Mauricio Velazquez De Leon - 20 Soccer Legends

M a u r i c i o V e l z q u e z d e L e n TM

M a u r i c i o V e l z q u e z d e e n Ne w Y ork TM

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 FRANZ BECKENBAUER CHAPTER 2 EMILIO BUTRAGUEO CHAPTER 3 JOHAN CRUYFF CHAPTER 4 ALFREDO DI STF ANO CHAPTER 5 EUSBIO CHAPTER 6 JULIE FOUDY CHAPTER 7 MIA HAMM CHAPTER 8 DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA CHAPTER 9 ROGER MILLA CHAPTER 1 BOBBY MOORE CHAPTER 1 THOMAS NKONO CHAPTER 1 PEL CHAPTER 1 MICHEL PLA TINI CHAPTER 1 FERENC PUSKS CHAPTER 1 P AOLO ROSSI CHAPTER 1 HUGO S NCHEZ CHAPTER 1 MARCO V AN BASTEN CHAPTER 1 GEORGE WEAH CHAPTER 1 ZINDINE ZIDANE CHAPTER 2 DINO ZOFF GLOSSAR Y FOR MORE INFORMA TION FOR FURTHER READING BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

INTRODUCTION Soccer can be pla y ed an ywher e and with v er y little equip- m e n t . T h e s e t w o f r i e n d s s h a r e t h e i r s o c c e r s h o e s d u r i n g a spont aneous match in an empt y lot in So P aolo, Brazil. he b est part of soccer is its simplicity . This is a g ame that can b e pla y ed almost an ywher e: pickup g ames in a park, alleys in a big city , sandy b eaches, gymnasiums, and, of course, in the l a r g e s t a d i u m s w h e r e o r g a n i z e d s o c c e r i s p r a c t i c e d . T h e r u l e s a r e simple and ha v e r emained virtually unchanged for hundr eds of y ears. The equipment is also straightforwar d: one ball and tw o goals, each made with a pair of posts, a cr ossbar , and a net. In r ecr eational soccer , the goals ar e often made b y marking tw o points with whatev er the pla y ers ha v e ar ound. This can b e tw o sw eaters, tw o b ook bags, or tw o g a r b a g e c a n s . T h e r u l e s s t a t e t h a t p l a ye r s f o r m a t e a m , b u t soc- cer fans often org anize g ames with an y numb er of men, w omen, or ev en mixed gender teams. Right no w a g ame ma y b e going on in the poor est ar ea on the planet, while another might b e taking place on a state-of-the-art eld. Both g ames ar e basically the same. This b ook is ab out soccer legends fr om ar ound the w orld, the men and w omen who took the simplicity of soccer and turned it into t h e m o s t p o p u l a r s p o r t o n t h e p l a n e t . T h e s e p l a y e r s h a v e b e l o n g e d to the most successful soccer teams in the w orld and ha v e w on the most pr estig ious a war ds. They ha v e made their mark in W orld Cup history and b ecome her oes in their countries. Man y of them ha v e b ecome v ery rich and at least one has run for pr esident. But r eg ar dless of who they ar e toda y , they all started out pla ying in pickup g ames in parks, in alleys, or on sandy b eaches, and they all impr o vised goals with their sw eaters or b ook bags. Michel P latini, the fantastic F r ench pla ymaker , once said, The str eet is the b est wa y to b ecome a good footballer . He had a point. E v en P el, who is widely consider ed the b est pla y er in the history of the sport, g r ew up pla ying in the str eets using a sock lled with newspapers as a ball. This b ook brings together of these legends. They r epr esent liv es, car eers, and stories. They ar e also r easons to under- stand wh y soccer is the most popular sport on the planet.

FRANZ BECKENB A UER F r a n z B e c k e n b a u e r l i f t s t h e F I F A t r o p h y a f t e r w i n n i n g t h e W o r l d C u p a s t e a m capt ain. He would win the W orld Cup ag ain, as a manager , in 1990. une , 0Italy and W est German y pla y the semi nal g ame of the W orld Cup in Mexico. W ith Italy winning b y one goal, F ranz Beckenbauer charges o v er an Italian defender , fall- ing dramatically on the eld. Beckenbauer is injur ed, his right shoulder dislocated. The German side ties the g ame in the last minute, for cing the match into o v ertime. Beckenbauer continues pla ying with his arm in a sling COUNTR Y : GERMANY DA TE OF BIRTH: SEPTEMBER 11, 1945 PLACE OF BIRTH: MUNICH, GERMANY POSITION: SWEEPER CLUBS: B A YERN MUNICH (GERMANY), NEW Y ORK COSMOS (U.S.), HAMBURG (GERMANY)