The Legend of Football, Ronaldo - VIDEO

Ronaldo is a retired Brazilian football (soccer) player who grew up in a poor Rio de Janeiro suburb. He began playing football for the neighborhood Social Ramos Club at age 12. By age 26, he was leading Brazil to a World Cup title. Ronaldo has received three Player of the Year awards from FIFA - earning one of them after two years off due to a knee injury. He last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima (Rio de Janeiro Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁo̞ˈnau̯du ˈlwiʑ nɐˈzaɾju dʑ ˈɫimɐ]; born 18 September 1976[1]) is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is considered by experts and fans as one of the greatest football players of all time. [2][3] In 2011, he was voted Goal.com's "Player of the Decades" in an online poll of the Spanish version of the website, gathering 29.55% of all votes.[4] He won his first Ballon d'Or as the European Footballer of the Year in 1997 and won the award again in 2002. He is one of only three men to have won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times, along with Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi. Considered by many as the most complete striker in the past 30 years, in 2007, he was named as one of the best starting 11 of all-time by France Football and was named to the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest footballers compiled by Pelé. In 2010, he was voted Goal.com's "Player of the Decade" in an online poll, gathering 43.63 percent of all votes[5] and was also included as centre forward in the "Team of the Decade".[6] On 23 February 2010, Ronaldo announced that he would retire after the 2011 season, signing a two-year contract extension with the Corinthians at the same time.[7] Ronaldo has played for Brazil in 98 international matches, scoring 62 goals. He was a part of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 and 2002 World Cups. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo became the highest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup with his fifteenth goal, surpassing Gerd Müller's previous record of 14. He is the only player to have won the World Cup Golden Ball and Golden Boot in separate tournaments. Having suffered a string of serious injuries throughout his career, Ronaldo retired on 14 February 2011, citing pain and hypothyroidism as the reasons for his premature retirement.[8]

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Top 10 Goals of Xherdan Shaqiri - VIDEO

Career
 FC Basel Shaqiri played for SV Augst's and FC Basel's youth team. While on Basel's youth team, he played in the Under-15 Nike Cup 2007 and was named the best player of the tournament, and, despite having several other clubs attempting to sign him, he decided to stay with Basel. He then played for their reserve team 2007–09 in the Swiss 1. Liga and just two years later, Shaqiri signed his first professional contract with Basel on 2 January 2009. The new contract was set to keep him at St. Jakob-Park until June 2014.[3] Shaqiri made his Basel debut as a substitute on 12 July 2009, in Basel's 2009–10 season opening game against FC St. Gallen at the AFG Arena.[4] On 9 November, he scored his first goal for Basel in a 4–1 win over Neuchâtel Xamax at home.[5] At the end of the 2009–10 season, Shaqiri won the national Double with Basel and a year later won League Championship title again.
On 7 December 2011, Shaqiri provided two assists in the match against Manchester United. The match ended with Basel winning 2–1.[6] At the end of the 2011–12 season for the second time he won the Double, the League Championship title[7] and the Swiss Cup [8] with Basel.
 Bayern Munich On 9 February 2012, FC Basel announced that Shaqiri had accepted a transfer to FC

Bayern Munich for the 2012–13 season. Shaqiri signed a four-year contract with the German giants until 30 June 2016. The associated transfer fee was not publicised by the two clubs. On 10 July 2012, Shaqiri made his debut in a friendly match against German side SpVgg Unterhaching which Bayern Munich won 1–0 by a goal of teammate David Alaba. International career Shaqiri playing for Switzerland in 2012 Shaqiri made his debut for the Switzerland under-21 side on 11 November 2009 in a 3–1 win against the Turkey under-21s in a 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualifier. He scored his first goal on 11 June 2011 in the 2011 Under-21 Championship opening game against the Denmark under-21 side. In 2010, Shaqiri was promoted to the senior team, making his debut on 3 March 2010 in a 1–3 friendly loss against Uruguay. He was included in the 2010 World Cup squad, after receiving a surprise call-up from manager Ottmar Hitzfeld. On 7 September 2010, Shaqiri scored his first goal, a long range left footed shot, in a 1–3 loss against England in a Euro 2012 qualifier. In another Euro 2012 qualifier, on 6 September 2011, he netted a hat-trick, as Switzerland came from behind to defeat Bulgaria 3–1. Switzerland also tried to select him to participate in the 2012 Olympic Football tournament, but he opted to stay at his new club for pre-season training.[9]
Career statisticsClub statisticsAs of 28 November 2012 Club performance League Cup Continental League Cup Total Club League Season Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Switzerland League Swiss Cup Europe Other Total FC Basel Super League 2009–10 32 4 5 1 10 2 — 47 7 2010–11 29 10 2 0 11 2 42 12 2011–12 29 14 2 0 6 1 38 14 Germany League DFB-Pokal Europe Other Total Bayern Munich Bundesliga 2012–13 11 0 2 1 4 0 0 0 17 1 Career totals Switzerland 91 27 10 1 27 5 — 127 33 Germany 11 0 2 1 4 0 0 0 17 1 Career statistics 101 27 12 2 31 5 0 0 143 34 International goals Scores and goals list Switzerland's goal tally first. # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 7 September 2010 St. Jakob-Park, Basel England 1–2 1–3 Euro 2012 qualifier 2. 6 September 2011 St. Jakob-Park, Basel Bulgaria 1–1 3–1 Euro 2012 qualifier 3. 2–1 4. 3–1 5. 29 February 2012 Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, Bern Argentina 1–1 1–3 Friendly 6. 11 September 2012 Swissporarena, Lucerne Albania 1–0 2–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 7. 14 November 2012 Stade Olympique de Sousse, Sousse Tunisia 1–2 1–2 Friendly

Top 10 Goals of Xherdan Shaqiri - VIDEO

Liga - Iniesta, Ronaldo and Messi on Ballon d'Or shortlist

The three stars were also shortlisted for UEFA's Best Player in Europe award, won by Barcelona and Spain midfielder Iniesta in August after his success in inspiring his country to win Euro 2012 and winning the player of the tournament award.

However, Barca team-mate Messi is favourite to secure the FIFA award on January 7 and become the first man to be named the world's greatest player for four years in succession.

Messi has scored a remarkable 82 goals for club and country in 2012 - just three short of Gerd Mueller's all-time record from 1972 - and though it was Ronaldo's Real Madrid who won the Spanish title, Messi scored a barely believable 50 goals in the 2011-12 league campaign.

The Argentina forward won both the FIFA World Player of the Year and the Ballon d'Or in 2009, before then claiming the award in 2010 and 2011 when the two prizes were amalgamated.

Ronaldo won both previous awards in 2008 when he helped Manchester United record a Premier League and Champions League double.

Spanish football also dominates the World Coach of the Year shortlist, with national team coach Vicente del Bosque, Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho and his former rival at Barcelona, Pep Guardiola, all included.

Del Bosque oversaw Spain's triumph at Euro 2012, Mourinho won the Liga title with a record tally of 100 points and, while Guardiola only won the Copa del Rey, his Barcelona side left an indelible mark on the game in 2012.

The nominees for the FIFA Puskas Award, given to the scorer of the best goal of the year, are Falcao (Atletico Madrid v America de Cali), Neymar (Santos v Internacional) and Miroslav Stoch (Fenerbahce v Genclerbirligi).

Brazil's Marta was joined by USA's Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach on the shortlist for the women's player award, while France's Bruno Bini, Japan's Norio Sasaki and USA coach Pia Sundhage are in contention for the manager award.

The shortlists were announced at a press conference in Sao Paulo. Candidates were voted for by international captains and head coaches as well as international media representatives.