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Curated playlist

Expatriate men's footballers in Italy

  • Didier DeschampsDidier Deschamps is one of only three men to win the World Cup as both player and manager.
  • Luka ModrićLuka Modrić grew up in a hotel car park after his grandfather was killed. He later won the 2018 Ballon d'Or.
  • Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)Hours before the 1998 World Cup final, Ronaldo suffered a convulsive fit. He was dropped, then reinstated.
  • Thierry HenryThierry Henry was thirteen years old in 1990 when a Monaco scout named Arnold Catalano went to watch him play. Henry's team won 6-0, and Henry scored every one of the six goals. Catalano did not ask for a trial. He asked the boy to join…
  • 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.
  • Miroslav KloseMiroslav Klose arrived in West Germany at eight knowing only two words of German.
  • Władysław Żmuda (born 1954)Władysław Żmuda played 21 matches across four FIFA World Cup finals, a total matched only by Uwe Seeler and Diego Maradona. Only five men in the sport's history played more: Lionel Messi, Lothar Matthäus, Miroslav Klose, Paolo Maldini and…
  • RonaldinhoRonaldinho scored his first La Liga goal for Barcelona at 1.30 in the morning on the 3rd of September 2003. The match against Sevilla had kicked off at five minutes past midnight. He took a pass from his own goalkeeper inside his own half,…
  • Diego MaradonaDiego Maradona punched in one World Cup goal, then dribbled past five English players for another.
  • Zinedine ZidaneZinedine Zidane scored two headers from corners in the 1998 World Cup Final. France beat Brazil 3-0 in Paris.
  • Leonel SánchezLeonel Sánchez knocked out an Italian defender with one punch at the 1962 World Cup.
  • David BeckhamSir David Beckham became something of a household name on the 17th of August 1996, the opening day of the Premier League season, with a single shot from 57 yards. Manchester United were already 2-0 up against Wimbledon when Beckham noticed…
  • 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…
  • Jürgen KlinsmannJürgen Klinsmann scored sixteen goals in one match at age eight. He later lifted a World Cup with West Germany.
  • Lukas PodolskiLukas Podolski bought control of Gornik Zabrze, the club he had always supported. He retired the next day.
  • Mohamed SalahMohamed Salah walked off the pitch in tears during the 2018 Champions League final. In the 30th minute against Real Madrid, a challenge from the defender Sergio Ramos wrenched his left shoulder. He tried to carry on, went to the ground a…
  • Gabriel BatistutaGabriel Batistuta, Argentina's top scorer, once asked a doctor to amputate his legs.
  • Hristo StoichkovHristo Stoichkov led an underdog Bulgaria past defending champions Germany at the 1994 World Cup.
  • Lothar MatthäusIn the 1986 World Cup final, Lothar Matthäus was assigned to mark Diego Maradona personally.
  • Michel PlatiniMichel Platini scored nine goals in five matches at the 1984 European Championship. That record stood for 37 years.
  • Enzo ScifoEnzo Scifo was only 18 when he played at the 1984 European Championship. He was the youngest player yet in its finals.
  • Guillermo StábileGuillermo Stábile played in the 1930 World Cup because the starting striker had an anxiety attack.
  • 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.
  • Christian PulisicChristian Pulisic is an American soccer player whom fans and other players call Captain America. At the age of 25 he matched Landon Donovan's record of four U.S. Soccer Player of the Year awards. He was born in 1998, and he has since…
  • Zlatan IbrahimovićIn March 2018, the Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimović paid for a full-page advertisement in the Los Angeles Times. It carried his signature and a single short message: 'Dear Los Angeles, you're welcome.' He had just signed for LA Galaxy,…

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