Curated playlist
Major League Soccer 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…
- 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…
- Thomas MüllerThomas Müller calls himself a Raumdeuter, a space interpreter. He lacks pace and dribbling, yet he beats defenders.
- Landon DonovanLandon Donovan scored in the dying seconds to beat Algeria at the 2010 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…
- 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…
- James RodríguezJames Rodríguez chested down a high ball and volleyed it in at the 2014 World Cup. It won the FIFA Puskás Award.
- 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.
- Rafael MárquezRafael Márquez is the only defender to captain a team at five World Cups. The Mexican played in 2002 through 2018.
- Jesús FerreiraJesús Ferreira scored four goals in one game against Grenada. The US forward earned a Caribbean pirate nickname.
- 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,…