Profile Football Stars: Mar 19, 2012

Monday, March 19, 2012

Roberto Soldado

Profile Football Stars | Roberto Soldado | After seasons of Prolific goalscoring with the club's B team, he made his first team debut on 23 October 2005, against Valencia CF, playing 18 minutes in a 1-2 home loss. Previously, on 28 September, he had scored an 86th minute winner after just six minutes on the pitch, in the season's UEFA Champions League contest against Olympiakos FC (2-1 home win), adding a late equalizer against CA Osasuna and another in a 3-2 success at Racing de Santander as Real finished second in the league, also netting in the 4-0 win Copa del Rey against Athletic Bilbao.

Soldado returned to Real Madrid where, on 11 July 2007, he renewed his contract with the team until 30 June 2012. Soldado started 2009-10 in impressive fashion, scoring three past Racing Santander in a 4-1 away win. In early June 2010, after a Successful year at Getafe - 16 league goals, and the club qualified for the UEFA Europa League - Soldado returned to his hometown and signed for Valencia for € 10 million, Replacing FC Barcelona-bound David Villa.

On 2 April 2011, Soldado scored all of Valencia's goals in a 4-2 away win against former club Getafe. the first game of the 2011-12 season (second round), Soldado scored four goals against Racing Santander - one in his own net - in an eventual 4-3 home win. In late November 2011, in two home games separated by only five days, he added five more: two in a 2-3 home loss against Real Madrid and three in a 7-0 routing of KRC Genk for the Champions League group stage. Soldado took his tally to 15 league (and 25 for the campaign) on 18 March 2012, scoring all three of his team's goals in a 3-0 win at Bilbao. Soldado represented Spain at all its youth levels, scoring a total of 26 goals.

Personal information
Full name Roberto Soldado Rillo
Date of birth 27 May 1985 (age 26)
Place of birth Valencia, Spain
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Striker

Club information
Current club Valencia
Number 9

Youth career
Don Bosco
2000-2002 Real Madrid

Senior career
years Team
2002-2006 Real Madrid B 120 (63)
2005-2008 Real Madrid 16 (2)
2006-2007 Osasuna (loan) 30 (11)
Getafe 60 2008-2010 (29)
2010-Valencia 60 (33)

National team
2001 Spain U15 2 (0)
2001-2003 U17 Spain 18 (12)
2003 Spain U18 3 (3)
2002-2004 Spain U19 9 (5)
2004-2007 Spain U21 9 (6)
2007-Spain 3 (3)

Honors

Real Madrid
     La Liga: 2007-08
     Supercopa de España: Runner-up 2007

Spain U19
     UEFA U-19 Championship: 2004

Individual
     Zarra Trophy (Second Division): 2005-06

Claudemir Jeronimo Barreto (Cacao)

Profile Football Stars | Claudemir Jeronimo Barreto (Cacao) | In only his second Bundesliga match, against Bayer 04 Leverkusen on 8 December 2001, he scored two goals in Nuremberg's 4-2 defeat. He finished his first Bundesliga season with six goals in 17 appearances, but failed to repeat the success Following the season, when he scored only two goals in 27 appearances and Nuremberg were relegated.

After an unsuccessful season in 2005-06, in the which he only scored four goals for Stuttgart Bundesliga, he went on to be one of the key players in the club's run to the league title in 2007, once again Becoming Their second-best goalscorer with 13 goals, netting both goals crucially in their 2-0 win over Bayern Munich as well as the winning goal in a 3-2 away win over VfL Bochum in the final five rounds of the season. During the 2006-07 season, he also helped Stuttgart reach the final of the DFB-Pokal, scoring five goals in six matches, Including the opening goal in the final against his former team Nuremberg.

In February 2009, he Became eligible to play for Germany after he acquired a German passport having lived and played in Germany for over eight years. On 19 May 2009, Cacau was called up by the German national team's coach Joachim Low for Their friendly matches against China and the United Arab Emirates. He made his international debut on 29 May 2009 in Germany's 1-1 draw against China, playing 27 minutes as a substitute for Mario Gomez. In the third place World Cup game, Germany faced Uruguay on 10 July 2010. Cacau started for his German side, but was eventually subbed out. Defeated Germany 3-2 Uruguay, taking third place at the 2010 South African World Cup.

Personal information
Full name Claudemir Jeronimo Barreto
Date of birth 27 March 1981 (age 30)
Place of birth Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 1/2 in)
Playing position Striker

Club information
Current club VfB Stuttgart
Number 18

Youth career
Palmeiras 1994-1997
an amateur club in Mogi das Cruzes

Senior career
years Team
Türk 1999-2001 Gücü München 31 (7)
2001-2003 1. FC Nuremberg 44 (8)
2003-VfB Stuttgart 230 (74)

National team
2009-Germany 22 (6)

Honours

VfB Stuttgart
Fußball-Bundesliga: 2006-07

Germany
FIFA World Cup 2010: Third place - Bronze medal

Thomas Müller

Profile Football Stars | Thomas Müller | A product of Bayern's youth system, he made his first-team breakthrough in the 2009-10 season after Louis van Gaal was appointed as the main coach; he played almost every game as the club won the league and cup double and reached the Champions League final. This accomplishment earned him an international call-up, and at the end of the season he was named in Germany's squad for the 2010 World Cup, where he scored five goals in six appearances as the team finished in third place. He was named as the Best Young Player of the tournament and won the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer, with five goals and three assists.

The Following season, Bayern's second string qualified for the newly formed 3rd League, and Müller established Himself as a key player - he played in 32 out of 38 matches and scored 15 times to the make him the league's fifth top scorer.

In February 2009, Mueller signed his first contract for the senior team, a two year deal effective from the 2009-10 season, along with team-mate reserve Holger Badstuber. In the first few matches Müller was a regular substitute, and on 12 September 2009, he was Brought on against Borussia Dortmund and scored two goals in a 5-1 victory. In February 2010, Müller signed a new contract with Bayern Munich through 2013. In April 2010, he scored the second goal in a 2-1 win against title rivals Schalke 04, and in the Penultimate league match of the season, he scored the first hat-trick of his career, in a 3-1 win over Bochum Effectively the which secured the German title for Bayern Munich. The title was confirmed a week later with a 3-1 win at Hertha BSC, Müller started the which a match.

Müller returned from his post-World Cup break to sign another contract extension, this time extending his stay at Bayern until 2015. Two weeks later he scored the opening goal of Bayern's league season in a 2-1 home win against VfL Wolfsburg. Müller played in every match of the first half of the season, usually as a starter, but as the team struggled for results, Müller was Unable to match the previous season's goalscoring exploits, being dropped to the bench, and even receiving a telling off from Louis van Gaal after missing an easy chance in a 2-0 defeat against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in August. Müller started all ten of Germany's qualifiers for Euro 2012, as the team qualified for the finals with a 100% record.

Personal information
Full name Thomas Müller
Date of birth 13 September 1989 (age 22)
Place of birth Weilheim, West Germany
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Midfielder / Forward

Club information
Current club Bayern Munich
Number 25

Youth career
TSV 1993-2000 Pahl
Bayern Munich 2000-2007

Senior career
years Team
2007-2009 Bayern Munich II 35 (16)
2008-Bayern Munich 98 (29)

National team
2004-2005 Germany U16 6 (4)
2007 Germany U19 1 (0)
2008 Germany U20 1 (1)
2009-2010 Germany U21 6 (1)
2010-Germany 26 (10)

Honours

Club
Bayern Munich
     Bundesliga (1): 2010
     DFB-Pokal (1): 2010
     DFL-Supercup (1): 2010
     UEFA Champions League Runner-up: 2010

International
     Third place FIFA World Cup: 2010

Individual
     FIFA World Cup Golden Boot (1): 2010
     FIFA World Cup Best Young Player (1): 2010
     Bayerischer Sportpreis (1): 2010
     Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (1): 2010
     VDV Newcomer of the Year (1): 2010
     World Soccer Young Player of the Year (1): 2010
     Bravo Award: 2010
     FIFA Ballon d'Or Shortlist nominee (2010 15th place, 2011 13th place)

Miroslav Klose

Profile Football Stars | Miroslav Klose | Klose also scored five goals in his debut World Cup, the 2002 World Cup, all of the which were headers. He scored four times in 2010 World Cup, giving him a total of 14 World Cup goals and putting him joint second along with Gerd Müller on the list of FIFA World Cup goalscorers. Klose is also the only player to have scored five or more goals in consecutive World Cups, as well as the only player to have scored at least four in three different tournaments. Klose learned his football at a village club, SG-Diedelkopf Blaubach, in the German seventh division. After a season at FC Homburg, he eventually joined the reserve team of FC Kaiserslautern. In his first 67 matches, Klose scored 33 goals.

On 2 March 2004, Klose signed a four-year contract with German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen for a fee of € 5 million ($ 6.2 million). On 29 August 2004, Klose scored his first goal, an equalizer, the which Bremen lost 1-2 at home against Wolfsburg. After a lacklustre start, Klose formed an impressive attacking triangle with French midfielder Johan Micoud and Croatian forward Ivan Klasnic as well as, though less frequently, Paraguayan forward Nelson Valdez, scoring 15 goals in the Bundesliga. In the 2005-06 season, he scored 25 goals, the highest That season, and registered 16 assists in just 26 games in the Bundesliga. Klose was also linked with a Heavily move to Bayern Munich, Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer with an admirer of Klose. On 7 June 2007, Klose confirmed That he would leave Bayern Munich Werder Bremen for the 2007-08 season either before or upon the expiration of his contract with Werder at the end of the 2007-08 season.

Klose completed his medical with Bayern on 28 June 2007 before signing a four-year contract. After That bright start to his Bayern career, Klose struggled during the latter half of the Bundesliga season. His total of 20 goals in all competitions - with an impressive DFB Cup record - did, however, play a significant role in Helping the club to a league and cup double. Klose's second season at the club was a positive one. Klose sustained two injuries in the beginning of the 2010-11 season. Klose CAME off the bench and scored twice. On 6 June 2011, with his contract about to expire, Klose did not reach an agreement with Bayern Munich, Thus Spake leaving the club at the end of the 2010-11 season.

Klose signed a two-year contract with Lazio on 9 June 2011. Lazio is the first team he ever played for outside Germany. Klose scored his first goal for Lazio in the UEFA Europa League Play-offs 2012. He also assisted four other goals. That Lazio won 6-0 and won the game play-offs by 9-1 aggregate against Rabotnički. On 16 October 2011, Klose scored in the 93rd minute to win the Rome derby 2-1 for Lazio. On 10 December 2011, Klose scored twice and assisted one for Lazio in an away game against Lecce, Including an 87 -minute goal gave Lazio a 2-3 That victory.

Klose's consistency as a goal-scorer in his first Bundesliga season at Kaiserslautern earned him attention. In January 2001, the then coach of the Polish national team, Jerzy Engel, traveled to Germany to persuade Klose to choose to play for Poland. Klose's Hopes were justified, as he would soon score for Germany. During the Euro 2012 qualifiers, Klose has scored at least one goal in every single game he played, striking against all of Germanys opponents: Belgium, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Austria.

Personal information
Full name Miroslav Klose Josef
Date of birth 9 June 1978 (age 33)
Place of birth Opole, Poland
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Striker

Club information
Current club Lazio
Number 25

Youth career
1987-1998 SG-Diedelkopf Blaubach

Senior career
years Team
1998-1999 FC Homburg 18 (1)
1999-2004 1. FC Kaiserslautern 120 (44)
1999-2000 1. FC Kaiserslautern II 49 (25)
Werder Bremen 2004-2007 89 (53)
Bayern Munich 2007-2011 98 (24)
2011-Lazio 25 (13)

National team
2001-Germany 114 (63)

Honours

Club
Werder Bremen
     DFB-Ligapokal (1): 2006

Bayern Munich
     Bundesliga (2): 2007-08, 2009-10
     UEFA Champions League Runner-up: 2009-10
     DFB-Pokal (2): 2008, 2010
     DFB-Ligapokal (1): 2007
     DFB-Supercup (1): 2010

Germany
     FIFA World Cup Runner-up: 2002
     FIFA World Cup 3rd Place: 2006, 2010
     UEFA European Football Championship Runner-up: 2008

Individual
     Bundesliga Top Goalscorer (25 goals): 2006
     German Footballer of the Year: 2006
     World Cup Silver Shoe: 2002
     World Cup Golden Shoe: 2006
     Selected for the All-Star team in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups

Personal records
     FIFA World Cup second all-time top scorer along with Gerd Müller: 14 goals
     (five in 2002, five in 2006, and four in 2010)
     Only player to have scored at least four goals in three FIFA World Cups
     At least five goals scored in two FIFA World Cups, a record shared only with Teófilo Cubillas,
     only player to have scored five goals in two consecutive FIFA World Cups
     Germany's second all-time top scorer: 63 goals
     Germany's second most capped player behind Lothar Matthäus