Curated playlist
2014 FIFA World Cup players
- Lionel MessiLionel Messi's first Barcelona contract was written on a paper napkin. He was 13 at the time.
- Wayne RooneyWayne Rooney was five days short of his 17th birthday when he scored the goal that made his name. On the 19th of October 2002, his last-minute strike for Everton beat Arsenal and ended their run of 30 matches without defeat. It also made…
- Luka ModrićLuka Modrić grew up in a hotel car park after his grandfather was killed. He later won the 2018 Ballon d'Or.
- Philipp LahmPhilipp Lahm scored in the sixth minute of the 2006 World Cup's opening match. He was 22.
- Thibaut CourtoisThibaut Courtois began as a left back before coaches turned him into a goalkeeper.
- NeymarOn the 3rd of August 2017, Neymar joined Paris Saint-Germain in a transfer worth 222 million euros, the most expensive in football history. Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior was born on the 5th of February 1992, and the world knows him by one…
- Romelu LukakuRomelu Lukaku was a schoolboy in 2009 when television cameras followed his class from Brussels to London. Standing inside Stamford Bridge, the teenager looked around and said, "What a stadium. If one day in my life I will cry, it will be…
- Cristiano RonaldoCristiano Ronaldo's mother wanted to abort him, but her doctor refused. He became football's top goalscorer.
- Andrés GuardadoAndrés Guardado retired with 180 games for Mexico, more than any player in its history.
- Manuel NeuerManuel Neuer, the German goalkeeper born on the 27th of March 1986, completed 244 passes at the 2014 World Cup. That was more than Lionel Messi, who managed 242, and more than Thomas Müller, who managed 221. Wesley Sneijder also finished…
- Miroslav KloseMiroslav Klose arrived in West Germany at eight knowing only two words of German.
- Thomas MüllerThomas Müller calls himself a Raumdeuter, a space interpreter. He lacks pace and dribbling, yet he beats defenders.
- Xabi AlonsoXabi Alonso stood over a penalty in a Champions League final in Istanbul and watched Milan's Brazilian goalkeeper Dida save it. The ball came back out to him. Alonso fired the rebound into the roof of the net. Afterwards he said, "This is…
- Luis SuárezLuis Suárez, the Uruguayan striker born on the 24th of January 1987, was sent off at the 2010 World Cup and still found a way to watch the penalty that followed. Late in extra time against Ghana, he had used his hands to stop a header that…
- Diego ForlánDiego Forlán was 45 years old when he received a wildcard into the main doubles draw of the 2024 Uruguay Open in Montevideo. It was his first professional ATP tournament. The man walking onto the court had spent two decades as one of the…
- James RodríguezJames Rodríguez chested down a high ball and volleyed it in at the 2014 World Cup. It won the FIFA Puskás Award.
- Lukas PodolskiLukas Podolski bought control of Gornik Zabrze, the club he had always supported. He retired the next day.
- Gianluigi BuffonGianluigi Buffon reached three Champions League finals and lost all three. The Italian goalkeeper never won the trophy.
- Iker CasillasAs a child, goalkeeper Iker Casillas forgot to post his father's winning pool entry.
- Paul PogbaManchester United paid a then-record €105 million for footballer Paul Pogba in 2016.
- Rafael MárquezRafael Márquez is the only defender to captain a team at five World Cups. The Mexican played in 2002 through 2018.
- Antoine GriezmannAntoine Griezmann was born on the 21st of March 1991 in Mâcon, a commune in the department of Saône-et-Loire. As a child he supported Lyon, and he went on several trials hoping to join one of its youth academies. Lyon turned him away. So…
- Karim BenzemaKarim Benzema was born in Lyon on the 19th of December 1987, to parents of Algerian and Kabyle descent. Years later he stood in front of the first-team squad of his hometown club, still a teenager. The room included Michael Essien, Sylvain…