Diego Armando Maradona was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known by his nickname Pelé, was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century. In 1999, he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century. His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which includes friendlies, is recognised as a Guinness World Record.
Aston Villa Football Club, commonly referred to as Villa, is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in England, having won the Football League First Division seven times, the FA Cup seven times, the League Cup five times, and the European Cup and European (UEFA) Super Cup once.
Zinedine Yazid Zidane, popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most successful coaches in the world. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Zidane was a playmaker renowned for his elegance, vision, passing, ball control, and technique. He received many individual accolades as a player, including being named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1998, 2000 and 2003, and winning the 1998 Ballon d'Or.
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional football coach, pundit, former player and a sports broadcaster who currently works with CBS Sports. He is considered one of the greatest strikers of all time, and one of the greatest players in Premier League history. He has been named Arsenal's greatest ever player. Henry was runner-up for both the Ballon d'Or in 2003 and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004. He was named the FWA Footballer of the Year a record three times, the PFA Players' Player of the Year a joint-record two times, and was named in the PFA Team of the Year six consecutive times. He was also included in the FIFA FIFPro World XI once and the UEFA Team of the Year five times. In 2004, Henry was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and was a central contributor to the franchise's dynasty from 2001 to 2019. In his final three seasons, he was a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback of all time.
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during his time at English club Manchester United. Regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004. Noted for his hardened and brash demeanour, he was ranked at No. 11 on The Times' list of the 50 "hardest" footballers in history in 2007. Keane was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021.
Kurtis Eugene Warner is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, which saw him ascend from an undrafted free agent to a two-time Most Valuable Player and Super Bowl MVP, is regarded as one of the greatest Cinderella stories in NFL history.
George Best was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skillful dribbler, he is considered as one of the greatest players of all time. He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1968 and came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century vote. Best received plaudits for his playing style, which combined pace, skill, balance, feints, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to get past defenders.
Peyton Williams Manning is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with the Denver Broncos. Manning is considered to be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the second son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and an older brother of former NFL quarterback Eli Manning. He played college football at Tennessee, where he won the Maxwell, Davey O'Brien, and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Awards as a senior en route to victory in the 1997 SEC Championship.
George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who is the incumbent president of Liberia, serving in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served as Senator from Montserrado County. He played as a striker in his prolific 18-year professional football career, which ended in 2003. Weah is the first African former professional footballer to become a head of state.
Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. is an American football coach and former player who is the current head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. Nicknamed "Prime Time", he played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Baltimore Ravens. Sanders was also a baseball outfielder for nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and San Francisco Giants. He won two Super Bowl titles and made a World Series appearance in 1992, making him the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.
Aaron Charles Rodgers is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley to play for the California Golden Bears, where he set several career passing records, including lowest single-season and career interception rates. He was selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers and played for the Packers from 2005 to 2022. Rodgers is regarded amongst the greatest and most talented quarterbacks of all time.
The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is the national under-21 association football team of England, under the control of the Football Association. It is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team.
Sunil Chhetri is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains both Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the India national team. He is known for his link-up play, goal scoring abilities, and leadership. He is the third-highest international goalscorer among active players, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, fourth overall, and is also the most-capped player and the all-time top goalscorer of the India national team.
Ryan Michael Mallett was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a backup for the New England Patriots, Houston Texans, and Baltimore Ravens from 2011 to 2017.
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word football normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly called football include association football ; gridiron football ; Australian rules football; rugby union and rugby league; and Gaelic football. These various forms of football share to varying extents common origins and are known as "football codes".
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff was a Dutch professional football player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and as the greatest Dutch footballer ever, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973, and 1974. Cruyff was a proponent of the football philosophy known as Total Football explored by Rinus Michels, which Cruyff also employed as a manager. Because of the far reaching impact of his playing style and his coaching ideas, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern football. For his achievements as a manager, he is also viewed as one of the greatest managers of all time.
James Daniel Maddison is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team.
Patrick Lavon Mahomes II is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes, he initially played college football and baseball at Texas Tech University. Following his sophomore year, he quit baseball to focus solely on football. In his junior year, he led all NCAA Division I FBS players in multiple categories including passing yards (5,052) and total touchdowns (53). He was selected 10th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2017 NFL Draft.
