Luis Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo

Luis Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo was born on the 4th of November, 1972 as the only son of parents Antonio and Maria Joana. He grew up in a modest family in Almada, the working-class district of Lisbon. Luis began his career as a street footballer at Os Pastilhas, before joining Sporting Lisbon at the age of 11. As a youngster, Figo won the U-16 European Championship and the 1991 World Youth Cup. He was also a part of Portugal's U-21 squad when his country reached the final of the European Under-21 Championship in France.

In 1995, Luis Figo was a major figure at Sporting Lisbon and clubs like Juventus and Parma were knocking at his doorstep. He eventually transferred to Barcelona where he became an instant success. He helped them win the 1997 European Cup Winners Cup and captained the club to two La Liga titles in 1998 and 1999. In 2000, Figo was transferred to Real Madrid for a world record fee of £37.4 Million. Success followed him to Madrid where he captured the 2001 and 2003 Spanish title as well as the 2002 Champions League trophy.

Luis Figo was a part of what is considered Portugal's "golden generation that never was". Regardless of their potential and entertaining style, Figo's country suffered an early exit at both the 1996 EURO and the 2002 World Cup.

At EURO 2000, he inspired Portugal to reach the semi-final where they were knock out by France. Thanks to his crucial scoring, Portugal reached the final four years later, but his country was defeated by tournament surprise Greece.

Zinedine Zidane is born in France on the 23rd of June in 1972. His parents of Algerian descent have a total of five children. As a kid, school is not his strongest asset so he turns to football. By the age of 16, a scout by the name of Jean Varraud recruits the youngster to Cannes. One year later, Zizou makes his debut with the club's senior squad in the French First Division. He is signed by Bordeaux in 1992. With his new club, Zidane reaches the UEFA Cup final in 1995/96 and attracts the attention of European powerhouse Juventus. After his move to Italy, trophies start to to pour in. By 1996, Ziziou had the UEFA Cup, the European Supercup and the Intercontinental Cup under his belt. He also won the Italian Calcio twice in a row during 1997 and 1998. In the same two seasons, his club manages to reach the Champions League final twice.

The year 1998 marks a decline in Ronaldo's career. He leads his national team to a World Cup Final, but fails to deliver in the decisive match. His squad settles for silver as a wide range of speculations (from illness to black magic) are made about Ronaldo's indifferent display. By the end of 1998, Ronaldo is forced to leave the pitch after a knee injury which he picks up with his club. The injury haunts Ronaldo for a few years causing him to miss the entire 2000/2001 season.

Ronaldo is born in the poor suburbs of Rio de Janeiro under the name Luis Nazario de Lima. Driven by his childhood hero Zico, the youngster enters football early in his life. By his 12th birthday he is playing in an organized youth club called Tennis Club Valqueire. With Valqueire, he plays "futebol de salão" or small-sided football with a miniature ball. This is considered an important step in Ronaldo's development as playing with a smaller ball is said to rapidly increase skill. In the following few years, he takes part in various youth tournaments and begins attracting attention. Soon after, Cruzeiro di Belo Horizonte snatch up the youngster on a $50,000 transfer.

Cristiano Ronaldo started playing competitive football at 8-year-old for amateur club Andorinha, and then for local team CD Nacional when he was 10. He then move to one of Portugal’s largest football clubs, Sporting Lisbon in 1996.

Ronaldo trained in the youth team before playing his first senior game for Sporting in 1999 against Moreirense, and scored a double on his debut.

Cristiano Ronaldo made his senior debut for Portugal shortly after being signed by United in a match against Kazakhstan in August 2003. He has become one of the key players for Portugal since then.

Ronaldo played for Portugal’s youth side in the UEFA U-17 Championships and drew attention internationally. Liverpool under manager Gérard Houllier back then was reported to have interest in signing Ronaldo, but it was Manchester United that made the move in 2003 to fill the void of departed David Beckham.

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