Curated playlist
FC Barcelona players
- Lionel MessiLionel Messi's first Barcelona contract was written on a paper napkin. He was 13 at the time.
- Sándor KocsisSándor Kocsis scored 11 goals at the 1954 World Cup but missed in the final. Hungary lost 3-2 to West Germany.
- Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)Hours before the 1998 World Cup final, Ronaldo suffered a convulsive fit. He was dropped, then reinstated.
- 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…
- 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…
- 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.
- Gary LinekerGary Lineker played 654 competitive games and never got a yellow or red card.
- Marc OvermarsMarc Overmars once pulled potatoes from the ground by running with a rope tied around his waist.
- 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…
- RomárioRomário told reporters he would finish Uruguay, then scored both goals in a 2-0 win.
- Hristo StoichkovHristo Stoichkov led an underdog Bulgaria past defending champions Germany at the 1994 World Cup.
- Rafael MárquezRafael Márquez is the only defender to captain a team at five World Cups. The Mexican played in 2002 through 2018.
- Robert ProsinečkiRobert Prosinečki is the only player to score World Cup goals for two national teams.
- 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…
- Robert LewandowskiRobert Lewandowski walked on as a Bayern Munich substitute on the 22nd of September 2015, with his team trailing Wolfsburg 1-0. Eight minutes and 59 seconds later, he had scored five goals and Bayern led 5-1. Three of those goals fell…
- 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,…
- Marcus RashfordMarcus Rashford got his chance at Manchester United because somebody else got hurt. On the 25th of February 2016, thirteen United players were out injured. Then Anthony Martial was injured in the warm-up for a Europa League tie against the…