Forlan up for grabs

Liga club believe striker is likely to return to England

Atletico Madrid say striker Diego Forlan is likely to return to England after they made him available for transfer.

Berba set for United talks

Striker's agent insists Bulgarian wishes to stay at Old Trafford

Dimitar Berbatov's agent expects to know where the striker's future lies after crunch talks with Manchester United.



The Bulgarian's future is in doubt after he was omitted from the Red Devils' squad for their UEFA Champions League final defeat to Barcelona in May.
Berbatov scored 22 goals in all competitions for his club last season but, despite that return, did not feature regularly towards the end of the campaign.
Recent reports have suggested the 30-year-old could leave this summer, with French club PSG mentioned as suitors, but Berbatov's representative insists he wishes to stay at Old Trafford.
Emil Danchev said in the Daily Mirror. "We'll know more after we have talks with United, but Berbatov wants to stay and to keep winning trophies."
Berbatov joined United from Tottenham in 2008 and has since scored 42 league goals in 96 appearances for Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

Reyes rejects Galatasaray

Atletico Madrid winger Jose Antonio Reyes has decided to stay at the club after rejecting a move to Galatasaray.

The Turkish giants made an offer for a trio of players at the Vicente Calderon earlier in June, including Reyes, defender Tomas Ujfalusi and Uruguay star Diego Forlan.
Ujfalusi completed his move to the club on Monday, however Reyes will not be following the Czech to Istanbul.
No word has been released over the possible transfer of Forlan, who despite a disappointing campaign last term, is still sought-after by many clubs in Europe.
Reyes moved to Atletico in 2007 after failing to spark what was looking like an extremely promising career when he moved to Arsenal in 2004 from Sevilla.
The 27-year-old quit the Gunners to join Real Madrid on loan in 2006, but after a disappointing spell, instead joined the club's city rivals the following summer.
Reyes was a regular in the first team last season, making 43 appearances in all competitions and scoring seven goals, and the club have opted to turn down Galatasaray's advances.
"After a meeting the player had in Seville with his representative Mariano Aguilar and Atletico sporting director Jose Luis Perez Caminero, all parties have agreed to decline the offer from Galatasaray, so the player will form part of the Atletico Madrid first-team squad for next season," said an announcement on the club's official website.

Chelsea New Manager

Villas-Boas confident of success

New Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas believes he can satisfy the club's thirst for silverware and accepts he will be held to the highest of standards at Stamford Bridge.

The 33-year-old, who worked in Jose Mourinho's backroom team during his time at the club, was on Wednesday confirmed as Carlo Ancelotti's successor on a three-year deal that will see Chelsea pay Porto a release fee of around £13.3million.

"Chelsea is a club that in the last six years has achieved so much and people are expecting us to be the same way," he told www.chelseafc.com. "There is not going to be more or less tolerance for me if I am not successful so this is the challenge I face and I feel confident that we can motivate everybody, not only the players but also the structure."

He added: "I feel confident I can respond to the ambitions of the supporters and the ambitions of the owner and the administration."

The shadow of his countryman, predecessor and former boss Mourinho is one Villas-Boas will have to deal with at Chelsea, but although he understands comparisons will be made, his tone was noticeably different to that of the self-anointed 'special one'.

While Mourinho's managerial career has been characterised by his larger-than-life personality and media grandstanding as much as his consistent success, Villas-Boas promised not to hog the limelight.

"The main important thing that people have to reflect on is that I don't see the game as a one-man show, I see the game as the getting together of ideas and collective ideas and good players," he said.

"Chelsea appointed me basically for human qualities and that is what I want to bring into this club again.

"The most important thing is to motivate the players to get their ambitions right, to reflect again on what the club has achieved in the last six years and we need to keep this route to success.

"We are a technical staff that focuses a lot on unlocking potential."



Henrik Larsson

Henrik Edward Larsson born 20 September 1971in Helsingborg, Sweden is a Swedish football player-manager. Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK as a youth player. As a senior, he moved to Helsingborg, where he was one of the key players when they qualified to Allsvenskan 1993. Larsson then moved to Feyenoord for four years before leaving for Celtic in 1997. He won four league titles in seven years with Celtic, scoring 242 goals in 315 competitive matches, before moving to Barcelona in 2004, where he won two league titles and the 2006 Champions League, in which he assisted both of Barcelona's goals as they won 2–1 against Arsenal. Following the expiration of his contract at Barcelona, Larsson returned to his hometown club of Helsingborg, and joined Manchester United on a brief loan spell between January and March 2007. He announced his retirement from football on 20 October 2009.

Early Career

Celtic

Following a contract dispute with Feyenoord, he was signed by Celtic manager Wim Jansen in July 1997 for a fee of £650,000. He won 4 SPL titles, 2 Scottish League Cups and 3 Scottish Cups during his tenure. He was the top goalscorer in the Scottish Premier League for five of the six seasons that he competed in, the only exception being the 1999–2000 season, most of which Larsson missed due to a severe leg break suffered in Lyon. Larsson was also a consistent goalscorer in international competition. He scored two goals in the 2003 UEFA Cup Final, although Portuguese opponents Porto went on to win 3–2. Celtic fans selected Larsson (the only player from outside Scotland) in the greatest ever Celtic team, when a vote was held in 2002.

1997-98

In Larsson's Celtic debut against Hibernian at Easter Road, he came on as a late substitute. He inadvertently passed the ball to Hibernian player Chic Charnley who then went on to score, resulting in a 2–1 defeat for Celtic. He scored an own goal in his first European game, although Celtic did go on to win 6–3 against Tirol Innsbruck. After his poor start to the season he went on to score 18 goals in all competitions, and was Celtic's top scorer for the season. Initially Larsson played the role of support striker alongside Darren Jackson, Simon Donnelly and later Harald Brattbakk.

1998-99

Larsson's second season with the club saw a change in management with Jozef Venglos taking the Parkhead hotseat following Wim Jansen's resignation. The 1998–99 season proved ultimately disappointing as Celtic finished runners up to rivals Rangers in both the newly established SPL and in the Scottish Cup. During this season Larsson also made the scoresheet for the first time in an Old Firm match chalking up a brace in a 5–1 victory in November and scoring the equaliser in the 2–2 New Years Day match at Ibrox Stadium.

1999-2000

The 1999–2000 season saw another change in management for Celtic. Former Liverpool and England winger, John Barnes replaced Venglos to become manager at the club. The season started very brightly for Larsson as he notched up 8 league goals in only 9 games for the club. During Celtic's 1–0 defeat in a UEFA Cup tie against Lyon on 22 October 1999, Larsson suffered a career-threatening injury, breaking his leg in two places in a challenge with Serge Blanc.

This resulted in him spending eight months on the sidelines, only returning on the last day of the 1999–2000 season. John Barnes cited Larsson's injury as being a significant factor in his sacking by Celtic after only months in the position. It was initially feared that Larsson had suffered a compound leg fracture, an injury which would normally result in an even longer absence - or possibly even end his professional career - but X-rays soon revealed that the injury wasn't as serious as originally feared.

By the time Larsson had completed his rehabilitation John Barnes had been sacked and replaced by Director of Football Kenny Dalglish as interim manager. Larsson made his comeback with a substitute appearance against Dundee United at Celtic Park on the final day of the SPL season.

2000-01

 

Following the arrival of Martin O'Neill in the summer of 2000, Larsson had his most successful season for Celtic. As Henrik Larsson forged a prolific partnership with new arrival Chris Sutton he scored 35 league goals in 38 league games to become SPL top goalscorer and to win the European Golden Boot. The season saw Celtic lift the domestic treble of the Scottish League Cup, Scottish Cup and the Scottish Premier League. Larsson scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 win over Kilmarnock at Hampden Park to win the Scottish League Cup as well as a brace in the Scottish Cup in a 3–0 win over Hibernian.

Testimonials

Since leaving Celtic Park in June 2004, Larsson has returned to play for Celtic in testimonial matches twice, first in May 2005, for Jackie McNamara's testimonial against Ireland. Celtic lost 1–0 to a Robbie Keane goal. His second guest appearance was in May 2008 for the Phil O'Donnell memorial match. Larsson played as part of the Celtic 1998 championship-winning side against the Motherwell 1991 Scottish Cup winning side. The match was played in memory of Larsson's former team mate Phil O'Donnell, who died earlier in the season in a match for Motherwell against Dundee United. Larsson, who scored an overhead kick in the 5–1 victory for Celtic, left Sweden's national training camp early to take part in the game.

David Luiz

David Luiz Moreira Marinho born 22 April 1987, known as David Luiz, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Chelsea in the Premier League.Mainly a central defender, he can also operate at Full back

Club Career

Vitoria

Born in Diadema, São Paulo, David Luiz arrived in Esporte Clube Vitória at the age of 14 after being released by São Paulo FC, He then went to Oxford Brookes university for 3 years and started playing as a defensive midfielder, almost leaving the club for his poor performances in that position. However, he was soon moved to central defender and adapted well.^[6] Luiz made his official debut for Vitória in 2006, and excelled against Santa Cruz Futebol Clube for that season's Brazilian Cu, in a 2–2 draw.

As Vitória promoted to the second division at the end of the season, after finishing in second position, Luiz appeared in eight of the club's last nine games, scoring his only Série C goal on 3 September 2006, in a 2–0 home win against Clube Atlético do Porto.

Benfica

On 31 January 2007, Luiz joined Sport Lisboa e Benfica as a replacement for Tottenham Hotspur-bound Ricardo Rocha, on loan. He made a somewhat tumultuous debut for the club in a UEFA Cup match against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes, partnering compatriot Anderson in the center of the defense, replacing the injured Luisão. Benfica lost the match 2–1, but managed to go through to the next round after winning 4–3 on aggregate.

On 12 March 2007, he played his first league match for Benfica, against União de Leiria. At the end of the season, Luiz signed a five-year deal with the club and, on 5 August, scored his first goal for the club in the Torneio do Guadiana friendly tournament, against Sporting Clube de Portugal. However, he only managed eight appearances in the league due to injury, as Benfica finished fourth.

On 11 January 2009, David Luiz netted his first official goal for Benfica, the game's only in a home success against Sporting de Braga. He played most of the campaign as a left back, at the expense of Portuguese international, Jorge Ribeiro.

Chelsea

On 31 January 2011, Luiz completed a move to Chelsea for an undiclosed fee, reported to be £21.3 million, on a five-and-a-half-year contact, with Nemanja Matić joining Benfica at the end of the season after his loan spell away at Vitesse. He made his official – and Premier League – debut on 6 February, replacing José Bosingwa in a 0–1 home loss against Liverpool. Eight days later, he made his first start for Chelsea, in a 0–0 draw against Fulham at Craven Cottage. He was awarded the Barclays Man of the Match award for his performance, despite giving away a penalty in the 93rd minute of the game, which was saved by Petr Čech.

On 1 March, Luiz scored his first goal for Chelsea, firing in a half volley to help the Blues come from behind to win 2–1 against Manchester United, at Stamford Bridge, with Frank Lampard scoring a late penalty winner. On the 20th, he scored his second goal for the Blues, heading in from a freekick against Manchester City (2–0 home win), and again receiving the Man of the match award, for March. which eventually granted him the Premier League Player of the Month award.



Wayne Rooney

Wayne Mark Rooney born 24 October 1985 is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team.

Rooney made his senior international debut in 2003. He played at UEFA Euro 2004 and scored four goals. He also briefly became the competition's youngest goalscorer. He is frequently selected for the England squad and also featured at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. Rooney has won the England Player of the Year award twice, in 2008 and 2009. As of March 2011, he has won 70 international cups and scored 26 goals.

Early Life

Rooney was born in Croxteth, Liverpool to Thomas Wayne and Jeanette Marie Rooney (née Morrey). He is of Irish descent and was brought up Catholic in Croxteth with younger brothers Graeme and John; all three attended De La Salle School. He grew up supporting his local club Everton; his childhood hero was Duncan Ferguson.

Club Career

Everton : Youth Squads

Rooney began playing for Liverpool Schoolboys and until May 2010 he held the record of 72 goals scored in one season. At age nine, Rooney played for Copplehouse boys' club in the local Walton and Kirkdale junior league and scored 99 goals in his final season before being spotted by Everton scout Bob Pendleton. Rooney joined Everton at age nine, and was the Everton mascot for the Merseyside derby against Liverpool as an 11-year-old. In the 1995-96 season he scored 114 goals in 29 games for Everton's under-10s and 11s, and by 15 years old he was playing for the under-19s.

First team breakthrough

Rooney was an unused substitute in Everton's 1-0 away win over Southampton in April 2002. His senior debut came the following season on 17 August in a 2-2 home draw against Tottenham, at this time he became the second youngest first-team player in Everton history behind Joe Royle. His first senior goals came on 2 October as he scored twice in a 3-0 away win over Wrexham in the League Cup. These goals meant that Rooney was Everton's youngest-ever goalscorer at the time. On 19 October, five days before his 17th birthday, Rooney scored a last-minute winning goal against Arsenal. This goal ended Arsenal's 30-match unbeaten run, and also made Rooney the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history, a record that has since been surpassed twice by both James Milner and James Vaughan.

Manchester United

Rooney was given the number 8 shirt upon his arrival at Old Trafford He made his United debut on 28 September in a 6–2 home win over Fenerbahçe in the Champions League, scoring a hat-trick and laying on an assist. These goals made Rooney the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League aged 18 years 335 days. However, his first season with Manchester United ended without winning a trophy as they could only manage a third place finish in the league, and failed to progress to the last eight of the Champions League^. United had more success in the cup competitions, but were edged out of the League Cup in the semi finals by a Chelsea side who also won the Premier League title that season, and a goalless draw with Arsenal in the FA Cup final was followed by a penalty shoot-out defeat. However, Rooney was United's top league scorer that season with 11 goals, and was credited with the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

 

Shunsuke Nakamura

Shunsuke Nakamura

Born in 24 June 1978 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture) is a Japanese footballer who currently plays for Yokohama F. Marinos in J. League Division 1.He is one of the most prominent and successful Asian players to have played in Scotland and on 13 September 2006 became the first Japanese player to score in the UEFA Champions League and the second Asian player to do so. He is also well known for his free kick-taking abilities. Asteroid 29986 Shunsuke is also named in his honour.

Club Career

Yokohama Marinos (1997-2002)



In 1997, 19-year-old Nakamura joined Yokohama Marinos of J. League Division 1 (later merged with Yokohama Flügels and renamed "Yokohama F. Marinos"), a club whose youth side he had played for when it was known as Nissan Motors FC. He made his début with Marinos on 16 April of that year against Gamba Osaka. Nakamura finished the season with 27 appearances and 5 goals.

In 2000, Nakamura had his best season in Yokohama, recording 5 goals and 11 assists, and winning the J League Most Valuable Player award.

Nakamura left Marinos during the 2002 season to join Reggina of Serie A, after the clubs agreed to a US$3.5 million transfer fee following a 6-month loan period.

Reggina (2002-2005)

Following the disappointment of being omitted from Japan's final World Cup squad, Nakamura joined Italian club Reggina, newly promoted to Serie A. Expectations for Nakamura were high, as he was given the prestigious number 10 shirt from the start, and he responded by scoring in three consecutive matches early in the season.

However, Nakamura struggled with injuries, appearing in just 18 matches in the 2003-04 season, while the club struggled to avoid relegation all three seasons he played there. After three seasons in Italy, he felt it was time to move on.

Celtic (2005-2009)

Nakamura expressed interest in playing in Spain and media reports linked him to Atlético Madrid and Deportivo La Coruña of La Liga as well as Bundesliga teams Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer of 2005,^[2] but Nakamura ultimately chose to join Scottish Premier League club Celtic.In his first season with Celtic, Nakamura won his first major club titles, the Scottish Premier League and Scottish League Cup. On 13 September 2006, he played his début Champions League game against Manchester United at Old Trafford. He scored from a free kick to bring the game level at 2-2, although Celtic eventually lost 3-2. On 14 October 2006, in a league game against Dundee United at Tannadice Nakamura scored the first hat-trick of his Celtic career and won the Man of the Match award. The game ended 4-1 in Celtic's favour. On 21 November 2006, Nakamura scored perhaps the most important goal of his career to date with a 30-yard free-kick against Manchester United at Celtic Park in a crucial Champions League game. The goal resulted in Celtic progressing to the Champions League knockout stage for the first time.On 26 December 2006, Nakamura chipped the ball over Dundee United's goalkeeper Derek Stillie at Celtic Park (He won the Goal of the Season award by this). It was Nakamura's performance in the final 20 minutes of the game which allowed Celtic to escape with a point, prompting Gordon Strachan to proclaim him "a genius".