Nationality: French Date of birth: 26/02/1974 Team: Citroen Total World Rally Team Co-driver: Daniel Elena World Titles: FIA World Driver Champion 2004, 2005, 2006 & 2007. FIA Super 1600 Drivers' Cup Champion in 2001
Sebastien Loeb is the Michael Schumacher of rallying. Both are glacially cool, totally focussed and sublimely quick in all conditions. Loeb's rise to stardom has been even more rapid than Schumacher's rise in Formula 1, however. In his first full year in 2003, Loeb almost took the title. In his second year, he easily clinched the crown with a record-matching six wins. In his third, he broke all records with 10 wins (including six in a row) to truly seal his reputation as rallying's top dog. 2006 saw him take his third consecutive title without even contesting the last four rounds of the championship because of an injured arm.
Despite a background as an acrobat, Loeb developed a bug for rallying. In 1998 he took two wins in the French Citroen Saxo Trophy series before securing the title the following year. He was nurtured by the French team and its figurehead, rally legend Guy Frequelin, through the French national series and the Junior Super 1600 class of the WRC, which he won in 2001. At the same time he contested several WRC events in Citroen's Xsara WRC, proving to be just as adept at the top level.
In 2002 Loeb scored his first WRC win in Germany, but over 2003 and 2004 rapidly developed his speed and consistency on gravel and snow, and is now an all-round performer with wins on all surface types. He proved his class in 2003 by chasing Subaru's Petter Solberg to the title until the final round, and went one better in 2004 with a performance that was one of the best of recent years. No-one expected the domination of 2005, though, as he broke record after record and proved himself to be one of rallying's all-time greats.
Loeb was relegated to a private team Citroen Xsara WRC for 2006, as the French marque took a sabbatical before its return in 2007. The Frenchman, however, took a third consecutive drivers' title with Kronos Racing and achieved the status of the most successful rally driver in history when he beat the record for career victories set by Carlos Sainz.
In 2007, Loeb was back with Citroen Sport driving the new C4 WRC. Although it was a new car, this didn?t get in the way of the Frenchman as he drove to a fourth consecutive crown.
Video Sebastien Loeb
Career highlights:
2007: Fourth title.
2006: Injured after a fall from a mountain bike but still gained his third consecutive WRC title.
2005: Record-setting run to second title with Citroen, scoring 10 wins (including six in a row)
2004: Wins WRC title with six wins for Citroen
2003: Runner-up in WRC with three wins for Citroen
2002: Wins in Germany in WRC with Citroen
2001: Wins FIA Super 1600 championship with Citroen
First name Ronaldo Luiz Last name Nazario da Lima Nationality Brazil Date of birth 22 September 1976 Country of birth Brazil Place of birth Rio de Janeiro Position Attacker Height 183 cm Weight 90 kg
Ronaldo Luiz Nazario da Lima
SÃO PAULO, Brazil -- The extra pounds, the new crop of hair and the unfamiliar jersey make him hard to recognize. His long career as a millionaire striker in Europe for teams like Real Madrid ended amid a knee injury and a personal scandal. Nowadays he splits $89-a-night rooms with teammates in remote Brazilian burgs with names like President Prudent.
But the big news is that Ronaldo, the three-time FIFA World Player of the Year and all-time World Cup scoring champion, is playing soccer again. And he's doing what made him, for a time, one of the planet's most celebrated living athletes. He's scoring goals.
In March, after 384 days off the field, Ronaldo entered a soccer stadium again, this time wearing the shirt of São Paulo's Corinthians for a match in an agricultural town of 95,000 deep in Brazil's interior. Despite lumbering back some 20 pounds overweight, Ronaldo has scored five goals in seven appearances and tapped into a huge fan base in a nation where soccer is called a second religion. There's already talk about putting the striker back on Brazil's national team.
Video Ronaldo Luiz Nazario Da Lima
he rough-and-tumble Brazilian leagues may look to be a huge step down for Ronaldo, who once stayed in five-star hotels from London to Istanbul. But by the accounts of those close to him, the 32-year-old, whose full name is Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, is living a fairy-tale rebound that could happen only in his home country.
"If this is the script of a movie, the ending is a fifth World Cup" for Ronaldo in 2010, says his agent, Fabiano Farah. "This is the No. 1 global story of the comeback of a human being."
It's also a comeback for the Corinthians, a team famed for its rabid cadre of 25 million fans, dubbed "the Faithful." In 2007, the club had been demoted to a second-tier league, and prosecutors accused its top management of laundering money and having links to Russian mobsters.
Ronaldo's return after 14 years may be a watershed for Brazilian soccer, whose teams -- plagued by corruption and mismanagement -- have scraped by, selling their best talent to foreign clubs. In 2008, Brazilian teams traded away 1,176 players, including 209 to Portugal and 23 to China.
Ronaldo played his first game in a Corinthians jersey on March 4. Before the match, the country's most famous player after Pelé admitted to a case of nerves, saying he "didn't know what to expect" because he'd followed Brazilian soccer "only on TV." He soon got the hang of it. After his first goal he jumped a barrier and ran straight at the leaping crowd of shirtless fans. As they tore down a fence, riot police hammered them and announcers screamed, "Ronaldo! Goooooool!" "It's been two years since he's had the kind of attention he has now," says Jose Ferreira Neto, a former Corinthians star and TV sports commentator. "I've never seen him so happy." Fans' biggest worry now: that Ronaldo could reinjure his knee. In mid-March, the Corinthians' self-appointed mystical adviser, Father Nilson, held an Afro-Brazilian ceremony involving a wax replica of Ronaldo's injured leg. The replica has been on tour around Brazil.
"We're asking God to illuminate [Ronaldo] one more time, and protect him from further contusions," Father Nilson said. Raised in a poor neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Ronaldo began playing professionally at 16. At 18 he was traded to Holland's PSV and went on to star with clubs in Barcelona and Milan, where he earned the nickname "the Phenomenon" for his uncanny scoring abilities. The striker's greatest moment of glory came playing for Brazil in the 2002 World Cup, when he scored twice against Germany's almost unbeatable goalkeeper Oliver Khan to take the title. Knee injuries have three times upset Ronaldo's career. In 2000, he snapped a right-knee tendon, sidelining him for over a year. Last February, his other knee gave in during a match in Italy, and the striker rolled on the ground in tears.
In April, police were called to a "love motel" in Rio to break up an argument between Ronaldo and a transvestite prostitute. "It was the worst decision of my life. It's going to stain my personal life forever, but nothing will stop my career," Ronaldo told Brazil's Globo TV at the time. By June, his contract with Milan expired and he was without a multimillion-dollar contract for the first time since he'd left Brazil. Many doubted he'd play soccer again. According to Ronaldo's doctor, Joaquim Grava, Ronaldo's injury, known as a patellar tendon rupture, is rare but curable with surgery and 10 months of rest. Returning to soccer, says Dr. Grava, is a matter of willpower and grueling therapy. According to his agent, by last fall Ronaldo was on the mend and entertaining multimillion-dollar offers from the sort of up-and-coming teams in Europe and the Persian Gulf who are always interested in marquee names -- even old and bruised ones. In an unexpected turn, Corinthians made an offer to keep Ronaldo in Brazil. Corinthians couldn't afford a European-size salary. The club pays him $175,000 a month (still a huge fee by Brazilian standards) and sweetened the deal by sharing sponsorship earnings, and giving Ronaldo 50% of ticket sales from any foreign matches.
For the new management trying to rebuild the Corinthians franchise, Ronaldo's story was a perfect fit. "I've been trying to explore the Rocky in ourselves all year long," says Luis Paulo Rosenberg, Corinthians director of marketing. "Our focus is on self-esteem, to make [fans] forget the humiliation."
Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo finished second and third in the season-ending Grand Prix of Valencia this afternoon, the ninth time the pair have shared the podium this season. It ensured that Yamaha won the Triple Crown for the second year running after Rossi took the Riders’ title, Fiat Yamaha the Teams’ and Yamaha the Constructors’. Today’s result also sealed Lorenzo the runner-up spot in the Championship in just his second year in MotoGP. Between them the Italian and the Spaniard have taken ten wins and a further seventeen podiums, Yamaha’s most successful year ever in MotoGP.
With pole-man Casey Stoner crashing on the warm-up lap the first corner shuffle saw Dani Pedrosa take the lead followed by Toni Elias, Rossi and Lorenzo, who quickly passed Rossi to re-take third. The first few laps were a mini battle between the Yamaha team-mates as Lorenzo fought to hold off Rossi and look for a way past Elias at the same time. He passed his fellow Spaniard in the last sector of lap three and Rossi followed quickly in his footsteps, overtaking Elias on the brakes into turn one on the fourth lap. A huge slide by Lorenzo soon after however left the 22-year-old unbalanced and shaken up and Rossi went through, leaving Lorenzo to take a bit of time to find his rhythm again. The World Champion set off after Pedrosa and for a little while looked like he was gaining but Valencia is a notoriously tricky track to make up ground on and in the end he was content to chase home the Spaniard for second place, his best result at Valencia since 2004. Lorenzo finished just three tenths off Rossi but was delighted to seal second in the championship in front of his home fans.
As well as Yamaha sealing the Triple Crown and filling the first two spots in the championship, a brilliant performance from Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards today saw him take fourth and ensure fifth place in the championship, the top non-factory rider. Yamaha wild-card Ben Spies finished a brilliant seventh in his first MotoGP race on the M1 and James Toseland finished 12th in his farewell race for the team.
Quote from Lin Jarvis, Managing Director, Yamaha Motor Racing “It gives me a great personal satisfaction for Yamaha and the Fiat Yamaha Team to have achieved “back to back” titles for 2008 and 2009. Our strong performances throughout this year’s MotoGP championship are the result of a good cocktail of essential ingredients all being blended together in the right way. The performances of our riders have been incredible. Vale has won his 9th World Championship, making it 4 titles with Yamaha in his 6 seasons with us. Jorge has again surprised and thrilled us all year and made fantastic progress to claim the runner’s-up position in only his second MotoGP season. Our engineers have used every single input from our riders’ feedback over the past years and throughout this season to develop the YZR-M1 bike into the “bike of reference” in the MotoGP paddock. Our Team staff have worked tirelessly at every test and every Grand Prix to provide the optimum circumstances for our riders to be ready to win. Our corporate staff in Japan and Italy have also provided the essential “base camp” support to provide the back-up for all of the “troops” in the front line. Last but not least, Fiat Auto and our official sponsors and suppliers have also provided the essential support to enable us to go racing in the best possible way. I would like to personally thank everybody for the great team work that has allowed us to achieve all our targets.”
Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd Time: +2.630 “I’m really happy about this result because it was fantastic to be able to ride well at Valencia and it’s my best finish here since 2004. Of course it would have been better to win but I lost some time at the start battling with Elias and Lorenzo and by that time Pedrosa had gone and at this track it’s almost impossible to make up a two second gap. It’s not one of our best tracks but after the problems we had all weekend we can be very pleased, we made a great modification in warm-up so thanks to all my guys for this. We’ve ended the championship on the podium and it’s been a great season, another world title and the triple crown for Yamaha, I am very proud. Thank you to Yamaha, all my team, Bridgestone and everyone else, now we will have a little party before we start work on the 2010 bike tomorrow!”
Video Valentino Rossi
Following Valentino Rossi’s ninth career title in Sepang, and his seventh in the premier-class and his fourth since joining Yamaha in 2004. Here are some more statistics from the fourteenth season of his career:
• Rossi has now matched Mike Hailwood and Carlo Ubbiali with nine titles in all classes. Only Agostini with 15 has more.
• Rossi’s win in Assen this season made him only the second rider in history to take 100 wins in all classes. Rossi now has 103, 19 less than Agostini’s all-time record of 122.
• He already held the all-time premier class victories record, having beaten Agostini’s tally at Indianapolis in 2008. He now a premier-class win tally of 77.
• Rossi’s win this season in Brno saw him take the all-time podium record with his 160th podium in all classes. He is also the only rider to have stood on the podium in the premier-class more than 100 times. Today’s podium was his 163rd in all classes.
• With 44 wins from 102 races since he joined the Japanese factory in 2004, Rossi is the most successful Yamaha rider of all time. He has 21 more wins than Kenny Roberts, Yamaha’s next most successful rider.
• Today’s title means he has now won more titles for Yamaha than for any of the other manufacturers he has ridden for in his career.
• His win at Misano, Italy this year was his 11th win in all classes on home soil.
• He is the only rider in history to have won at least one GP in 14 successive seasons.
Other facts about Rossi’s career
• In 1997 Rossi became the second youngest ever 125cc World Champion after scoring 321 points and eleven wins.
• Two years later, he became the youngest ever 250cc World Champion with nine wins.
• In 2001 Rossi joined Phil Read as one of only two riders ever to win the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc titles.
• Rossi’s debut victory for Yamaha at the opening race of 2004 in South Africa made him the first rider in history to take back-to-back wins for different manufacturers.
• After winning the MotoGP World Championship three times with Honda, Rossi took his fourth premier-class title with Yamaha in 2004 and became the only rider other than Eddie Lawson to win consecutive premier-class titles for different manufacturers.
• Rossi remains the only rider to win the premier-class title on four different types of motorcycle: 500cc 4-cylinder two-stroke, 990cc 5-cylinder four-stroke, Yamaha 990cc 4-cylinder four-stroke and a Yamaha 800cc 4-cylinder four-stroke.
• Rossi has never missed a GP since his 125cc debut in 1996. He has started 226 successive races in all classes, 166 of which have been in the premier class. Both of these are records.
Valentino Rossi – Career Nationality: Italian Born: 16th February 1979 in Urbino, Italy World Championships: 9 (7 x MotoGP/500cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc) GP victories: 103 (77 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) GP podiums: 163 (126 x MotoGP/500cc, 21 x 250cc, 15 x 125cc) GP Pole Positions: 58 (47 x MotoGP/500cc, 5 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) First GP win: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 226 (166 x MotoGP/50cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (born March 6, 1972), nicknamed "Shaq", is an American professional basketball player, rapper, and actor. He is widely perceived as one of the most dominant players in the history of the NBA[1][2]. Standing at 7 feet 1 inch, 325 pounds, he is one of the largest players to ever play in the NBA. Throughout his 17 year career, O'Neal has used his size and strength to overpower opponents for points and rebounds.
Following a standout career at Louisiana State University, O'Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. He quickly became one of the top centers in the league, winning Rookie of the year in 1992-1993 and later leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals. After 4 years with the Magic, O'Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. He won three consecutive championships, playing along side Kobe Bryant, in 2000, 2001, and 2002. However O'Neal's relationship with Bryant eventually went downhill, leading to his trade to the Miami Heat in 2004. He won his fourth NBA championship in 2006, but was traded midway through the season just a year later to the Phoenix Suns. After a season-and-a-half with the Suns, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he will play along side LeBron James in the 2009-10 season.
O'Neal's individual accolades include 1 MVP award, the 1992–93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, 15 All-Star game selections, 3 All-Star game MVPs, 3 Finals MVPs, 2 Scoring titles, 14 All-NBA team selections, and 3 NBA All-Defensive Team selections. He currently ranks 5th all-time in points scored, 6th in field goals, 15th in rebounds, and 7th in blocks.[3]
In addition to his basketball career, O'Neal has released 4 rap albums, his first Shaq Diesel, going platinum. He has also appeared in numerous films and has starred in his own reality shows, Shaq's Big Challenge and Shaq Vs.
VIDEO Shaquille O'Neal's
Cleveland Cavaliers – No. 33
Center Born March 6, 1972 (1972-03-06) (age 37) Newark, New Jersey Nationality American Listed height 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) Listed weight 325 lb (147 kg) League NBA Salary $21,000,000 High school Robert G. Cole (San Antonio, Texas) College LSU Draft 1st overall, 1992 Orlando Magic Pro career 1992–present Former teams Orlando Magic (1992–1996) Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004) Miami Heat (2004–2008) Phoenix Suns (2008–2009) Awards 4× NBA Champion (2000, 2001, 2002, 2006) 3× NBA Finals MVP (2000–2002) NBA Most Valuable Player (2000) NBA Rookie of the Year (1993) 15× NBA All-Star (1993-1998, 2000-2007, 2009) 2× NBA Scoring Champion (1995, 2000) 8× All-NBA First Team (1998, 2000-2006) 2× All-NBA Second Team (1995, 1999) 4× All-NBA Third Team (1994, 1996-1997, 2009) 3× All-Defensive Second Team (2000–2001, 2003) NBA All-Rookie First Team (1993) 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2000, 2004, 2009) 1994 FIBA World Championship MVP
Zinedine Yazid Zidane(born 23 June 1972) is a retired French professional footballer. Widely considered one of football's all-time greats, Zidane played for club teams in France, Italy and Spain, and was a member of the French national team. His career accomplishments include helping France win the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000, in addition to winning the 2002 UEFA Champions League as a galactico with Real Madrid.
One of only two three-time FIFA World Player of the Year winners along with Ronaldo, Zidane was also named the European Footballer of the Year in 1998. His abilities were further recognized in 2004 when he was included in Pelé's choice list of the world's greatest footballers. He retired from professional football after the 2006 FIFA World Cup
Video Zenedine Zidane
Club career Zidane playing for Real Madrid in 2005.
Zidane joined the junior team of US Saint-Henri, a local club in the La Castellane district of Marseille. At the age of 14, he participated in the first-year junior selection for the league championship, where he caught the attention of AS Cannes scout Jean Varraud. He went to Cannes for a six-week stay, but ended up remaining at the club for four years to play at the professional level. Zidane played his first Ligue 1 match at seventeen, and scored his first goal on 8 February 1991, for which he received a car as a gift from the team president. His first season with Cannes culminated in a UEFA Cup berth.
Zidane was transferred to Girondins de Bordeaux for €7 million[1] in the 1992–93 season, winning the 1995 Intertoto Cup and finishing runner-up in the 1995–96 UEFA Cup in four years with the club. He played a set of midfield combinations with Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, which would become the trademark of both Bordeaux and the 1998 French national team. In 1995, Blackburn Rovers coach Ray Harford had expressed interest in signing both Zidane and Dugarry, to which team owner Jack Walker reportedly replied, "Why do you want to sign Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?"[2]
In 1996, Zidane moved to Champions League winners Juventus for a fee of £3.2 million, and won the 1996–97 Scudetto and the Intercontinental Cup, but lost the 1997 UEFA Champions League final 3–1 to Borussia Dortmund. He netted seven goals in 32 matches to help Juventus retain the Scudetto the next season and make their third consecutive UEFA Champions League final appearance, losing 1-0 to Real Madrid which would be his next destination. Juventus were runners-up in 2000–01, but were eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League, during which Zidane was sent off for headbutting Hamburger SV player Jochen Kientz.
In 2001, Zidane joined Real Madrid for €78 million and signed a four-year contract. He scored the match-winning goal, a thunderous volley hit with his weaker foot, in Madrid's 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final completing this personal quadruple. The next season, Zidane helped Real Madrid to win the Spanish league title and was named the FIFA World Player of the Year for the third time. In 2004, fans voted him atop UEFA's fiftieth-anniversary Golden Jubilee Poll, and he was included in the FIFA 100.
Despite scoring his first-ever hat-trick in a 4-2 win over Sevilla FC, Zidane's final season of club football ended trophyless. On 7 May 2006, Zidane, who had announced his plans to retire after the 2006 World Cup,[3] played his last home match and scored in a 3-3 draw with Villarreal CF. The squad wore commemorative jerseys with "ZIDANE 2001–2006" below the club logo. [edit] International career A Zidane football jersey, number 10 for France.
Both France and Algeria consider Zidane a citizen, but he was ineligible to play for the Algerian national team. There was also a rumor that coach Abdelhamid Kermali denied him a position for the Algerian squad because he felt the young midfielder was not fast enough.[4] However, Zidane dismissed the rumor in a 2005 interview, saying that he would have been ineligible to play for Algeria because he had already played for France.[5]
He earned his first cap with France as a substitute in a friendly against the Czech Republic on 17 August 1994, which ended in a 2-2 draw after Zidane scored twice to help France erase a 2-0 deficit. After Éric Cantona was handed a year-long suspension in January 1995 for assaulting a fan, Zidane took over the playmaker position. France were eliminated in the UEFA Euro 1996 semifinals in a penalty shootout by the Czech Republic after the match ended 0-0 in extra time.
Zidane won the 1998 FIFA World Cup with France, scoring twice in the final against defending champions Brazil. He finished with two goals as France then won UEFA Euro 2000, becoming the first team to hold both the World Cup and the European Championship since West Germany in 1974. A thigh injury prevented Zidane from playing in France's first two matches in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He rushed back prematurely for the third game despite not being fully fit, but could not prevent France from being ignominiously eliminated in the group stage without scoring a single goal.[6]
After France were eliminated in the UEFA Euro 2004 quarterfinals by eventual winners Greece on 12 June 2004, Zidane retired from international football.[7] With the mass retirement of veteran key players such as Bixente Lizarazu, Marcel Desailly and others, France struggled to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, at the urging of coach Raymond Domenech, Zidane came out of retirement and was immediately reinstated as team captain.[8] He made his competitive return in a 3-0 win over the Faroe Islands on 3 September 2005, as France went on to win their qualifying group.[9]
On 27 May 2006, Zidane earned his hundredth cap for France in a 1-0 friendly win over Mexico, becoming France's fourth player ever to reach this milestone, after Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps and Lilian Thuram. He was substituted early in the second half.[10] [edit] 2006 World Cup Zidane during the 2006 World Cup final.
After being suspended on yellow cards from the final match of the group stage,[11] Zidane set up a goal for Patrick Vieira and scored one himself in the 91st minute of the second round match against Spain. As France held Brazil to just one shot on goal in the rematch of the 1998 final, Zidane's free kick led to Thierry Henry's deciding goal, sealing a 1-0 win. Zidane was named Man of the Match by FIFA.[12] Before the final match, Zidane was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the competition.[13] Main article: 2006 FIFA World Cup Final
By scoring a 7th minute penalty in the final, Zidane became only the fourth player in World Cup history to score in two different finals, along with Pelé, Paul Breitner, and Vavá, in addition to being tied for first place with Vavá, Pelé and Geoff Hurst with three World Cup final goals apiece. Zidane was sent off in extra time after headbutting Marco Materazzi following verbal taunts from the Italian player, and so did not participate in the penalty shootout, which Italy won 5–3.[14][15] Despite the incident, Zidane was allowed to keep the Golden Ball award.[13] [edit] Post-retirement
On June 1, 2009, Zidane was announced as the Advisor to the President as Florentino Perez was named President of Real Madrid for the second time. He also regularly plays for Real Madrid Veterans team.[16] He along with Jorge Valdano, General Director, and Miguel Pardeza, Sporting Director, will be the key decision makers on the sporting side of the club. [edit] Charity activities Zidane during an appearance for the Danone Nations Cup.
In 2003, Zidane attended the Race Against Hunger organised by Action Against Hunger Spain (also known as Acción Contra el Hambre) held at the French Lyceum of Madrid. This event raised an estimated 25,000 Euros.
On 24 February 2007, before a crowd of 10,000 fans at a match in northern Thailand for the Keuydaroon children's AIDS charity, Zidane scored the first goal and set up the second for a Malaysian teammate as the match ended 2-2. The event raised ฿260,000 ($7,750). This money paid for the building of two schools and 16 three-bedroom houses.[17]
On 19 November 2007, Zidane took part in the fifth annual Match Against Poverty in Málaga, Spain, which also ended in a 2-2 draw; he went scoreless but set up his team’s second goal. He and former Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo, who collaborated in conceiving the yearly event to benefit the United Nations Development Programme, regularly captain their respective teams consisting of active footballers, other professional athletes and celebrities. Zidane, a U.N. goodwill ambassador since 2001, stated before the game that “everyone can do something to make the world a better place.”[18]
In June and July 2009, Zidane toured across Canada with stops in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Although billed as Zidane and "Friends", the likes of which included Fabian Barthez and Samuel Eto'o, the exhibition matches featured local players. Tournament organisers cited lack of sponsorship and support from the Canadian Soccer Association for the disorganized rosters. Some proceeds were given to Unicef. [edit] Honours, and appointments
In 2004, Forbes magazine named him the 42nd-highest paid athlete in the world, with earnings of US$15.8 million a year.[19] In November 2006, Zidane toured Bangladesh as the guest of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. He also visited the Algerian birthplace of his parents, and met personally with president Abdel Aziz Bouteflika.[20]
Filmmakers Philippe Parreno and Douglas Gordon filmed a documentary Zidane, which follows Zidane during an entire match, filmed with 17 cameras. The documentary was part of the 2009 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.[21] [edit] Sponsorships
Zidane has had endorsements with many companies, including: Adidas, Lego, France Telecom, Orange, Audi, Volvic and Christian Dior. These sponsorship deals earned him €8.6 million on top of his €6.4 million Real Madrid salary in his final season, making him the sixth-highest paid footballer.[22][23] [edit] Personal life
Zidane's parents, Ismail and Malika, both Muslims of Kabyle descent from Algeria, emigrated to Paris in 1953 from the village of Aguemone in the Kabylie region of Algeria. They moved to Marseille a few years later, where Zidane was born.[24]
Zidane met his wife, Véronique, while playing for Cannes in the 1988-89 season. They have four sons: Enzo (named after former Uruguayan player Enzo Francescoli), Luca,[25] Theo,[26] and Elyaz. Luca and Theo are both members of the Real Madrid Infantil B Team.
Personal information Full name Zinedine Yazid Zidane Date of birth 23 June 1972 (1972-06-23) (age 37) Place of birth Marseille, France Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Playing position Attacking midfielder Youth career 1982–1983 US Saint-Henri 1983–1987 SO Septèmes-les-Vallons 1987–1988 Cannes Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1988–1992 Cannes 61 (6) 1992–1996 Bordeaux 139 (28) 1996–2001 Juventus 151 (24) 2001–2006 Real Madrid 155 (37) Total 506 (95) National team 1994–2006 France 108 (31)
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player and active businessman. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time."[1] Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.
After a standout career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he led the Tar Heels to a National Championship in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball.[2] In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998) as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995–96 season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons in 2001 as a member of the Washington Wizards.
Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include five MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVP awards, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA records for highest career regular-season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.4 points per game). In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press's list of athletes of the century. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame on April 6, 2009 and was inducted on September 11, 2009.[3]
Jordan is also noted for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular today.[4] Jordan also starred in the 1996 feature film Space Jam as himself. He is currently a part-owner and Managing Member of Basketball Operations of the Charlotte Bobcats in North Carolina.
Player profile
Jordan was a shooting guard who was also capable of playing small forward (the position he would primarily play during his second comeback with the Washington Wizards). Jordan was known throughout his career for being a strong clutch performer. He decided numerous games with last-second plays (e.g., The Shot) and performed at a high level even under adverse circumstances (e.g., Flu Game). His competitiveness was visible in his prolific trash-talk[99] and well-known work ethic.[100][101]
Jordan had a versatile offensive game. He was capable of aggressively driving to the basket and drawing fouls from his opponents at a high rate; his 8,772 free throw attempts are the ninth highest total of all time.[102] As his career progressed, Jordan also developed the ability to post up his opponents and score with his trademark fadeaway jumpshot, using his leaping ability to "fade away" from block attempts. According to Hubie Brown, this move alone made him nearly unstoppable.[103] Despite media criticism as a "selfish" player early in his career, Jordan's 5.3 assists per game[12] also indicate his willingness to defer to his teammates. In later years, the NBA shortened its three-point line to 22 feet (from 23 feet, 9 inches), which coupled with Jordan's extended shooting range to make him a long-range threat as well—his 3-point stroke developed from a low 9 / 52 rate (.173) in his rookie year into a stellar 111 / 260 (.427) shooter in the 1995–96 season.[12] For a guard, Jordan was also a good rebounder (6.2 per game).[12]
In 1988, he was honored with the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award and became the first NBA player to win both the Defensive Player of the Year and MVP awards in a career (since equaled by Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Kevin Garnett; Olajuwon is the only player other than Jordan to win both during the same season). In addition he set records for blocked shots by a guard,[104] and combined this with his ball-thieving ability to become a standout defensive player. His 2,514 steals are the second highest total of all-time behind John Stockton, while his steals per game average is third all-time.[105] Jerry West often stated that he was more impressed with Jordan's defensive contributions than his offensive ones.[106] Legacy
Video Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan, 2006 Position(s) Shooting guard Jersey #(s) 23, 45, 9 Listed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Listed weight 215 lb (98 kg) Born February 17, 1963 (1963-02-17) (age 46) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. Career information Year(s) 1984–2003 NBA Draft 1984 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3
Selected by Chicago Bulls College University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Professional team(s)
* Chicago Bulls (1984–1993, 1995–1998) * Washington Wizards (2001–2003)
Career stats Points 32,292 Rebounds 6,672 Assists 5,633 Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com Career highlights and awards
* 6× NBA Champion (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998) * 5× NBA MVP (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998) * 14× NBA All-Star (1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002–2003) * 6× NBA Finals MVP (1991–1993, 1996–1998) * 1× NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1988) * 10× All-NBA First Team Selection (1987–1993, 1996–1998) * 1× All-NBA Second Team Selection (1985) * 9× NBA All-Defensive First Team Selection (1988–1993, 1996–1998) * 1985 NBA Rookie of the Year * 1985 NBA All-Rookie Team * 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1988, 1996, 1998) * 2× NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner (1987, 1988) * 2x Gold Medal Winner in the Olympics (1984,1992) * NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team * 1× NCAA Men's Basketball Champion (1982) * 1982 ACC Freshman of the Year * 1× ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year (1984) * 1× USBWA College Player of the Year (1984) * 1× Naismith College Player of the Year (1984) * 1× John R. Wooden Award (1984) * 1× Adolph Rupp Trophy (1984) * 1991 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year * 2000 ESPY Athlete of the Century * 1990s ESPY Male Athlete Decade Award * 1990s ESPY Pro Basketballer Decade Award
Olympic career
Olympic medal record Men's basketball Gold 1984 Los Angeles United States Gold 1992 Barcelona United States
Jordan played on two Olympic gold medal-winning American basketball teams. As a college player he participated, and won the gold, in the 1984 Summer Olympics. Jordan led the team in scoring averaging 17.1 ppg for the tournament.[88] In the 1992 Summer Olympics he was a member of the star-studded squad that included Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and David Robinson and was dubbed the "Dream Team". Playing limited minutes due to the frequent blowouts, Jordan averaged 12.7 ppg, finishing fourth on the team in scoring.[89] The team cruised to the gold medal, restoring the United States to the top of the basketball world. Jordan, Patrick Ewing, and fellow Dream Team member Chris Mullin are the only American men's basketball players to win Olympic gold as amateurs (all in 1984) and professionals.[88][90]
-wheel drive class French gravel title
