coach José Mourinho said that Shevchenko could continue wearing it.

Shevchenko with Chelsea

Shevchenko made his debut for Chelsea on August 13, 2006 in the FA Community Shield, scoring his side's goal in a 2-1 loss to Liverpool. On August 23, he scored his first FA Premier League goal — and his 300th in top-flight and international football — in a 2-1 loss to Middlesbrough. He scored goals sporadically throughout the season, including crucial equalisers against FC Porto and Valencia CF in the UEFA Champions League and another against Tottenham Hotspur to help take his side into the FA Cup semi-finals. He finished with a total of 14 from 51 games.

During the campaign he netted his 57th career goal in European competitions, leaving him 2nd in the all-time European goalscorers list, behind Gerd Muller. Shevchenko's 2006/07 season was cut short due to injury and a hernia operation. He missed the Champions League semi-finals against Liverpool and the FA Cup Final against Manchester United at the new Wembley Stadium on May 19, 2007.

Shevchenko has vowed that he will find his true form in the 2007-08 season, reiterating his desire to remain in London despite interest from Milan president Adriano Galliani to bring Shevchenko back to Italy. Despite it, rumors are speculating that AC Milan are close to bringing back Shevchenko to AC Milan, with his wife stating that she "misses Italy" and that she "wants to go back home." Dynamo Kyiv revealed they wanted to sign Shevchenko on loan.

Shevchenko was handed his first start against Blackburn Rovers at home to cover up for the injured Didier Drogba. However, the game finished 0-0.

He scored in Chelsea's first game of the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League with a header against Rosenborg B.K., the game ending 1-1.

International career

Shevchenko has 76 caps and 34 goals for the Ukraine national team, whom he represented at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In March 2000, Dynamo manager Valeri Lobanovsky became the Ukraine coach, with the aim to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals. Shevchenko scored 10 goals in the qualifiers, but Ukraine failed to qualify after losing a play-off against Germany. In the Euro Cup 2008 qualifiers, Shevchenko has scored four goals.

Personal life

Shevchenko

Shevchenko is married to American model Kristen Pazik. The couple met at a Giorgio Armani afterparty in 2002, and married on July 14, 2004 in a private ceremony on a golf course in Washington, DC. They communicate with each other in Italian, though Shevchenko has made public his desire to learn English. Media commentators have speculated that Pazik was a major influence on Shevchenko's decision to sign with Chelsea, citing her friendship with Abramovich's wife and her desire to raise their children in an English-speaking culture. Shevchenko has stated that his move to Chelsea was "a family decision" about what was best for their children.

The couple has two sons, Jordan (named after NBA legend Michael Jordan), born on 29 October 2004, and Christian, born on 10 November 2006. Andriy commemorated Jordan's birth by scoring against Sampdoria the following day (AC Milan won 1-0). AC Milan supremo Silvio Berlusconi is the Godfather of Andriy's first son, Jordan. The day after Christian's birth, Shevchenko scored in a 4-0 Chelsea victory over Watford, and he and several of his teammates gathered and performed the popular "rock-the-baby" goal celebration as a tribute.

Shevchenko is a close friend of fashion designer Giorgio Armani, and has modelled for Armani and opened two boutiques with him in Kyiv.

In June 2005, Shevchenko became an ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages charity.

Name

Shevchenko's first name (Андрій in Ukrainian) does not have a single way of being transliterated from its original spelling in the Cyrillic alphabet into the Latin alphabet. Andriy is the spelling used throughout the player's official web site . It has also been adopted by UEFA and FIFA and is the preferred spelling in most English publications (although Andrii is used by World Soccer magazine and Andrei by Sky Sports). The correct pronunciation is [an.ˈdrij]. Dynamo Kyiv fans gave him the nickname Sheva,^{[citation needed]} a contraction of Shevchenko.

Career statistics

Club career

All-Time Club Performance

Club	Season	Domestic League		Domestic Cups1		Europe2		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Dynamo Kyiv	1994/95	17	1	4	1	2	1	23	3
	1995/96	31	16	5	1	2	2	38	19
	1996/97	20	6	0	0	0	0	20	6
	1997/98	23	19	8	8	10	6	41	33
	1998/99	26	18	4	5	14	10	44	33
	Total	117	60	21	15	28	19	166	94
Milan	1999/00	32	24	5a	4	6	1	43	29
	2000/01	34	24	3	1	14	9	51	34
	2001/02	29	14	3	0	6	3	38	17
	2002/03	24	5	4	1	11	4	39	10
	2003/04	32	24	2a	0	11b	5b	45	29
	2004/05	29	17	1c	3c	10	6	40	26
	2005/06	28	19	0	0	12	9	40	28
	Total	208	127	18	9	70	37	296	173
Chelsea	2006/07	30	4	11d	7d	10	3	51	14
	Total	30	4	11	7	10	3	51	14
Career Totals		355	191	50	31	108	59	513	281

• ¹ Domestic Cup, League Cup and Super Cup
• ² UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup
• ^a Includes 1 game in the Italian Super Cup
• ^b Includes 1 game and 1 goal in the European Super Cup and 1 game in the Intercontinental Cup
• ^c Includes 1 game and 3 goals in the Italian Super Cup
• ^d Includes 4 games and 3 goals in the League Cup and 1 game and 1 goal in the FA Community Shield

International goals

Andriy Shevchenko: International Goals
(as of 11 October 2006)

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	1 May 1996	Samsun, Turkey	Turkey	3–2	Lost	Friendly
2.	2 April 1997	Kiev, Ukraine	Northern Ireland	2–1	Won	WC 1998 Qual
3.	7 May 1997	Kiev, Ukraine	Armenia	1–1	Draw	WC 1998 Qual
4.	11 October 1997	Yerevan, Armenia	Armenia	0–2	Won	WC 1998 Qual
5.	15 November 1997	Kiev, Ukraine	Croatia	1–1	Draw	WC 1998 Qual Playoff
6.	15 July 1998	Kiev, Ukraine	Poland	1–2	Lost	Friendly
7.	9 October 1999	Moscow, Russia	Russia	1–1	Draw	EC 2000 Qual
8.	13 November 1999	Ljubljana, Slovenia	Slovenia	2–1	Lost	EC 2000 Qual Playoff
9.	26 April 2000	Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	0–1	Won	Friendly
10.	2 September 2000	Kiev, Ukraine	Poland	1–3	Lost	WC 2002 Qual
11.	7 October 2000	Yerevan, Armenia	Armenia	2–3	Won	WC 2002 Qual
12.
13.	11 October 2000	Oslo, Norway	Norway	0–1	Won	WC 2002 Qual
14.	28 March 2001	Cardiff, Wales	Wales	1–1	Draw	WC 2002 Qual
15.	1 September 2001	Minsk, Belarus	Belarus	0–2	Won	WC 2002 Qual
16.
17.	5 September 2001	Lviv, Ukraine	Armenia	3–0	Won	WC 2002 Qual
18.	6 October 2001	Chorzow, Poland	Poland	1–1	Draw	WC 2002 Qual
19.	14 November 2001	Dortmund, Germany	Germany	4–1	Lost	WC 2002 Qual Playoff
20.	7 June 2003	Lviv, Ukraine	Armenia	4–3	Won	EC 2004 Qual
21.
22.	10 September 2003	Elche, Spain	Spain	2–1	Lost	EC 2004 Qual
23.	9 October 2003	Kiev, Ukraine	Greece	1–1	Draw	WC 2006 Qual
24.	13 October 2004	Lviv, Ukraine	Georgia	2–0	Won	WC 2006 Qual
25.	17 November 2004	Istanbul, Turkey	Turkey	0–3	Won	WC 2006 Qual
26.
27.	4 June 2005	Kiev, Ukraine	Kazakhstan	2–0	Won	WC 2006 Qual
28.	8 October 2005	Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine	Albania	2–2	Draw	WC 2006 Qual
29.	8 June 2006	Luxembourg, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	0–3	Won	Friendly
30.	19 June 2006	Hamburg, Germany	Saudi Arabia	0–4	Won	WC 2006 Group H
31.	23 June 2006	Berlin, Germany	Tunisia	1-0	Won	WC 2006 Group H
32.	6 September 2006	Kiev, Ukraine	Georgia	3–2	Won	EC 2008 Qual
33.	11 October 2006	Kiev, Ukraine	Scotland	2–0	Won	EC 2008 Qual
34.	12 September 2007	Kiev, Ukraine	Italy	1–2	Lost	EC 2008 Qual

Honours

Club

Andriy Shevchenko

• Dynamo Kyiv
  • Ukrainian Premier League: 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99
  • Ukrainian Cup: 1996, 1998, 1999
• AC Milan
  • Serie A: 2003-04
  • Italian Cup: 2002-03
  • Italian Super Cup: 2004
  • UEFA Champions League: 2003
  • UEFA Super Cup: 2003
• Chelsea FC
  • English League Cup: 2007
  • FA Cup : 2007

Individual

• Ukrainian Premier League Top Scorer: 1998-99
• Serie A Top Scorer: 1999-2000, 2003-04
• European Footballer of the Year: Winner in 2004, 3rd in 1999 and 2000, 4th in 2003, 5th in 2005, 8th in 2001, Nominated in 1998 and 2006
• FIFA World Player of the Year: 3rd in 2004, 5th in 2000, 6th in 2005, 7th in 1999, 9th in 2001, 10th in 2003, 21st in 2006
• UEFA Champions League Top Scorer: 1998-99, 2000-01, 2005-06
• Ukrainian Footballer of the Year: 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005
• UEFA Champions League Best Forward: 1998-99
• Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 2000
• Member of the FIFA 100
• Ukraine National Team Top Goalscorer
• Second all-time scorer in the history of European club competitions
• Second all-time scorer in the history of A.C. Milan

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