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He is a Spanish retired professional footballer. Mainly a central defender, he could also play on either flank, mostly as a right-back, and was regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation. A one-club man, he served as the long-time team captain for his only club Barcelona after taking over from Luis Enrique in August 2004, and went on to appear in 593 competitive matches for the club and win 18 major titles, notably six La Liga trophies and three Champions League titles. A Spain international on 100 occasions, Puyol was part of the squad that won the Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup tournaments. In the latter competition's semi-final, he scored the only goal of the game against Germany. Born in& La Pobla de Segur, Lleida, Catalonia, Puyol started playing football for his hometown club as a goalkeeper, but after injury problems with his shoulder he switched to forward. He said that in his youth, "My parents were skeptical about me becoming a footballer and encouraged me to study." In 1995, he joined FC Barcelona's youth system at La Masia, switching positions again, to play as a defensive midfielder two years later, he started playing for the club's B-team, occupying the position of right-back. In 1998, Barcelona accepted an offer from Málaga CF to sell Puyol, who was behind Frank de Boer and Michael Reiziger in the pecking order. However, he refused to leave after seeing his best friend Xavi make his first-team debut. Louis van Gaal promoted Puyol to the first team the following year, and he made his La Liga debut on 2 October 1999 in a 2–0 away win against Real Valladolid. After that he successfully made another conversion, now to central defender. During the 2003 off-season, as Barcelona was immersed in a financial crisis, Manchester United showed interest in acquiring Puyol's services, but no move ever materialised; two years later, the player extended his contract for a further five seasons. Puyol was named club captain at the end of 2003–04, after the retirement of >Luis Enrique. He continued to be a defensive cornerstone for Bar?a, being awarded the "Best European right-back" award by UEFA in 2002 (amongst other individual accolades), and helping the Catalans win two consecutive league titles. In 2005–06 he appeared in a total of 52 official games, including 12 in that season's UEFA Champions League which ended in victory against Arsenal, the Spaniards second European Cup. On 16 September 2008, Puyol made his 400th appearance in all competitions for Barcelona's first team in a Champions League group stage match Sporting CP. In the league season, despite injury problems, he contributed to the team by appearing in 28 matches and helped them win another league title. His only goal came against Real Madrid in El Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu on 2 May 2009 which finished with a resounding 6–2 away win, and he celebrated his goal by kissing his Catalan flag armband in front of the incensed Madrid fans he was essential to the team winning the 2009 UEFA Super Cup, the 2009 Champions League and the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup, appearing in nearly 100 official matches, and described the club as "the team who every Catalan child wants to play for... I am living the dream playing football for Bar?a and it is my dream to retire playing here."

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Known as Raúl, is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Real Madrid Castilla. Raúl is considered one of the most important players in the history of Real Madrid and regarded as one of the greatest Spanish players of all-time. Raúl was born in the San Cristóbal de los ángeles neighborhood of Madrid</span> where he played for the local youth team before moving to the Atlético Madrid youth team. He later moved to Real Madrid's youth academy and played at its various levels. In 1994, he signed his first professional contract with the fourth division team Real Madrid C, and then was swiftly promoted to the first team. He spent 16 years of his career playing for Real Madrid and is the club's second all-time top goalscorer with 323 goals, and he is the most capped player in the history of the club, with 741 appearances. With Los Blancos, Raúl won six La Liga titles, three UEFA Champions League titles, scoring in two finals, four Supercopa de Espa?a titles, one UEFA Super Cup and two Intercontinental Cups. In 2003, he was appointed captain of the team and retained that position until his departure from the club in 2010. He then signed for Schalke 04, where he won a DFB-Pokal and DFL-Supercup, before signing for Qatari club Al Sadd in 2012, where he won the league and the Emir of Qatar Cup. He ended his career with New York Cosmos in 2015, after winning a domestic treble. In La Liga competitions, Raúl is the fifth-highest goalscorer in the history of the competition with 228 goals. He is also the highest Spanish scorer in European leagues, with 256 goals, scoring 228 goals in La Liga and 28 goals in the Bundesliga. He is also the second-most capped player in the history of the Spanish competition, with 550 matches played, is the third highest goalscorer in Champions League history with 71 goals, and the fifth most capped player. He has also played 1,000 matches in his career, making him one of only 18 players to have achieved this landmark. Although he did not win any major competitions while playing for the Spain national team, he scored a then-record 44 goals in 102 appearances for&nbsp;la Roja, appearing in three FIFA World Cups and two European championships. Raúl took over the captaincy of the side in 2002 and held it until 2006, the year in which he played his last international match for Spain. Raúl was named the best striker in the world by International Federation of Football History & Statistics in 1999, and is the only player to be named UEFA Club Forward of the Year three times, in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He ranked second in the 2001 Ballon d'Or and third in the 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players, and was included in the UEFA list of the 50-best European players of the 1954–2004 period. He was part of the European Team of the Year of European Sports Media in 1997, 1999 and 2000. Raúl won two Pichichi trophies (1999 and 2001), the top goalscorer award of the UEFA Champions League (2000 and 2001), five Don Balón Awards (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002) and one Best Player Award at the Intercontinental Cup in 1998.

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He is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a midfielder or defender. Rijkaard has played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and Milan and represented the Netherlands national team side 73 times, scoring 10 goals. In his managerial career, he has been at the helm of the Netherlands national team, Sparta Rotterdam, Barcelona, Galatasaray and the Saudi Arabia national team. Regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in footballing history and as one of the best players of his generation, in 2010 Rijkaard was described by British broadsheet The Daily Telegraph as having been "a stylish player of faultless pedigree". Rijkaard was born in Amsterdam. His mother Neel is Dutch and his father Herman (1935–2010) was a Surinmese footballer who arrived in theNetherlands along with the father of Ruud Gullit; the two sons grew up playing together in the city. Rijkaard was just 17 when Ajax coach Leo Beenhakker gave him his senior squad debut on 23 August 1980. He made an immediate impact, scoring the third goal in a 4–2 away victory over Go Ahead Eagles, the first league match in the 1980–81 season. He would play another 23 games for Ajax in his first season, netting four goals. In 1981–82, he won his first league championship with Ajax and went on to successfully defend the title the following season. Rijkaard stayed at Ajax for seven-and-a-half seasons. During this period, he won the Dutch league championship three times (1981–82, 1982–83,1984–85) and the Dutch Cup three times (1982–83, 1985–86, 1986–87). In the 1986–87 season, he won the Cup Winners' Cup with Ajax over Lokomotiv Leipzig, winning 1–0. In September 1987, what would have been Rijkaard's third season (1987–88) under Dutchman Johan Cruyff as head coach, Rijkaard stormed off the training field and vowed never to play under him again. He was subsequently signed by Sporting CP, but he signed too late to be eligible to play in any competition. He was immediately loaned out to Real Zaragoza, but upon completing his first season at Zaragoza was signed by A.C. Milan. Rijkaard played for five seasons at Milan. It was coach Arrigo Sacchi who saw Rijkaard as playing a pivotal role at Milan and transformed the central defender into a world class holding midfielder, where the Dutchman's aggressive and firm style would go on to influence the likes of Patrick Vieira to replicate in future years. Playing alongside fellow country-men Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit, Rijkaard won the European Cup twice (in 1989 against Steaua Bucure?ti and 1990, against Benfica) and the domestic Serie A championship twice. In the 1990 European Cup Final, he scored the only goal to win the cup for Milan. After five seasons in Italy, Rijkaard returned to Ajax in 1993. With Louis van Gaal at the helm, Rijkaard and Danny Blind formed the experienced defensive core of the Ajax team that won the first two of three consecutive Dutch championships. Ajax were the unbeaten champions of the Netherlands in the 1994–95 season, and carried that success into Europe. In his final game, Rijkaard won the Champions League with a 1–0 victory over Milan in the 1995 final at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna. He was named in the FIFA 100, Pelé's list of the 125 World's Greatest Footballers. On the international stage, Rijkaard made his debut for the Netherlands in 1981. He was part of the Dutch side that won UEFA Euro 1988 with a 2–0 win in the final over the Soviet Union, playing at centre-back alongside Ronald Koeman. He won a total of 73 caps and scored 10 goals. Rijkaard also played for the Netherlands during the 1990 and 1994 FIFA World Cups and at Euro 1992. At Euro 1992, Rijkaard scored a late equalizer for the Netherlands in a 2–2 draw with Denmark at the semi-final stage but the Dutch went out on penalties. He made his final appearance for the Netherlands in the 3–2 defeat against eventual winners Brazil in the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup.

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He is a Brazilian former professional footballer. He played mainly as an attacking midfielder but also as a second striker. Often considered one of the best players of his generation, Rivaldo is also regarded as one of the greatest of all time. Labelled a "bandy-legged genius" by The Guardian (due to being bowlegged), although he was predominantly left footed he was capable of playing on either flank, and was on occasion deployed as a wide midfielder or as a winger. Rivaldo spent five years with Spanish club Barcelona, where he formed a successful partnership with Patrick Kluivert, and won the 1998 and 1999 Spanish La Liga championship and the 1998 Copa del Rey. With 130 goals for Barcelona he is the club's ninth highest goalscorer. His three goals against Valencia in June 2001 which qualified Barcelona for the Champions League, the last goal of which was a last minute 20-yard winner, is often ranked the greatest hat-trick ever. From 1993 and 2003, Rivaldo played 74 matches and scored 35 goals for Brazil and is the seventh highest goalscorer. He helped Brazil reach the final of the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and won the 1999 Copa América where he was named player of the tournament. Rivaldo starred alongside Ronaldo and Ronaldinho in the 2002 FIFA World Cup winning team. Scoring in five of Brazil’s seven games at the tournament (including a feint that set up Ronaldo for the second goal in the final), Rivaldo was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team in 2002 having also previously been selected in 1998. One of the most skillful and creative players of his generation, Rivaldo was renowned for his bending free kicks, bicycle kicks, powerful ball striking from distance, and ability to both score and create goals. In 1999, he won the Ballon d'Or and was named FIFA World Player of the Year. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. He is an inductee to the Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame. In March 2014, Rivaldo announced his retirement from professional football, however since June 2015 he made appearances for Mogi Mirim. On August 14, 2015, he announced that the comeback was over and that he was retiring once again.In 2015, he acted in the Iranian-Brazilian film I Am Not Salvador. In 2018, Rivaldo was added as an icon to the FIFA video game FIFA 19.

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He is a Brazilian politician who previously achieved worldwide fame as a professional footballer. A prolific renowned for his clinical finishing, he is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.Romário starred for Brazil in their 1994 FIFA World Cup success, receiving the FIFA Golden Ball as player of the tournament. He was named&nbsp FIFA World Player of the Year the same year. He came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll in 1999, was elected to the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, and was named in the list of the world's greatest living players in 2004. At club level, after developing his early career in Brazil, Romário moved to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands in 1988. During his five seasons at PSV the club became champions three times, and he scored a total of 165 goals in 167 games. In 1993, he moved to FC Barcelona and became part of Johan Cruyff's "Dream Team", forming an exceptional strike partnership with Hristo Stoichkov La Liga in his first season and finished top goalscorer with 30 goals in 33 matches. During the second half of his career Romário played for clubs within the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. He won the Brazilian league title with CR Vasco da Gama in 2000 and was a three-time top scorer in the league. At the end of his career he also played briefly in Qatar, the United States and Australia. Considered a master of the confined space of the penalty area, his rapid speed over short distances (aided by his low centre of gravity) took him away from defenders, and he was renowned for his trademark toe poke finish. With 55 goals in 70 appearances, Romário is the fourth-highest goalscorer for the Brazil national team, behind Pelé, Ronaldo and Neymar. He is second on the all-time list of Brazilian league's top scorers with 154 goals. He is the second-most prolific goalscorer in the history of football.

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He is a Brazilian former professional and ambassador for Barcelona. He played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a forward or a winger. He played the bulk of his career at European clubs Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, and A.C. Milan as well as playing for theBrazilian national team. Often considered one of the best players of his generation and regarded by many as one of the greatest of all time, Ronaldinho won two FIFA World Player of the Year awards and a Ballon d'Or. He was renowned for his technical skills and creativity; due to his agility, pace, and dribbling ability, as well as his use of tricks feints, overhead kicks, no-look passes and accuracy from free-kicks Ronaldinho made his career debut for Grêmio, in 1998. At age 20, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain in France before signing for Barcelona in 2003. In his second season with Barcelona, he won his first FIFA World Player of the Year award, as Barcelona won La Liga. The season that followed is considered one of the best in his career as he was instrumental in Barcelona winning the UEFA Champions League, their first in fourteen years, as well as another La Liga title, giving Ronaldinho his first career double. After scoring two spectacular solo goals in El Clásico, Ronaldinho became the second Barcelona player, after Diego Maradona in 1983, to receive a standing ovation fromReal Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabéu. Ronaldinho also received his second FIFA World Player of the Year award, as well as the Ballon d'Or. Following a second-place La Liga finish to rivals Real Madrid in the 2006–07 season and an injury plagued 2007–08 season, Ronaldinho departed Barcelona to join Milan. He then returned to Brazil to play For Flamengo in 2011 and Atlético Mineiro a year later where he won the Copa Libertadores, before moving to Mexico to play for Querétaro and then back to Brazil to play for Fluminense in 2015. Ronaldinho accumulated numerous other individual awards in his career. He was included in the UEFA Team of the Year and the FIFA World XI three times, named UEFA Club Footballer of the Year in 2006 and the South American Footballer of the Year in 2013, and was named in The FIFA 100, a list of the world's greatest living players compiled by Pelé. At international level, Ronaldinho played 97 matches for the Brazil national team, scoring 33 goals and representing his country in two FIFA World Cups. He was an integral part of the 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning team in Korea and Japan, starring alongside Ronaldo and Rivaldo in an attacking trio, scoring two goals, including a free-kick from 40 yards out against England, registering two assists and being named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team. As captain, he led Brazil to their second Confederations Cup title in 2005 and was named Man of the Match final. Ronaldinho scored three goals in the tournament, taking his total to nine, making him the competition's joint all-time leading goalscorer.

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He is an Italian former Professional footballer, who played as a forward. In 1982, he led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot as top goalscorer, and the Golden Ball for the player of the tournament. Rossi is one of only three players to have won all three awards at a World Cup, along with Garrincha in 1962, and Mario Kempes in 1978. Rossi was also awarded the 1982 Ballon d'Or as the European Footballer of the Year for his performances. Along with Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri, he is Italy's top scorer in World Cup history, with nine goals in total. At club level, Rossi was also a prolific goalscorer for Vicenza. In 1976, he was signed to Juventus from Vicenza in a co-ownership deal for a world record transfer fee. Vicenza retained his services, and he was top goalscorer in 1977, leading his team to promotion to Serie A. The following season, Rossi scored 24 goals, to become the first player to top the scoring charts in Serie B and Serie A in consecutive seasons. In 1981 Rossi made his debut for Juventus, and went on to win two Serie A titles, the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, and the European Cup. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Italian footballers of all time, Rossi was named in 2004 by Pelé as one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA's 100th anniversary celebration. In the same year, Rossi placed 12 in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. Since retiring, Rossi has gone into sports journalism and punditry. He currently works as a pundit for Mediaset Premium. Rossi confirmed his growth during the 1978 World Cup tournament, gaining international fame as one of the world's best strikers. Playing for Italy as a central striker, he would sometimes switch positions with the two other forwards, going to his original right-wing position. Right winger Franco Causio, a two-footed player, would go left, and Italy's tall left winger Roberto Bettega would go to the center. This simple stratagem, made possible by the technical quality of all three players, created havoc in opposing defences, and Italy showed an entertaining offensive style of play in the tournament. Rossi totalled three goals and four assists as Italy finished in fourth place in that World Cup. He was named as part of the team of the tournament for his performances, and he also collected then Silver Ball as the second-best player of the World Cup. Rossi's goal in Italy's opening 2–1 group win of the tournament against France, on 2 June 1978, was also his first goal for Italy.

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He had his greatest career success with German club Bayern Munich, where he won the Intercontinental Cup, two European Cups, as well as two league titles and two domestic cups. A member of the West Germany national team, Rummenigge won the 1980 European Championship and was part of the squad that finished runner-up in the 1982 FIFA World Cup and at the 1986 World Cup. He was also honoured twice as European Footballer of the Year. He is currently the Chairman of Executive Board of FC Bayern München AG, a daughter company of Bundesliga team. Rummenigge is a former chairman of the European Club Association, serving in that capacity from 2008 until 2017. He joined Bayern Munich in 1974, coming from the Westphalian amateur side Borussia Lippstadt, for a transfer fee of ca. €10,000. He immediately showed great strength as a dribbler. His scoring qualities were initially insignificant, but would find great improvement in later years, particularly after the arrival of coach Pal Csernai in 1979. In 1979–80, he scored 26 goals and became for the first time the Bundesliga's top striker, a feat he repeated in 1981 and 1984 with 29 and 26 goals, respectively. With Bayern he won the European Cup in 1975 and 1976. In 1975, he did not take part in the final of the competition, whilst in the year thereafter a glass of brandy sufficiently prepared the nervous Rummenigge to contribute to the defeat of AS Saint-étienne. In the same year he became also part of the team that prevailed in the Intercontinental Cup finals against Cruzeiro EC from Belo Horizonte. In the era of coach Csernai he found in midfielder Paul Breitner a congenial partner and he formed such a formidable one-two-punch that they were only called Breitnigge (name invented by German newspaper Bild). The club, then often dubbed as "FC Breitnigge", won in this period the Bundesliga Title in 1980 and 1981, and the DFB-Pokal in 1982 and 1984. A renewed triumph in the European Cup was denied, when the club lost the 1982 final narrowly against Aston Villa. In the season before Rummenigge was top-scorer in this competition with 6 Goals. His substantial contribution to the successes of the club and the German national football team found also expression in personal honours. In 1980, he was named German Footballer of the Year and in '80–81 the European Footballer of the Year. In 1984, aged 29, he was sold for a record fee of €5.7m to Inter Milan. Despite a notable beginning, in which he helped the team to compete until the end for the 1984–85 Scudetto, Rumenigge's career in Italy was mostly marred by injury problems. At the end of his contract in 1987, Rummenigge moved on to Swiss first division club Servette FC in Geneva, where he saw his career out. In his last season, he had his last success, becoming top scorer in the Swiss league with 24 goals.

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