Manuel Neuer

Manuel Peter Neuer ( born 27 March 1986) is a German footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bayern Munich and the German national team. He has been described as a "sweeper-keeper" because of his unique playing style and is known for his quick reflexes, excellent shot-stopping abilities, command of his area and accurate distribution of the ball.

Neuer won the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Germany as well as the Golden Glove award for being the best goalkeeper in the tournament and is considered to be the best goalkeeper in the world.

Club career
Bayern Munich

2011–12


On 1 June 2011, Schalke and Bayern Munich confirmed that Neuer would move to Bayern Munich in July 2011. Neuer signed a five-year contract that will last until June 2016. The move was worth €22million, making Neuer the second most expensive goalkeeper of all time, only behind Gianluigi Buffon. After hostilities of Bayern fans against Neuer (some fans were unhappy about Bayern buying a Schalke keeper), a round-table discussion between Bayern Munich and group of supporters’ representatives took place on 2 July 2011. Among other things, it was decided that Manuel Neuer will be "regarded as a full member of the FC Bayern Munich team, who should be treated with due respect. Furthermore, hostility towards him should cease". Right in the first weeks at Bayern, after a 0–0 draw with Hoffenheim, Neuer broke the Bayern Munich record for most competitive clean sheets in a row, having gone over 1000 minutes without conceding. He improved the record formerly held by Oliver Kahn.

On 25 April 2012, Neuer saved penalty kicks from both Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká and helped Bayern through the UEFA Champions League semifinals against Real Madrid. Following the match, Neuer has revealed that he studied the way Ronaldo took his penalties. Neuer told Bild, "I always prepare myself for such situations. Our goalkeeping coach, Toni Tapalovic, showed me on his laptop before the match how Ronaldo usually takes his penalties. I learned that Ronaldo prefers to send the ball low to his left. In the penalty shoot-out, I was convinced that he would aim for his favourite spot."

He went on to the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final against Chelsea and it also went to a penalty shoot-out. He took and scored the third penalty for Bayern and also saved the first penalty taken by Juan Mata, but he couldn't save the rest of the penalties and Munich lost the trophy 4–3 on penalties in their home stadium, the Allianz Arena.

2012–13 season


In the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League knockout phase, Neuer posted four clean sheets in a row versus both Juventus F.C. and FC Barcelona. In the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final, Neuer posted eight saves en route to Bayern's fifth UEFA Champions League title. The game featured great play from both keepers, and Neuer would end up winning the duel against Roman Weidenfeller having only conceded once to İlkay Gündoğan on a penalty shot.

2013–14 season


For the 2013 UEFA Super Cup, on 30 August 2013, he saved the last and decisive penalty which saw Bayern Munich win the match against Chelsea, taking some revenge for the lost 2012 UEFA Champions League Final. Neuer was announced as the 2013 World Goalkeeper of the year on 7 January 2014. On 9 February, Bayern faced Arsenal in the Champions League knockout phase and Neuer saved the penalty from Mesut Özil in the first half. Bayern went on to win the game 2–0 away. On 2 May 2014, Neuer extended his current contract until the summer of 2019.

2014–15 season


Neuer won the German footballer of the year, was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year, and finished third in the FIFA Ballon d'Or.

On 30 January 2015, Neuer started on matchday 18 where Bayern lost to VfL Wolfsburg 4–1. This is the first league match since joining Bayern in 2011 where he has given up four goals in a match. The last time Bayern had given four goals in a match was against Wolfsburg on 4 April 2009.

On 28 April 2015, Neuer was one of four Bayern players to miss in a 2–0 penalty shootout defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal semi-final.

Barcelona on verge of eighth European Cup final with first-leg win over Bayern Manuel Neuer makes first-half saves from Luis Suárez and Daniel Alves. Lionel Messi finally cracks Bayern's resolve and adds quick second (77, 80). Argentinian sets up Neymar for stoppage-time third (90+4).Second leg at Fußball Arena München next Tuesday.

FC Barcelona are on the brink of reaching their eighth European Cup showpiece after finally breaking FC Bayern München's resistance in the last 13 minutes of this UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg, Lionel Messi scoring two goals before creating a late third for Neymar.

International career
2010 World Cup

Neuer was called up on 19 May 2009 to the senior German squad for a tour of Asia. He made his debut on this tour in a match against United Arab Emirates on 2 June. He played in the November friendly against Côte d'Ivoire that ended 2–2. Although he took responsibility for the first goal conceded, manager Joachim Löw refused to blame him and instead commended him for doing his best.

The death of keeper Robert Enke in November 2009 saw him elevated as the second choice goalkeeper underRené Adler. However, Adler suffered a serious rib injury which ruled him out of the World Cup. Neuer became Germany's first choice goalkeeper ahead of Tim Wiese and Hans-Jörg Butt for the upcoming tournament.

Neuer was selected as Germany's number one goalkeeper for the World Cup in South Africa. During the group stages, he only conceded a single goal, a close range shot by Milan Jovanović in the match againstSerbia. He provided the assist for Miroslav Klose's opening goal against England, winning 4–1. He played in all of Germany's World Cup matches apart from the third-place game against Uruguay, when Hans-Jörg Butt was rewarded with a spot in the starting lineup.

Euro 2012


He played every minute of every match in the qualification campaign for Euro 2012, helping Germany to secure ten wins out of ten games and top their group. After Germany's 3–1 away win against Turkey he was especially praised for his "sensational" performance. He retained a close range volley shot by Hamit Altıntop, and then he quickly threw the ball to the halfway line into the feet of Thomas Müller, who immediately provided the assist for Mario Gómez's opening goal. Neuer then set up the second goal; under pressure by Turkish attackers, he fired a precise long range kick to Mario Götze deep in the opponent's half, and found Thomas Müller on the edge of the opponent's penalty box to score. He started all three of Germany's matches in the oft-dubbed, "Group of Death". He kept a clean sheet against Portugal while also conceding one goal each to the Netherlands and Denmark. Germany went on to win Group B, being the only team in the tournament to win all of their group stage games. He finished group play posting two saves against Portugal, three against the Netherlands, and three again against Denmark.

2014 FIFA World Cup


Neuer's "sweeper-keeper" playing style distinguished him from other starting goalkeepers in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. This was credited with allowing his teammates to press deep in their opponents' half, plus Neuer's willingness to come out and challenge opposing attackers caused them to miss shots on net. Neuer's outfield roaming which had made him the team's "11th man" has been attributed to the coaching he received from Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola.

After keeping clean sheets in group matches against Portugal and the United States, Neuer recorded his third clean sheet of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in the 1–0 quarter-final defeat of France. This was his 22nd clean sheet overall in his 50th appearance for die Nationalmannschaft. In the semi-finals, Neuer conceded a late goal as his team routed hosts Brazil 7–1.

On 13 July, in the FIFA World Cup Final against Argentina, Neuer was not heavily tested but he commanded his penalty area well, challenging attacking runs by Gonzalo Higuaín and Rodrigo Palacio that caused them to shoot wide of the net (ending up Argentina finished without a shot on goal despite several good chances). Early in the second half, Neuer punched the ball clear before colliding with Higuaín at the edge of the box. Germany defeated Argentina 1–0 thanks to a Mario Götze goal in extra time. Neuer personally won the Golden Glove award for the tournament's best goalkeeper.

Personal life
Neuer was born in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. He attended Gesamtschule Berger Feld, like many other notable footballers, such as Mesut Özil. His brother Marcel is currently a football referee in the Verbandsliga. He got his first football when he was two. He had his first game on 3 March 1991, 24 days before his fifth birthday. Neuer's hero and idol as a child was fellow German and former Schalke goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.

Neuer is a Catholic, and lends his support to a Gelsenkirchen-based Catholic social action group which campaigns against child poverty as well as a Gelsenkirchen-based youth club run by the Amigonians.

Neuer started a charity foundation for children, named the Manuel Neuer Kids Foundation. In November 2011, he won €500,000 for charity in a celebrity edition of Wer wird Millionär?, the German version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Neuer did the voiceover for character Frank McCay in the German version of the 2013 Disney animation Monsters University.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, (born 5 February 1985), known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Real Madrid C.F. and the Portugal national team. He is a forward and serves as captain for Portugal.

By the age of 22, Ronaldo had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2008, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2013 and 2014. He also won the 2013–14 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. In January 2014, Ronaldo scored his 400th senior career goal for club and country aged 28.Often ranked as the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time,Ronaldo is the first Portuguese footballer to win three FIFA/Ballons d'Or, and the second player to win threeEuropean Golden Shoe awards. In January 2015, Ronaldo was named as the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation, during its 100th anniversary celebrations. With Manchester United and Real Madrid, he has won three Premier Leagues, one La Liga, one FA Cup, two Football League Cups, two Copas del Rey, one FA Community Shield, one Supercopas de España, two UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup and two FIFA Club World Cups.

Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, before moving to C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting CP. In 2003 he caught the attention ofManchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.2 million (€15 million). In 2004, he won his first trophy, the FA Cup. In 2007, Ronaldo was the first player in England to win all four main PFA and FWA awards. In 2008, he won 3 of the 4 main PFA and FWA trophies and was named the FIFA World Player of the Year, FIFPro Player of the Year, World Soccer Player of the Year, and the Onze d'Or. In 2007 and 2008, Ronaldo was named FWA Footballer of the Year. He was the inaugural winner of the FIFA Puskás Award for Goal of the Year in 2009. He became the world's most expensive player when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009 in a transfer worth £80 million (€94 million/$132 million). His buyout clause is valued at €1 billion. In May 2012, he become the first footballer to score against every team in a single season in La Liga. Ronaldo holds the record for most goals scored in a single UEFA Champions League season, having scored 17 goals in the 2013–14 season. In December 2014, Ronaldo became the fastest player to score 200 goals in La Liga when, in his 178th La Liga game, he scored a hat-trick against Celta Vigo; his 23rd hat-trick was also a La Liga record. He is the only player in the history of football to score 50 or more goals in a season on five occasions.

Ronaldo made his international debut for Portugal in August 2003, at the age of 18. He has since been capped over 100 times and has participated in 6 major tournaments: three UEFA European Championships (2004, 2008 and 2012) and three FIFA World Cups (2006, 2010 and 2014). Ronaldo is the first Portuguese player to reach 50 international goals, making him Portugal's top goalscorer of all time as well as the country's top scorer in the European Championship with 6 goals. He scored his first international goal in the opening game of Euro 2004 against Greece, and helped Portugal reach the final. He took over captaincy in July 2008, and he led Portugal to the semi-finals at Euro 2012, finishing the competition as joint-top scorer in the process. In November 2014, Ronaldo became the all-time top scorer in the UEFA European Championship (including qualifying) with 23 goals.

Club career

Real Madrid

On 26 June 2009, Real Madrid confirmed that Ronaldo would join the club on 1 July 2009 from Manchester United for £80 million (€94 million) becoming the most expensive footballer in history, after agreeing terms and signing a six-year contract. Ronaldo's contract was worth €11 million per year and had a €1 billion buy-out clause. He was presented to the world media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July, where he was handed the number 9 shirt. The shirt was presented to him by Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano.Ronaldo was welcomed by between 80,000 and 85,000 fans at his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, surpassing Diego Maradona's record of 75,000 fans when he was presented in Italy, after he was transferred from Barcelona to Napoli in 1984.

Ronaldo made his Madrid debut on 21 July in a 1–0 win overShamrock Rovers. His first goal came a week later with a penalty in Madrid's 4–2 win over LDU Quito. On 29 August, Ronaldo capped his La Liga debut with a goal, scoring Real's second from the penalty spot in a 3–2 home win againstDeportivo La Coruña. On 15 September, Ronaldo scored two free kicks in a 5–2 away victory over Zürich, his first Champions League goals for Real. He broke a Madrid club record when he scored in a league match against Villarreal and thus became the first ever player to score in his first four La Liga appearances

An ankle injury suffered on 10 October, while Ronaldo was on international duty with Portugal against Hungary, kept him out until 25 November, which in turn caused him to miss both of Madrid's Champions League group stage matches against Milan. Ronaldo made his first post-injury start in a 1–0 El Clásico defeat to Barcelona on 29 November. On 6 December, he was sent off for the first time in his Madrid career during Real's 4–2 victory against Almería, a match which also saw him miss a penalty. He was carded first for removing his shirt during a goal celebration, then for kicking out at an opponent three minutes later.

Ronaldo was second in the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year award and also second in the 2009 Ballon d'Or award. On 5 May 2010, Ronaldo scored his first Real Madrid hat-trick in an away game against Mallorca. Although his first season at Real Madrid ended trophyless, Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín scored 53 league goals during the course of the season and became Real's highest scoring league duo in their history.

Following his patellar tendinitis problems that troubled him during the last few games of the 2013–14 season and at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo scored twice in Los Blancos' first competitive game of the season (a 2–0 victory) against Sevilla in the 2014 UEFA Super Cup. With his two goals, Ronaldo tied second in the list of top scorers in European club competitions with 70 goals. After the opening game of the La Liga season, where he scored the second in a 2–0 home win against Córdoba, Carlo Ancelotti announced that Ronaldo would do "specific work to improve his condition." On 28 August 2014, Ronaldo won the 2013–14 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, after making the final three nominees in each of the four years that the accolade was held. He returned to action in a 2–1 defeat to Atlético Madrid on 13 September, where he played on the right wing and provided 10 crosses into the penalty box.

On 20 September, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Deportivo in an 8–2 away win, scoring his first goal at the Estadio Riazor. It was his 20th La Liga hat-trick, two away from Telmo Zarra and Alfredo Di Stéfano's all-time record of 22 hat-tricks. Ronaldo also equalled Lionel Messi's record of hat-tricks away from home with seven hat-tricks. Three days later he scored four goals, including two penalties, in a 5–1 victory against Elche. This was his 25th hat-trick for Real Madrid in all competitions, 3 hat-tricks behind the record holder, Alfredo Di Stéfano. Having scored seven goals in 72 hours his coach Carlo Ancelotti stated: "The movements he makes are very quick and that's why they come as a surprise. He is always in just the right position because he has a unique gift for movement". With 186 goals in 169 La Liga matches, Ronaldo broke into the top ten scorers in La Liga.

On 5 October, he scored yet another hat-trick, this time against Athletic Bilbao in a 5–0 win. With two goals against Levante in a 5–0 win, Ronaldo set a record scoring start in a Spanish league season, increasing his league-leading tally to 15 goals in eight rounds despite missing one game due to injury. On 22 October away at Liverpool, where he scored the opening goal in a 3–0 win, Ronaldo become the first player to score in ten consecutive Champions League away games and equalled Messi's record of scoring in 22 different stadiums in Europe. With his strike against Barcelona in a 3–1 home victory three days later, Ronaldo had scored 15 goals in his last seven league games, breaking the Real Madrid record set by Ferenc Puskas who scored 13 times across seven consecutive league matches in both the 1959–60 and 1960–61 seasons.On Ronaldo's prolific goal-scoring, Manchester United icon Bobby Charlton stated; "Cristiano Ronaldo is changing the game in Spain. With all that pace and power and athleticism, he is driving Real Madrid back into dominance both there and in Europe."

On 6 December 2014, Ronaldo became the fastest player in La Liga history to score 200 goals when, in his 178th La Liga game, he scored a hat-trick against Celta Vigo; his 23rd hat-trick was also a La Liga record. Three days later, Ronaldo surpassed former Real Madrid team-mate Raúl's previous competition record by claiming his 72nd in the Champions League to close in on record-holder Lionel Messi. On 20 December 2014, Ronaldo won the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, winning the fourth title of the year with Real Madrid; he was awarded the Silver Ball as the second best player of the competition, behind team-mate Sergio Ramos.

On 4 January 2015, Ronaldo scored the opening goal in a 2-1 defeat against Valencia CF at Mestalla Stadium to become Real Madrid's highest scorer in away La Liga games with 88 goals in 91 matches. On 12 January 2015, Ronaldo won the 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or; he joinedZinedine Zidane and Ronaldo in being crowned the best player in the world by FIFA for the third time. Ronaldo was given the ninth red card of his career in a 2–1 win over Córdoba on 24 January for kicking and slapping Edimar, which resulted in a two-match ban. Following the winter break, his prolific goal-scoring form dropped, which prompted speculation that he may still be suffering with the tendonitis in his left knee that hampered him at the World Cup finals in Brazil.

On 18 February 2015, Ronaldo scored against Schalke 04 in a 2–0 Champions League victory to extend his run of scoring away in the competition to 12 matches. In the round of 16 second leg, he scored twice in a 3–4 defeat to become the outright top scorer in UEFA club competitions with 78 goals, and also become the joint all-time top-scorer in the UEFA Champions League alongside Messi, with 75 goals.

On 5 April 2015, Ronaldo scored five times in one game for the first time in his career, including an eight-minute hat-trick, in a 9–1 defeat of Granada in La Liga. With these goals, Ronaldo equalled Alfredo Di Stéfano's record of 28 hat-tricks for Real Madrid. Post match, his team-mate Karim Benzema labelled him a "phenomenon". On 8 April, Ronaldo scored his 300th goal for Real Madrid in a 2–0 win at Rayo Vallecano. 10 days later, he became the first player in the history of football to score 50 or more goals in a season on five occasions, when he scored the third goal in a 3–1 victory against Málaga. Ronaldo broke Di Stéfano's hat-trick record with his 29th treble for the club in a 3–2 win at Sevilla on 2 May.

International career

2014 World Cup

On 17 October 2012, Ronaldo won his 100th cap for the Portugal national team in a World Cup qualification match againstNorthern Ireland (1–1) at Porto's Estádio do Dragão. He became the third youngest European ever to reach that figure in the process, after Germany's Lukas Podolski and Estonia's Kristen Viikmäe.

On 14 August 2013, Ronaldo scored his 40th goal for Portugal in a 1–1 friendly draw against the Netherlands. On 6 September 2013, Ronaldo netted his first international hat-trick in a 15-minute spell in the second half at Windsor Parkagainst Northern Ireland (4–2) in a World Cup qualification match to become Portugal's second-highest scorer ahead ofEusébio. With his goals against Northern Ireland, Ronaldo also established a personal record, since it was the first time that he scored in three consecutive matches with Portugal.

Ronaldo scored eight goals in Portugal's FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifying campaign, including all four of the team's goals in the two-legged play-off against Sweden which ensured Portugal's place at the finals. His hat-trick in the second-leg made him tied for Portugal's all-time top goalscorer after equalling Pauleta's record tally of 47 international goals.

On 5 March 2014, Ronaldo netted twice in Portugal's 5–1 friendly win over Cameroon to take his tally to 49 goals, thus becoming his country's all-time leading goalscorer. Going into the 2014 FIFA World Cup, as the team's only star player, any Portugal success at the tournament largely rested on the shoulders of Ronaldo. However, Ronaldo was hampered by thigh injuries towards the end of the 2013–14 season with Real Madrid, and the Portuguese Football Association confirmed on 4 June 2014 that he had a "muscle injury on the back of his left thigh as well as left-leg patellar tendinitis."

Ronaldo regularly trained apart from Portugal's training session in order not to further aggravate his knee and thigh problems and frequently left training early to ice his knee. Though Ronaldo was doubtful for Portugal's 2014 World Cup opener against Germany, he managed to play the full 90 minutes as his side lost 4–0. In relation to his knee injury, on 18 June his doctor, Jose Carlos Noronha, warned Ronaldo that he risks threatening his career by playing on for Portugal at the World Cup.[440] Despite ongoing doubts over his fitness, Ronaldo played in the second match against the United States and delivered an assist for Varela's equaliser in the fifth minute of injury time as the match finished 2–2, keeping alive Portugal's slender World Cup hopes. Playing with strapping on his left knee, Ronaldo scored the late winner against Ghana in a 2–1 victory, but Portugal were kept out of the qualification spots on goal difference. The strike was his 50th goal for Portugal, and he became the first Portuguese player to play and score in three World Cup tournaments.

Euro 2016

After missing the first game of the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying against Albania due to injury, Ronaldo scored the winner in stoppage time on the 95th minute to help Portugal grab a 1–0 away win in Denmark. With his goal, Ronaldo became the competition's joint all-time leading goalscorer (including qualifying) with 22 goals. A month later, with the only goal to defeat Armenia in Faro, Ronaldo reached a record 23 goals in the European Championship, surpassing Jon Dahl Tomasson of Denmark and Hakan Şükür of Turkey.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/