Curated category
UEFA Champions League–winning players
- Lionel MessiOn the 14th of December 2000, a Barcelona official named Carles Rexach signed a contract for Lionel Messi on the back of a paper napkin.
- Didier DeschampsDidier Claude Deschamps arrived in Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques on the 15th of October 1968. He began his athletic life playing rugby for Biarritz Olympique…
- Luka ModrićLuka Modrić was born on the 9th of September 1985 in Zadar, a city that would soon become a battlefield. His family lived in the hamlet of Modrići on the…
- Philipp LahmPhilipp Lahm was born on the 11th of November 1983 in Munich. He grew up playing for a local youth team in his hometown district called Gern.
- Thibaut CourtoisOn the 17th of April 2009, a sixteen-year-old boy named Thibaut Courtois stepped onto the pitch at the Guldensporenstadion.
- Gerd MüllerGerd Müller was born on the 3rd of November 1945 in Nördlingen, Germany. He began playing football for his hometown club TSV 1861 Nördlingen youth ranks in…
- Davor ŠukerDavor Šuker was born on the 1st of January 1968 to a Bosnian Croat family from Livno. He began playing football for his hometown club NK Osijek in 1984 at…
- Cristiano RonaldoCristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on the 5th of February 1985 in the São Pedro parish of Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira.
- Manuel NeuerManuel Neuer made his Bundesliga debut with Schalke 04 on matchday two of the 2006, 07 season. He came on as a substitute for the injured Frank Rost during a…
- Sepp MaierJosef Dieter Maier entered the world on the 28th of February 1944 in the small Bavarian town of Metten. He began his journey with Bayern Munich's youth sides…
- Thomas MüllerIn 2000, a ten-year-old boy named Thomas Müller left his home village of Pähl to join the youth academy of Bayern Munich.
- Zinedine ZidaneZinedine Yazid Zidane was born on the 23rd of June 1972 in La Castellane, a neighbourhood in the 16th arrondissement of Marseille.
- Paolo RossiPaolo Rossi was born in the Santa Lucia district of Prato, Tuscany, on the 23rd of September 1956. He began his professional journey with Juventus during the…
- Manuel AmorosManuel Amoros arrived in the world on the 1st of February 1962. His parents fled Francisco Franco's regime in Spain to find safety in France.
- Marc OvermarsMarc Overmars was born in Emst, Gelderland, on the 29th of March 1973. He grew up on a family farm where physical labor defined his childhood.
- EusébioEusébio da Silva Ferreira was born on the 25th of January 1942 in the Mafalala neighbourhood of Lourenço Marques, now Maputo.
- Franco BaresiFranco Baresi grew up on a farmstead on the outskirts of Travagliato, a small town in northern Italy. He did not watch football on television until he was 10…
- James RodríguezJames David Rodríguez Rubio was born on the 12th of July 1991 in Cúcuta, Norte de Santander. He spent his childhood years in the city of Ibagué, Tolima.
- Oliver KahnOliver Kahn joined the Karlsruher SC Junior team in 1975 at the age of six. His father Rolf had played for that same club from 1962 to 1965 before Oliver…
- Franz BeckenbauerFranz Anton Beckenbauer was born on the 11th of September 1945 at a clinic in the Maxvorstadt borough of Munich. He grew up in the working-class district of…
- Hristo StoichkovHristo Stoichkov arrived in the world on the 8th of February 1966. He grew up in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Football found him when he was just eleven…
- Iker CasillasIker Casillas Fernández was born on the 20th of May 1981 in Móstoles, a town in the province of Madrid. His father José Luis worked as a civil servant for…
- Michel PlatiniMichel François Platini was born on the 21st of June 1955 in the small town of Jœuf, Meurthe-et-Moselle. His parents were Aldo and Anna Platini, both of…
- Antonio CabriniAntonio Cabrini was born on the 8th of October 1957 in Cremona, Lombardy. He made his professional football debut with U.S.
- Fabien BarthezFabien Alain Barthez entered the world on the 28th of June 1971 in the small town of Lavelanet, located within the Ariège department of France.
- Rafael MárquezRafael Márquez Álvarez made his professional debut in October 1996 at the age of seventeen. He played for Atlas, a club based in Guadalajara, Mexico.
- Robert ProsinečkiRobert Prosinečki arrived in the world on the 12th of January 1969 inside a small apartment in Schwenningen, West Germany.