Curated playlist
UEFA Euro 2012 players
- 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.
- Cristiano RonaldoCristiano Ronaldo's mother wanted to abort him, but her doctor refused. He became football's top goalscorer.
- 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…
- 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.
- 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,…
- 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…