Spain national football team
Iker Casillas
Iker Casillas Fernández Spanish pronunciation: [ˈiker kaˈsiʎas]; (born 20 May 1981 in Móstoles,Madrid) is a Spanish football goalkeeper who plays for the Spanish La Liga club Real Madridand serves as captain for the Spanish national team. He is currently first-choice goalkeeper for both club and country and serves as a vice captain for his club. As captain of the national side, he led a young Spanish team to their first European Championship in 44 years, his first senior international honour.
Since bursting onto the scene as a teenager, Casillas has been recognised as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, illustrated by the many awards he has received. He was ranked 4th in the 2008 European Footballer of the Year voting, and also the highest ranked goalkeeper in2009.At the end of 2009 he was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year for the third consecutive time.
Víctor Valdés
Víctor Valdés i Arribas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbiktor βalˈdes]; born 14 January 1982 inL'Hospitalet de Llobregat, ,Barcelona, Catalonia, is a Spanish football goalkeeper, who plays for Barcelona. He is the most successful goalkeeper in Barcelona's history, having won four La Liga titles, two Champions League titles, and one Copa del Rey title. Before joining the principal team in 2002–03 season, Víctor played for the youth teams and Barcelona B.Currently, he has a contract with Barcelona until 2014.
José Manuel Reina
José Manuel "Pepe" Reina Páez (Spanish pronunciation: [xo'se ma'nwel 'rejna 'paeθ]; born 31 August 1982), is a Spanish footballer who is currently playing as a goalkeeper for the English Premier League side Liverpool and the Spain national football team.
The son of famed FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Reina, Reina began his career with the FC Barcelona youth team and made his La Liga debut in the 2000-01 season. He signed for Villarreal in 2004. However, he soon moved on to Liverpool and making his debut in 2005. He instantly becoming first-choice goalkeeper and won his first major honour in 2006, the FA Cup. He saved three out of four West Ham united penalties in the final to help win the trophy. In 2007, Liverpool reached the Champions League Final, matching the feat achieved by his father in 1974, but they lost to A.C. Milan. Reina has set a number of goalkeeping records for Liverpool and he won the Premier League Golden Glove award for clean sheets in four of his first five seasons at the club.
At international level, Reina played for Spain's youth team, winning the UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in 1999. He made his senior debut in 2005, and has generally been selected as the second-choice keeper behind Iker Casillas. He was part of the Spain squad for the 2006 World Cup and made one appearance in their victorious Euro 2008 campaign, earning him his first international honour.
Raúl Albiol
aúl Albiol Tortajada (born 4 September 1985 in Vilamarxant, Valencia) is a Spanishfootballer who plays for Real Madrid and the Spanish national team.
Gerard Piqué
Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (Catalan pronunciation: [ʑəˈɾaɾd piˈke]; born 2 February 1987 inBarcelona, Catalonia , Spain) is a Spanish footballer, currently playing as a centre backfor Barcelona.
A product of Barça's
cantera, he initially left the club for Manchester United in 2004, where he remained for four years, before returning to Barcelona under Josep Guardiola's leadership, and helping Barça to become the first Spanish club ever to complete the treble. Piqué is one of four players to have won the UEFA Champions League two years in a row with different teams, the others being Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa and Samuel Eto'o.
Carlos Marchena
Carlos Marchena López (born 31 July 1979 in Las Cabezas de San Juan, Seville,Andalusia) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for Valencia CF and the Spanish national team.
Mainly a central defender with an aggressive approach, he can also pitch in as a defensive midfielder.
Carles Puyol
Carles Puyol i Saforcada (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈkaɾles puˈjol]; born 13 April 1978) is a SpanishCatalan footballer who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club FC Barcelona and internationally for the Spanish national team.
Mainly a central defender, he can also appear on either flanks, especially as a right back. He also serves as a longtime team captain for his only club FC Barcelona, after taking over fromLuis Enrique in August 2004.
Joan Capdevila
Joan Capdevila Méndez (born 3 February 1978 in Tàrrega, Lleida, Spain) is a Spanishfootballer who currently plays for Villarreal CF and Spain.
His usual position is left defender, but he is also capable of operating as a winger and, from a defensive position, often contributes with goals, although not as often as he would have liked since his skills are often focused on illusion tactics.
Sergio Ramos
Sergio Ramos García (born 30 March 1986 in Camas, Andalusia) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. He usually plays as right or centre back.
Álvaro Arbeloa
Álvaro Arbeloa Coca (born 17 January 1983) is a Spanish football player currently playing for Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. He is predominantly a right back, although he can play as a central defender. During his return to Real Madrid, he has started most of the games as a left back.
Arbeloa trained with Real Madrid as a youth player, and worked his way up to the first team, making his debut in the 2004–05 season. However, he mostly played for the Real Madrid B team. He moved to Deportivo La Coruña to play first team football in La Liga in 2006, but moved to Liverpool after half a season. He cemented his place in the Liverpool first team and played in the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final, although the team lost to Milan. Arbeloa made 93 appearances in his three seasons at the club. He returned to Madrid in 2009 for a fee of
€6 million.
Internationally, he made his senior debut in 2008 and has played for
Spain at UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, winning the former tournament. His daughter, Alba, was born 26 April 2010.
Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta Luján (Spanish pronunciation: [anˈdɾes iˈnjesta]; born 11 May 1984 in Fuentealbilla,Albacete, Castile-La Mancha) is a Spanish football midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Barcelona. His willingness to play anywhere on the pitch, coupled with a natural humility, has earned him the sobriquet El Ilusionista (The Illusionist), El Anti-Galáctico (The Anti-Galáctico), Cerebro (The Brain) and most recently Don Andrés from the Spanish press.After the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Manchester United striker Wayne Rooneyasserted that he believed the midfielder to be the best player in the world.His current contract with Barcelona runs until 2015.
Xavier Hernández i Creus (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈʃaβi erˈnandeθ]; born 25 January 1980 inTerrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia), commonly known as Xavi, is a Spanish footballer who currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club Barcelona. Widely considered among the finest playmakers in world football, Xavi was named the official Man of the match of the 2009 Champions League Final as he helped Barcelona defeat Manchester United to win their thirdChampions League-title. He was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA at UEFA Euro 2008 and was one of the five finalists for the 2007-08 FIFA World Player of the Year. In all he has been capped 84 times for the Spanish national team. He is regularly cited as the best midfielder currently playing.
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈsɛsk ˈfaβɾəɣəs]; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder. He captains the Premier League sideArsenal and also plays for the Spanish national team.
Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16. Following injuries to key midfielders in the 2004–05 season, he established himself as Arsenal's starting central midfielder and playmaker. He went on to break several of the club's records, earning a reputation as one of the best young players for his position of his generation.
In international football, the Spaniard's national career began when he represented the Under-17 side at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland. As a result of his club performances, he was called up to the senior squad in 2006. He has played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2008, where he helped Spain to become eventual winners in the latter.
Juan Manuel Mata
Juan Manuel Mata García (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxwan manˈwel ˈmata]; born 28 April 1988) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Valencia CF, mainly as a left winger.
A clever player, he possesses great pace, intelligence,and goalscoring ability
Xabi Alonso
Xabier "Xabi" Alonso Olano(born 25 November 1981 in Tolosa, Basque Country, Spain) is a Spanish footballer who plays for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. He is a midfielder, often playing as a deep-lying playmaker.
Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, and after a brief loan period at SD Eibarreturned to the La Liga club. John Toshack appointed Alonso as his team captain and Alonso succeeded in the role, taking Real Socieded to second place in the 2002–03 season. The Spaniard moved to Liverpool in August 2004 for
£10.5 million. He won theUEFA Champions League in his first season at the club. The following season he won theFA Cup, and subsequently also the FA Community Shield. He moved to Real Madrid for the start of the 2009–10 season, in a deal worth around £30 million.
Internationally, Alonso has represented Spain in the Euro 2004, Euro 2008 tournaments and the 2006 World Cup. He made his international debut in April 2003 in a 4–0 victory against Ecuador. He won the Euro 2008 tournament with Spain.
He holds the record for the longest-range goal ever scored in open play in the Premier League, being some 61 yards away from Steve Harper's line when he netted againstNewcastle United in 2006. The season before, he scored from 78 yards with an effort against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road in the FA Cup.
Sergio Busquets
Sergio Busquets i Burgos (born 16 July 1988) is a Spanish footballer who plays forBarcelona, as a defensive midfielder.
Javier 'Javi' Martínez Aguinaga (born September 2, 1988 in Estella-Lizarra, Navarre) is aSpanish footballer who currently plays for Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish first division, as acentral midfielder.
David Josué Jiménez Silva (born 8 January 1986) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for Valencia CF and the Spanish national team. Silva is due to join Manchester Cityon a four-year contract subject to a medical, after his participation in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Silva is capable of playing on either wing or as a traditional number 10, and sometimes as a supporting striker.
Jesús Navas
Jesus Navas González (Spanish pronunciation: [xeˈsuz ˈnaβas]; born 21 November 1985 in Los Palacios y Villafranca, Seville) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for Sevilla FC in theSpanish first division.
A right winger who can play on the left flank on occasion, his main assets are his quick dribbling and an ability to run at opposing defenders.
David Villa
David Villa Sánchez (Spanish pronunciation: [daˈβið ˈβiʎa]; born 3 December 1981), nicknamedEl Guaje (The Kid in Asturian), is a Spanish footballer who currently plays as a striker forBarcelona and the Spanish national team.
Despite sustaining a serious injury as a child, he started his professional career withSporting de Gijón and made his debut in 2000 in Spain's Segunda División. He moved to Real Zaragoza after two seasons, after a total of 38 goals and 80 appearances for Gijón. He made his La Liga debut at Zaragoza and scored 31 goals in 73 appearances in the next two seasons, winning the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España, his first senior honours. He joined Valencia in 2005 for a transfer fee of €12 million. He was the second highest scorer in the 2005–06 season with 25 goals, and was part of the Valencia team that won the Copa del Rey for a seventh time in the 2007–08 season. In 2010 he moved to Barcelona for €40 million.
Villa made his international debut in 2005 against San Marino. He has since participated in three major tournaments: 2006 World Cup, Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. He scored three goals at the 2006 World Cup, was top scorer at Euro 2008 with four goals and another five at the 2010 World Cup. He is the second all-time scorer for Spain, trailing Raul González's record of 44 goals. Statistics (based on goal importance and the tournament they were scored in) demonstrate Villa to be the most prolific goalscorer in the world between 2005–2009, seeing the back of the net over 156 times, while the IFFHS listed him 4th in the "World's Top Goal Scorer 2009" rankings, while in 2010, he came 1st in their "2010's World Top Goalscorer at International Level" rankings. Villa has two children with his wife Patricia and often attends charity events supported by sports personalities.
Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz (born 20 March 1984), nicknamed El Niño (The Boy in Spanish), is a Spanish footballer who plays for Premier League club Liverpool and the Spain national team as a striker.
Torres started his career with Atlético Madrid, progressing through their youth system. He made his first team debut in 2001 and finished his career with the club having scored 75 goals in 174 La Liga appearances. Prior to his La Liga debut, Torres played two seasons in theSegunda División, making 40 appearances and scoring seven goals. He joined Liverpool in 2007, after signing for a club record transfer fee. He marked his first season at Anfield by being Liverpool's first player, since Robbie Fowler in 1995–96, to score more than 20 league goals in a season. Torres became the fastest player in Liverpool history to score 50 league goals after scoring against Aston Villa in December 2009.
He is also a Spanish international and made his debut for the country against Portugal in 2003. He has since participated in four major tournaments, UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He did not score a goal at UEFA Euro 2004, but he scored three at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Torres scored the winning goal for Spain in their 1–0 win over Germany in the UEFA Euro 2008 Final.
Pedro Rodríguez Ledesma
Pedro Eliezer Rodríguez Ledesma (born 28 July 1987), commonly known as Pedro orPedrito, is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona.
Naturally right-footed, he plays as either a winger for forward, the ambidextrous nature of his game meaning he can play on either side of the pitch. He is excellent at finding the right position and has a powerful shot, most notably from long range.
Fernando Llorente
Fernando Llorente Torres (born February 25, 1985) is a Spanish professional footballerwho plays for Athletic Bilbao in Spain's first division, as a striker.
