Johan Cruijff

 
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff was born in Amsterdam , Netherlands, on April 25, 1947 . It is considered by fans to football and FIFA as one of the four best soccer players of the twentieth century , alongside Pele , Diego Maradona and Alfredo

Di Stefano, and the best European-born player of all time. Johan Cruyff 's childhood was linked to a football and Ajax Amsterdam , for just ten years he was chosen from 300 other children to join the ranks of the club , growing in college football attack. At the age of twelve he lost his father , so he was forced to help his brother with the family finances. A couple of years later , he would find a new father figure in Ajax greenkeeper who helped in their work. Within the structure of Ajax quickly went through all the ranks ( including work as shoeshine and caregiver costume ) until made ​​it to the first team, and in the Dutch League debut at the age of 16.The debut party was held on November 15, 1964 , facing the GVAV Groningen. The

start of the race considered the best European player in history , which would help in making the Ajax clearly dominated football on the old continent is well produced , and got 6 leagues and 4 Copas Netherlands 3 European Cups, 1 Intercontinental Cup and 1 European Super Cup. When Ajax shattered Liverpool 5-1 was evident that this small long haired teenager was no ordinary player and when he lifted his third consecutive European Cup in 1973 and everyone knew it was one of the best players ever . His figure became a benchmark in the world of football , getting a three-time Golden Ball , awarded by the French magazine France Football for the years 1971, 1973 and 1974 (the latter two already wearing the shirt of FC Barcelona). If Maradona and Pele are remembered for wearing the number 10 on their

jerseys , Cruyff is the race number 14 , something strange beginning, as in the 1970s , when there were no shirts, higher numbers to 11 was dedicated to alternates .The break with the Ajax came in the 1973-74 season , when the club of the Dutch capital Cruyff negotiated the transfer to Real Madrid. By knowing the player, made ​​a rebellion sample also characterized him throughout his career, and I decided not to join Real Madrid, but his rival, FC Barcelona, ​​the club that had greater esteem in youth. The transfer of the Barcelona Cruyff became the most expensive in football history up to that time (60 million pesetas) and signed a contract for $ 12,000 per month .Cruyff was intercepted in Barcelona as an idol , and that the blaugrana fans saw him as the only hope he come out afloat , for fourteen years who had

not won the league. And Johan did not disappoint anyone . The team took a turn since then , getting not miss a single match since arrival nicknamed Skinny and achieving finally win the Spanish League . In addition , the team achieved a milestone that has not yet managed to meet , and who won 0-5 on their visit to Santiago Bernabeu Real Madrid on February 17, 1974 , with an anthology of Dutch goal . He finished that first season with 24 goals to his

credit. In the summer of 1974 he played as captain of the Dutch national team 's World Cup. The Dutch side displayed a game that would go down in posterity as Total Football , which revolved around the figure of Johan Cruyff. This selection of the Netherlands would be remembered as the Clockwork Orange , being considered one of the greatest teams in football history . The final was played against West Germany after crush Brazil and Argentina in previous rounds. The hosts , led by Franz Beckenbauer, prevailed 2-1 . But Cruyff was named the best player of the tournament .In 1978 he decided not to participate in the World Argentina due to massive human rights violation carried the prevailing dictatorship. Your stay at FC Barcelona would last three seasons , you would only win a Cup , but continued making a difference as a football star. Problems with management led him to decide to leave the club. However, their stay in Barcelona left a great impression on him, because very quickly joined the Catalan culture. After a brief period of inactivity, in which he made ​​a game tribute from Ajax , he decided to enlist in the American League , joining in 1979 by Los Angeles Aztecs . The following season play with the Washington Diplomats , and the year 1981 it would begin the Spanish second division , playing several months with the Levant , later to finalize it in Washington again. Cruyff 's career seemed to be coming to an end , but surprisingly signed by Ajax back to the age of 34. During his two seasons at his boyhood club managed to win twice Holandea League , along with a cup in his last season at Ajax , 1982-83 , Cruyff , created the indirect criminal . Instead of a strike served an assist to teammate Jesper Olsen, who returned the pass to Cruyff could score. That last season was particularly difficult for the player , since the death occurred after he had been a second father to him . Cruyff fell into a low mood , and the president of Ajax even declared that the player and lacked capacity to continue playing in the Dutch first division .And so it came to light again the rebellious spirit of Cruyff , who decided to sign for arch-rivals Feyenoord , with 37 years and counting . In what was his last season he managed to land a double , winning the League and Cup as well as being named best player of the league championship . His career as a player could not finish more triumphantly .Cruyff played in the midfield, but like Pele, Di Stefano or Beckenbauer , Cruyff redesigned its position and football brought something never seen before , total football. To Cruyff football was in this attack and lay the beauty of the game .In addition to leading his teammates with a rare intelligence , individually Cruiff was a gifted player . It is difficult to describe the things he did with the ball, but just an example .After suffering a heart attack that nearly cost him his life , Cruyff made ​​a commercial in Spain against snuff . Filmed in one take Johan took a pack of snuff for twenty seconds and touched it with his foot , knee, head, chest, and prepared it in a half-volley cleared image . That was what I was doing with a pack of snuff . Imagine a ball, It was not long after his retirement as a professional player until his return to the pitch . As coach of Ajax he won one Cup Winners Cups and two Dutch . Again I was called by the FC Barcelona and what player did not win as Barca coach did that joining the Dream Team was called . Four consecutive league titles, one Copa del Rey , one Cup Winners Cup and the European Cup finally in 1992. Today not train any team, but their heart team (Ajax and FC Barcelona) , are still steeped in his philosophy of attacking play.

Pelada: Soccer Documentary

Zinedine Zidane

   (Marseille, 1972), French football player , world and European champion with France team , considered one of the best players in the world . Zizou , nickname by which he is known, possessed some outstanding football skills and a track record that does not need any title , as well as win it all for France , Zidane won in the category of clubs, be league champions , the European Supercup and the Intercontinental Cup. Within the field , Zinedine Zidane was an attacking midfielder who liked cope with freedom to organize your team's offense ; exquisite technical quality, a powerful physique and a privileged view of play made ​​him a creative, unpredictable and enormous resources footballer could dribble , dribble, make walls , throw or break a great passing defense speed ; Additional accuracy in shooting , which ran with both legs , made ​​him a constant threat to opposing goalkeepers, who feared his pitches especially from free kicks .

Born into a family of Algerian immigrants, from very young Zinedine Zidane practiced several sports , including judo, but did not have a long time before that football happen to occupy most of his spare time and became in his greatest passion ; then dreamed of emulating his greatest idol , the great Uruguayan Enzo Francescoli a fine playmaker who was the star of the team of Marseille , Olympique. After playing in several local teams , in 1986 the young Zinedine was hired by the Cannes, one of whose leaders , Jean Claude Elineau , welcomed him home. His shy nature and apparent coldness that characterize it were no impediment to soon begin to develop the fields around the soccer potential in him training.In May 1989 , a month before his seventeenth birthday , Zinedine Zidane made ​​his debut in First Division with Cannes. In the 1990/1991 season he scored his first goal in the top flight and the next he became a regular , playing over thirty matches and reaching a total of five goals.

In 1992 he left the Cannes to signing for Bordeaux , one of the biggest clubs in France, and which in its first year it became one of its pillars : played 35 matches and scored ten goals , although never been known for being a great scorer .His outstanding performances led him to debut with the national team in August 1994 in a match against the Czech Republic ; by then, the Les Bleus went through times of hardship sport ( had been absent in the last two World Championships ) but a new generation

of players , among which also included his teammates in Bordeaux, Christoph Dugarry and Bixente Lizarazu , contributed to a revival which resulted in a good showing at Euro 1996. The magnificent impression made on that date, along with a stellar season in the Girondins , led to Zinedine Zidane to sign in the summer of 1996 by Juventus , one of the most prestigious teams in Europe.
In the demanding and competitive Italian football, known calcium, faced the toughest challenge of his career , more if it is due to the indelible memory in the Turin club had left in the eighties compatriot Michel Platini . However , despite the inevitable ups and downs and some injuries , Zidane was crowned one of the best European players.

Along the Italian Alessandro Del Piero , Zinedine Zidane formed a formidable tandem attack that led to the conquest Juventus to two league championships in 1997 and 1998 , the European Supercup and the Intercontinental Cup in 1996 , and play two consecutive late Champions League (formerly European Cup ), but both times settled with defeat: in 1997 , against Borussia Dortmund, and in 1998 against Real Madrid.
 In June 1998 , Zidane was instrumental to the World Cup in France who played hostess adjudicase , driving brilliantly attacking play , and above all , scoring the first two goals in the final against Brazil , a success that they joined their excellent career with Juventus , made him deserving this year 's prestigious Golden Ball His last two seasons in Italy were not as bright as the previous ones, in part because of ferrous labels to often be subjected and by the irregularity shown by his team. At Euro 2000, one of the highlights of his career, he left his immense class samples in every game and scored a decisive penalty goal in the semifinal

against Portugal. Thereafter , successfully accomplished his time in Italy, began to emerge speculation about his possible transfer to another big European club , often denied , but finally came true in the summer of 2001 with his billionaire signing - over 12,000 million pesetas by Real Madrid, decision that held sway his marriage to a Spanish , Veronica .In historical white club Zinedine Zidane became reinforce a template that already had the likes of Luis Figo , Raul Gonzalez and Roberto Carlos , and which expanded its already extensive record after conquering the only major title that still possessed : European Cup (2002 ) . In 2003 he won the Madrid team 's Spanish league. However, the title drought plunged the subsequent seasons Real Madrid in a time of crisis in which the same Zidane and other galactic players were

questioned . Zidane retired from professional football at the end of the World Cup (2006 ) , which was named best player despite being sent off in the final.

"The Madman" Higuita

René Higuita is a Colombian former footballer, born in 1966. He spent his career playing for Colombian, Mexican, Venezuelan and Ecuadorian teams. He played for Atlético Nacional between 1986 and 1992 and then between 1994 and 1997. During those periods the team won Colombian League in 1991 and 1994, in 1989 they claimed Copa Libertadores title and finished runners-up in 1994. In 1989 Atlético Nacional won Intercontinental Cup, Among the teams he played for were Real Valladolid, Veracruz, Independiente Medellín, Real Cartagena, Aucas and several others. Higuita retired from playing in the winter of 2010 after a year and a half at Deportivo Pereira. Between 1987 and 1999 he represented the Colombia national team. He proved himself an unusual risky goalkeeper and managed to score from free-kicks. That’s why was nicknamed ‘The Madman’. In 1990 Colombia reached round of 16 in FIFA World Cup but Higuita took unnecessary risk which led Cameroon to score and eliminate Colombia. René Higuita has been a goalkeeper coach after retirement and worked at Real Valladolid and then Al NassrFC.

Franz Beckenbauer

The great captain:The German football life Franz Beckenbauer is reflected in dozens of photographs that appear receiving and lifting trophies, or even images that endure over time by removing a ball , making a long distance pass , playing touch or just walking the field playing with a grace that characterized his style siemre game. However the image is indelible in the minds of fans of that is the World Championship semifinal played at the Azteca stadium in Mexico in 1970 in which he renounced be replaced and kept in the field with a broken collarbone.

It's hard to forget how captained the German team of '74 which led to glory against the " Clockwork Orange" Johan Cruyff. As a player invented the libero position and no better than he played that role.Beckenbauer was the hub around which everything worked his football team and made ​​sense . No one disputes that has been one of the best players ever and it's no surprise that makes up the special list of the top five players of all time .The " Kaiser"

Player won the 1974 World Cup in a memorable final against Holland Cruyff, a European Cup with Bayern Munich and a handful of national and continental titles .Son of WarBorn September 11, 1945 in a popular district of Munich , the young Franz joined obscure reasons , often debated in Germany, a historical event, by Bayern Munich, before the great Bavarian club at the time, the TSV 1860 Munich .Soon debut in the first team and participated in the First Division promotion in Bayern in 1965. By then I was a child and parent insurance agent without much conviction . But his elegant style, had little to do with the German football then was called to great things. So the libero Franz Franz beat the insurance agent and propelled to Bayern , from his position on the court, to the top of European football and German , four Bundesliga title ( 1969, 1972 , 1973,

1974 ), four German Cups (1966, 1967, 1969 , 1971) and triple winner of the European Cup , the current Champions League ( 1974, 1975, 1976).In the 1974 World Cup , won the title by beating up the Netherlands Johan Cruyff 2-1.In 1977 , he left to conquer America and found in New York, in the Cosmos, with Brazilian Pele. In 1982, he ended his career after winning a fifth championship RFA with Hamburg.

After two years off , Beckenbauer became coach. Addressed the " Mannschaft " on 1986 World Cup final and won the title in 1990 in Italy. When he could think of retiring quietly to play golf , his new passion , he went to Marseille train of Bernard Tapie . But the experience did not last long. In 103 international matches for Germany , scored 14 goals and won a World Championship and European Championship .With Bayern Munich won the European Cup three UEFA Cups four Bundesliga titles and four German Cups . He was named best player in Europe in 1972 and 1976. As a coach your resume is no less impressive. He then worked on his usual club , Bayern , of which he is president, and became vice president of the German Football Association .From the bench, Beckenbauer became the offices and management rescued brightness Munich 's team had lost in the early years of the 90s .Since July 2000 , is omnipresent and was the 2006 World energy generator and Germans , among which are very popular, would rather see him presiding over the Republic .Franz Beckenbauer is now a central character in and out of German football. Regarded by his countrymen as the " player of the century " , takes advantage of his image of a husband , son , father, grandfather and great friend , your advertising range is wide and its presence is recurrent in the media.In sum, the Kaiser ( Emperor ) in every sense of the word, an icon of football yesterday, today and forever.

Pelé and Garrincha

Documentary telling the story of legendary Brazilian footballers Pele and Garrincha, whose emergence following Brazil's defeat at home in the 1950 World Cup Final heralded the dawn of a golden age of football for the country. But while one man became known as the world's greatest footballer, the other died a broken alcoholic at the age of 49.

The Maracanazo

Synopsis: On July 16th, 1950, an extraordinary human feat in sportsmanship took
place in Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro. Eleven men, eleven Uruguayans, won against all possible predictions, the World Soccer Championship final against the host country Brazil. This accomplishment would shape the social and political life of both countries forever.