Olivier Giroud in Pictures

French footballer Olivier Giroud 

Gareth Bale Presentation at Real Madrid

Gareth Bale was presented at the Bernabeu today to the Real Madrid fans.

Photo source: Real Madrid Google+

Real Madrid Beats Barcelona in Clasico

Sergio Ramos was the hero in Real Madrid's win over FC Barcelona in the lastest El Clasico match between the two La Liga rivals. Ramos scored in the 83rd minute, putting Real ahead after Lionel Messi scored an equalizer in the 18th minute. Karim Benzema also scored for Real Madrid.

This is the second defeat of Barcelona to Real in a space of five days.

photo source: https://www.facebook.com/RealMadrid 

Guillaume Gillet

Guillaume Gillet is a midfielder for the Belgian football team Anderlecht. 

Born: March 9, 1984 in Liege, Belgium
Weight: 169 lbs
Height: 6'1"
Position: midfielder

Career Highlights:

• played for the clubs RFC Liege (2002-04), Vise (2004-05), Eupen (2005-06), Gent (2006-08) and Anderlecht (2008-present) so far in his career
• plays for the Belgium national team, debuting in 2007
• played for the Belgian U21 team in 2006-07

Raphael Varane

Raphael Varane is the French center back for the Spanish La Liga team Real Madrid. Previously he played for the French club Lens, from 2010 to 2011, after a successful stint as a youth international for France and under the youth team of Lens.

Varane was signed by Real Madrid in June 2011 with a transfer fee of 10 million euros.

Born: April 25, 1993 in Lille, France

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 76 kg

Website/Social Media: www.raphaelvarane.org

Career Highlights:

• earned caps for France national youth team in under-18 and under-21 levels
• Debuted for Real Madrid in a match vs. LA Galaxy, in a competitive match vs Racing Santander

Lukas Podolski

Lukas Podolski is a German forward playing for the English Premier League team Arsenal. He also competes internationally for the German national team.


Born in Poland, Podolski migrated to West Germany when he was 2 years old. He was part of the German U-17 in 2001 and continued playing for the national team until he reached the senior level in 2004, where he played as the youngest German player in Euro 2004. He also played in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, as well as in Euro 2008 and Euro 2012.

Born: June 4, 1985 in Gliwice, Poland
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 83 kg
Website: Twitter

Career Highlights:

• Scored his first goal in 2006 World Cup in a match vs Ecuador
• Clubs: FC Koln (2004-06), Bayern Munich (2006-08),  FC Koln (2008-12), Arsenal (2012)
• FIFA World Cup Best Young Player, 2006
• UEFA Euro 2008 Silver Boot

Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres is a Spanish professional soccer player, currently a forward/striker for English Premier League team Chelsea. He started his career in Atletico Madrid (2001-2007),  then moved to Liverpool (2007-11), then to his current team in 2011 for a record transfer fee of 50 million pounds, making him the most expensive Spanish player.


Torres also plays internationally for Spain. He score the winning goal for Spain in the UEFA Euro 2008 final against Germany, and scored again during the final of the Euro 2012 against Italy. He debuted for Spain in 2003.

Born: March 20, 29184
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 180 lbs
Website: www.fernando9torres.com




Career Highlights:

• Scored three goals in the 2006 World Cup
• Won the Golden Boot in Euro 2012
• Premier League player of the month (2007)
• Scored 29 goals in 2007-08 season for Liverpool

The Hulk

Givanildo Vieira de Souza is a Brazilian football player who plays as a forward and winger in the Portugese league team Porto. He is nicknamed "Hulk."

He previously played for Vitoria (2004-05) in Salvador, Bahia, then moved to Japan to play for Kawasaki Frontale (2006-08) and Consadole Sapporo (2006). He was then loaned to Tokyo Verdy (2007-08), after which he moved to Portugal and signed up with Porto in 2008.

Hulk also plays internationally for Brazil, debuting in November 2009 in a friendly versus England. So far he has scored three goals for Brazil in international competitions.

Born: July 25, 1986 in Campina Grande, Brazil
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 76 kg






Career Highlights:

• Extended his contract with Porto until 2014 with a buyout price of 100 million euros
• Elected into Top 10 Rising Stars by UEFA
• Footballer of the Month in Premeira Liga, six times

Nicklas Bendtner

Nicklas Bendtner is a Danish soccer player, playing as striker for the English Premier League team Arsenal, which he joined in 2004. He was loaned to Birmingham City in 2006-2007 season, and to Sunderland in 2011-2012. 

Bendtner also plays for Denmark in international competitions, appearing for U16, U17, U19 and U21 teams during his youth, and to the senior team since 2006. He is part of the Euro 2012 squad, which he scored twice in a match against Portugal on June 2012.

He gained notoriety during the competition when he was fined for showing his underwear after scoring a goal. He was handed a 100,000-euro fine and a ban match for the 2014 qualifying. 

Born: January 16, 1988 in Copenhagen, Denmark
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 185 lbs
Website: nicklas-bendtner.com 






Achievements/Career Highlights:

• Named 2004 Danish Under-17 Player of the Year
• Youngest Danish to be selected as part of the U-21 team, at age 18
• Youngest to join the Danish senior team, at age 18
• 2010 Danish Player of the Year
• scored a crucial goal during the 2010 World Cup qualifier vs. Portugal

Olivier Giroud

Olivier Giroud is a French striker, currently playing for French Ligue 1 team Montpellier. Reports suggest that he will be signed up bu Arsenal for £12 million in 2012. 


Giroud also plays in international competitions, debuting in November 2011 in a match vs, Belgium. He was named part of the Uero 2012 squad by France. 

Born: September 30, 1986 
Height: 6'3 1/2" 
Weight: 194 lbs 
Website: Twitter



 
Career Highlights: 

• Played for Grenoble from 2005-2008 
• Played for Istres, on loan, from 2007-08 
• Played for Tours from 2008-2010 
• scored his first international goal in February 29, 2012, in a friendly vs Germany
• UNFP Player of the Month in Ligue 2, September & November 2009

Faces of Ronaldo

Lars Bender

Lars Bender is a German midfielder, playing for the Bundesliga team Bayer Leverkusen. He previously played for 1860 Munich, from 2006  to 2009.


He also plays for the German national team since 2011. He was selected to join the German Euro 2012 team. 


Lars has a twin brother, Sven, who plays for Dortmund.

Born: April 27, 1989 in Rosenheim, West Germany
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 68.5 kg






Career Highlights:

• Part of the team who won 2008 Euro U-19 Championships
• Won the Fritz-Walter trophy
• Signed a 3-year contract with Leverkusen in 2009
• Joined the senior German team in September 2011

Granit Xhaka

Granit Xhaka is a soccer player from Switzerland. Originally from Albania, he played as a midfielder for FC Basel in the Swiss Super League, from 2008 to 2012. He will join the Borussia Mönchengladbach squad of the Bundesliga in the 2012 season, following an 8.5 million euro transfer. 


Granit has a brother who is also a professional footballer, Taulant. Xhaka is nicknamed "the new (Bastian) Schweinsteiger. 

Born: September 27, 1992 

Height: 6'0" 

Weight: 165 lbs 

Career Highlights: 

• played for the Basel first team in 2010, debuting in a UEFA Champions League qualifying match, scoring a goal to help his team win
• played for the Swiss under-19 and under-21 teams 
• debuted for the Swiss senior national team in June 2011, playing against Englad 
• scored his first international goal in a match against Luxembourg, in November 2011

Xabi Alonso

Xabi Alonso is a Spanish midfielder, currently playing for La Liga team Real Madrid. He previously played for Real Sociedad (1999-2004), Eibar (on loan, 2000-01), and Liverpool (2004-09) before he moved to his current team, where he got paid £30 million . He helped Liverpool win the Champions League crown in 2004. 

Alonso is also a Spanish international, having participated in various tournaments, notably Euro 2004 and 2008, as well as the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. Spain both won the Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup.

Born: November 25, 1981, in Tolosa, Spain
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 156 lbs
Website: Twitter


Achievements/Career Highlights:

• La Liga Spanish Player of the Year, 2003
• FIFA/FIFPro World IX, 2011
• Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit, 2011
• Club championships: UEFA Champions League, UEFA Supercup and FA Cup (Liverpool), Copa del Rey and La Liga (Real Madrid)

Benny Feilhaber

Benny Feilhaber is a Brazilian-born American midfielder. He is currently playing for New England Revolution team of the Major League Soccer. He also plays for the United States soccer team in international competitions, most notably in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. 

Before playing in the MLS, Feihaber played in Europe: first for Hamburger SV (2005-07) in Bundesliga, Derby County (2007-08) in Premier League, then for AGF Aaurhus (2008-11) of the Danish Superliga.

Feihaber's parents are Jewish. He moved to the US from Brazil when he was 6 years old.

Born: January 19, 1985 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 150 lbs

Career Highlights:

• scored his first international goal against China, in 2007
• played for the USA in 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
• played soccer in college, at UCLA

Bastian Schweinsteiger

Bastian Schweinsteiger is a German soccer player, currently a midfielder for Bundesliga's Bayern Munich. He signed with his current team as a youth player in 1998 and has progressed to the senior club in 2002, debuting against RC Lens in a UEFA Champions League match. He is a vice-captain to the team since 2011. 

He is also instrumental to Bayern Munich's win over Real Madrid in the semifinals of the 2012 UEFA Champions League, slotting in the winning penalty goal. 

Schweinsteiger is also a fixture to the German national team, first playing against Hungary in a friendly in 2004. He then played in Euro 2004 and 2008 and in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. He is also active in Germany's campaign to qualify in Euro 2012. 

Born: August 1, 1984 in Kolbemoor, West Germany 

Height: 6'0" 

Weight: 79 kg 

Website: www.bastian-schweinsteiger.de

Career Highlights: 

• played 41 matches for the German team by age 22, a record at that time (record broken by Lukas Podolski) 
• FIFA World Cup All Star Team, 2010 
• Won Bundesliga 5 times with Bayern Munich

Michael Owen

Michael Owen is professional soccer player, playing as a striker for Manchester United. He previously played for Liverpool (1996-2004), Real Madrid (2004-50), and Newcastle United (2005-09). Owen was teammates with David Beckham in Real Madrid, while he inherited the #7 shirt of Cristiano Ronaldo when he moved to Manchester.

For leading Liverpool to a very successful 2000-01 season (by which it won the League Cup, FA Cup and the UEFA Cup), Owen was awarded the Ballon d'Or, in 2001. He is the first English player in 20 years to win the award.

He also plays for England in international competitions, having seen action in Euro 2000 and 2004, and in 2002 and 2006 World Cups. 

Born: December 14, 1979 in Chester, Cheshire, England 

Height: 5'8" 

Weight: 70 kg 

Website: www.michaelowen.com, Twitter  

Achievements/Career Highlights: 

• scored 18 goals in 41 games during his stint at Real Madrid 
• signed a 4-year contract with Newcastle for £16.8 million, a club-record at that time 
• signed with Manchester United for £100,000 a week, in 2009 
• PFA Young Player of the Year, 1997-98 
• Ballon d'Or, 2001 
• World Soccer Player of the year, 2001 
• Carling Player of the Year, 1997-98