Andrew Johns bio-data and his early days

Bio-data

Andrew "Joey" Johns (born 19 May 1974 in Cessnock, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s who is considered by some critics one of the greatest players of all time, and was heralded as the world's best halfback for a number of years. He captained the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League and participated in the team's first two premiership victories in 1997 and 2001, playing a club record 249 games for the Knights. Johns also represented his country at 2 World Cups, and on 1 Kangaroo tour, playing in total 21 Test matches for the national side. He played in 23 games for New South Wales in State of Origin (captaining the side to a series win in 2003), and twice played for the Country Origin side in 1995 and 1996.

Johns announced his retirement from rugby league on 10 April 2007 at the age of 32. This followed a long run of injuries, the last of which was a bulging disc in his neck which forced his retirement due to the risk of serious spinal injury from further heavy contact. In The Daily Telegraph on 11 April 2007, one day after retiring, some of the game's greats, including other "Immortals" called for him to be made an immortal of the game. Andrew Johns is one of only two players to have won the Golden Boot Award more than once and is the only player to have won the Dally M Medal for best player in the NRL three times. He finished his career as the highest points scorer in Australian first grade premiership history with 2,176 points.
In 2008 Johns was named as the 'Best Player of the Last 30 Years' by Rugby League Week and was also named as halfback of the New South Wales and Australian teams of the century.

Early Days

Andrew Johns began playing junior rugby league in his home town of Cessnock, New South Wales. At an early age it was evident he had plenty of playing ability and Johns joined the Newcastle Knights junior ranks at 15 years of age in 1989. Four years later, at 19 years of age, the opportunity at first grade presented itself to Johns as he was tested off the bench during the 1993 season in a handful of games. The following year in the last pre-season trial for the 1994 season, Matthew Rodwell, Newcastle's then-regular halfback sustained a knee injury handing Johns his golden opportunity. Subsequently he was named in the starting line-up against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and in his debut match made an immediate impact as he amassed 23 points and was awarded the 'Man-of-the-Match'. He soon formed a winning partnership with his older brother, Matthew Johns, who had played five-eighth at the Knights since 1991.

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Andrew Johns bio-data and his early days

Steven Gerrard personal life and more...

Steven Gerrard

Steven George Gerrard, (born 30 May 1980), is an English footballer who plays for English Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team. He played much of his career in a central midfield role, however since the arrival of Fernando Torres he has been used mainly as a second striker for Liverpool and as a winger for England since 2006.

Gerrard, who has spent his entire career at Anfield, made his debut in 1998 and cemented his place in the first team in the 2000-01 season, succeeding Sami Hyypiä as Liverpool team captain in 2003. His honours include two FA Cup wins, two League Cup wins, a UEFA Cup win and a UEFA Champions League win in 2005. As of 13 May 2009, Gerrard is also the current holder of the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award.

Gerrard made his international debut in 2000, and represented England in the UEFA European Championships in 2000 and 2004 as well as the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he was the team's top goalscorer with two goals.

Personal life

Gerrard and his wife, fashion journalist Alex Curran, married at the Cliveden mansion in Buckinghamshire on 16 June 2007. He has an older brother, Paul (not to be confused with former Everton goalkeeper Paul Gerrard), and his cousin Anthony plays for Cardiff City F.C.

In September 2006, Gerrard published his autobiography, Gerrard: My Autobiography, which went on to win the Sports Book of the Year honour at the British Book Awards.

The autobiography ends with "I play for Jon-Paul." Gerrard's ten-year-old cousin, Jon-Paul Gilhooley, was killed in the 1989 Hillsborough Tragedy, when Gerrard was almost 9. "It was difficult knowing one of your cousins had lost his life," Gerrard said. "Seeing his family's reaction drove me on to become the player I am today."

On 1 October 2007, Gerrard was involved in a low-speed accident in Southport when the car he was driving hit a ten-year-old bicyclist, who had shot into the street and inadvertently cut off Gerrard's path. He later visited the boy in the hospital and presented him with a pair of boots signed by the boy's favourite player, Wayne Rooney, after which he stayed to sign autographs for other young patients.

Councillors of Knowsley voted to make Gerrard a Freeman of the Borough on 13 December 2007, and two weeks later, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by The Queen in The Queen's New Year Honours List, for services to sport. He received an honorary fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University on 26 July 2008 as recognition for his contribution to sport.

On 29 December 2008, Gerrard was taken into custody outside the Lounge Inn in Southport on suspicion of a section 20 assault. He and two others were later charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray, relating to an incident which left the bar's disc jockey with a broken tooth and cuts to his forehead. The three men were given police to court bail and were required to appear at North Sefton Magistrates' Court on 23 January 2009, where they all pleaded not guilty. The case was adjourned until 20 March when the assault charge was dropped but Gerrard was required to attend Liverpool Crown Court to face trial for affray. On 3 April, Gerrard pleaded not guilty.

The case went to trial in Liverpool Crown Court. Gerrard's co-defendants pleaded guilty before the trial but Gerrard maintained his innocence. Gerrard admitted hitting Marcus McGee but claimed it was in self defence and on July 24, Gerrard was found not guilty by the jury. Following the verdict, Gerrard said he was looking forward to getting back to playing football and putting the experience behind him.



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Steven Gerrard personal life and more...

Didier Drogba's bio-data,personal and early life

Bio-data

Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (born 11 March 1978 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire) is an Ivorian, who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the English Premier League and is the captain and all-time leading scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team. He has scored more goals for Chelsea than any other foreign player and is currently Chelsea's 8th highest goal scorer of all time.

After playing in youth teams, Drogba made his professional debut aged 18 for Ligue 2 club Le Mans. A late bloomer, he signed his first professional contract aged 21 but it was not until the 2002–03 season that he realised his potential, scoring 17 goals in 34 appearances in Ligue 1 for Guingamp. During the same season he made his first international appearance for Côte d'Ivoire in September and scored his first international goal the following February. He moved to Olympique de Marseille in 2003 for £3.3 million and his prolific ways continued, finishing as the third highest scorer in the league with 19 goals and making it to the 2004 UEFA Cup Final.

Drogba moved to Chelsea the following season for a record breaking fee of £24 million, making him the most expensive Côte d'Ivoire player in history. In addition, Drogba scored decisive goals in the 2005 FA Community Shield and League Cup Final and helped the club win their first ever Premier League title. Drogba came to prominence as one of the world's foremost strikers in 2006 as he won the league title with Chelsea again and captained the national team for the first time. In the 2006 World Cup he scored Côte d'Ivoire's first ever goal of the competition and he was chosen as the 2006 African Footballer of the Year. The next season he finished as top scorer in the 2006–07 Premier League with 20 goals and also scored the winning goals in the 2007 League Cup and FA Cup finals.

Early life

Didier Drogba was born in Côte d'Ivoire and at the age of five he was sent to France by his parents to live with his uncle, Michel Goba, a professional footballer. However, Drogba soon became homesick and returned to Abidjan after three years. His mother nicknamed him "Tito", after president Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia whom she admired greatly. He played football every day in a car park in the city but his return to Côte d'Ivoire was short lived. Both of his parents lost their jobs and he again returned to live with his uncle. In 1991, his parents also travelled to France, first to Vannes and then settling in 1993 at Antony in the Paris suburbs, at which point the 15-year-old Drogba returned to live with them and his siblings. It was here that he began playing team football more frequently, joining a local youth side.

Personal life

Drogba is married to Alla, a Malian woman whom he met in Paris, and the couple have three children together. His eldest son, Isaac, was born in France in 1999. He has two younger brothers who are also footballers: Joël and Freddy Drogba. Freddy, 17, is currently in the youth system of French side Le Mans.^[47][48][49] On 24 January 2007, Drogba was appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a Goodwill Ambassador. The UNDP were impressed with his previous charity work and believed that his high profile would help raise awareness on African issues. Drogba's charity work continued when, in late 2009, he announced he would be donating the 3 million GBP signing on fee for his endorsement of Pepsi for the construction of a hospital in his hometown of Abidjan. This work was done through Drogba's recently created "Didier Drogba Foundation" and Chelsea announced they too would donate the fee for the deal toward the Foundation's project. Drogba decided on building the hospital after a recent trip to the Ivorian capital's other hospitals, saying "...I decided the Foundation's first project should be to build and fund a hospital giving people basic healthcare and a chance just to stay alive."

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Didier Drogba's bio-data,personal and early life

Australian crickter Michael Clarke's profile and some latest image

Profile

Michael Clarke came of age in 2006-07, showing he could marry a mature approach with a lifetime desire to entertain, and he has continued to take on more responsibility in preparation for succeeding Ricky Ponting as the country's captain. He is now the regular stand-in leader when Ponting rests and is a dependable batsman who registered three Test hundreds in 2008-09. There is no doubt over his importance to the team, but the next few years will determine how high he finishes in Australia's batting hierarchy.

At the start of the 2006-07 home summer Clarke was not meant to be in the Test squad; by the end of it he was a senior player who had regained the Ashes and won his first World Cup. A tattoo scrawled on his left arm the previous winter reminded him to seize the day and he strengthened his grip from the moment Shane Watson's torn hamstring allowed his re-entry. The flamboyant edges were usually curbed and the tinkered outlook brought him 389 Ashes runs at 77.80. A century at Adelaide secured his spot, a follow-up hundred in Perth confirmed his future, and by the end of the summer he was named vice-captain of the one-day side, although a hip problem ruined his immediate leadership aspirations. Recovering for the World Cup, he slotted in at No. 4 and finished tenth on the tournament's run-scoring list with 436 at 87.20, a haul enhanced by the limited batting time allowed by Hayden, Gilchrist and Ponting. In 2011 Clarke could be in charge of the push for a fourth consecutive trophy.

A full-time promotion to vice-captain came with Adam Gilchrist's retirement and Clarke was called into the top job in the West Indies for two limited-overs matches when Ponting succumbed to a wrist problem. He held the post for the one-day series against Bangladesh in Darwin, where he displayed forthright decision making in sending his friend Andrew Symonds home for going fishing. The appointment came after another assured Test campaign, which included a century against each of Sri Lanka, India and West Indies, and he also showed he was able to deal with a high-profile private life following his engagement to the model Lara Bingle (excusing one slip in January when he and Simon Katich had to be separated in the SCG dressing room).

Clarke already boasts a possibly unique claim to fame in Australian cricketing folklore: he was anointed as his country's next captain before he'd played a single Test. When he made his debut and a thrilling 151 against India at Bangalore his future looked even brighter than the yellow motorbike he received as the Man of the Match. The amazing ride continued with another stunning century on his home welcome at the Gabba, and his first Test season ended with the Allan Border Medal. Then came the fall.

Barely a year after his debut he was scuffing his feet around Hobart's Bellerive Oval while receiving a call from Trevor Hohns that ended his starburst at 20 Tests. A streak of 531 runs without a century through series against Pakistan, New Zealand, England, the World XI and West Indies led to his demotion and a desire "to tighten his technique", especially in the early stages against the swinging ball. An unbeaten 201 for New South Wales in the Pura Cup was a brave and swift response, but while he remained a one-day fixture, he had to wait until the low-key series against Bangladesh to reclaim his Test place. Three muted innings forced him and his supporters to wait for the Ashes.

Until his sacking in 2005 Clarke was a ravishing shotmaker with an unshakeable temperament. He did not so much take guard as take off. His arrival was typically the cue for a string of wristy, audacious flashes through the off side. All the while he radiated a pointy-elbowed elegance reminiscent of a young Greg Chappell or Mark Waugh, who, like Clarke, waited long and uncomplainingly for a Test opening and then marked the occasion with a century. Unlike Chappell and Waugh, who learned the ropes in domestic and county cricket, Clarke cut his teeth in Australia's one-day side. His impact in pyjamas was startling: he racked up 208 runs in four games before he was finally dismissed, and after 150 matches averaged in the low 40s at a strike-rate hovering in the high 70s. His bouncy fielding and searing run-outs, usually from square of the wicket, add to his value, while his left-arm tweakers cajole important breakthroughs, including six surprised Indians in the second innings of his fourth Test at Mumbai.

A cricket nut since he was in nappies, Clarke honed his technique against the bowling machine at his dad's indoor centre. He is meticulous about his hair, adores fast cars, is proudly patriotic, wearing an Australian flag on the back of his bat in his early internationals, and before he played a Test he signed a record-breaking A$1.25m deal with Dunlop-Slazenger. A future star soon transformed into a genuine one, but it was not until the 2006-07 Ashes that he proved he was ready.



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Australian crickter Michael Clarke's profile and some latest image

Kim Clijsters bio-data,playing style and personal life

Bio-data

Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian tennis player. She is a former World No. 1 ranked player in singles and in doubles. As of September 28, 2009, she is ranked World No. 18.

Clijsters has won 35 WTA singles titles and 11 WTA doubles titles. She won the US Open singles title in 2005 and 2009. She has also won the WTA Tour Championships singles title in 2002 and 2003. In doubles, she's won the French Open and Wimbledon titles in 2003. Clijsters was twice a singles runner-up at the French Open and a one-time runner-up at the Australian Open, also reaching two Wimbledon singles semi-finals. She announced her retirement with immediate effect on 6 May 2007, but almost two years later, on 26 March 2009, she publicly declared her intent to return to the WTA tour for the 2009 summer hard court season. In only her third tournament back, she won her second US Open title, becoming the first unseeded player and wildcard to win the tournament, and the first mother to win a major since Evonne Goolagong in 1980.

Playing style

Clijsters is recognized for her deep, powerful, well-placed groundstrokes, as well as her court-wide defense, characterized by speed and athleticism. Clijsters, along with Jelena Janković and Svetlana Kuznetsova is among the few tennis players on either the Association of Tennis Professionals or Women's Tennis Association tours who can slide (known as the straddle) on all surfaces. After being defeated by Clijsters in the 2005 Nasdaq-100 Open, Maria Sharapova implied that Clijsters' strength lies in how she always forces her opponent to hit an extra shot, that "you just have to expect that she's going to get every ball back".

Personal life

Clijsters was born on 8 June 1983, in Bilzen, Limburg, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. She is daughter of Lei Clijsters, a former successful soccer player, and Els Vandecaetsbeek, a former national gymnastics champion. Lei Clijsters died of lung cancer on 4 January 2009. Clijsters says that she inherited footballer's legs from her father and a gymnast's flexibility from her mother. Kim's younger sister Elke finished 2002 as the ITF World Junior Doubles champion and retired in 2004 after back injuries.

In December 2003, Clijsters announced her engagement to Australian Lleyton Hewitt, but their relationship ended in October 2004.[8] In October 2006, Clijsters announced her engagement to American basketball player Brian Lynch, who is based in Kim's hometown of Bree. In an interview with Sportweekend, Clijsters stated that she was retiring to start a family. Clijsters and Lynch married secretly on 13 July 2007, at 6:00 in the morning at the Bree city hall. She was married by the mayor, with sister Elke, Lynch's brother Pat Lynch, and both sets of parents present.

Clijsters gave birth to a daughter on 27 February 2008, at 1:35 pm at the Vesalius hospital in Tongeren, Belgium. The girl, Jada Ellie, weighed 3.035 kg and measured 51 cm. Clijsters's mother had a son named Zeth with second husband Jan Goossens a few weeks after Jada Ellie was born.


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Kim Clijsters bio-data,playing style and personal life

Dinara Safina's playing style and her early life

Dinara Mikhailovna Safina (born April 27, 1986 in Moscow) is a Russian professional tennis player and is a former world number 1 women's tennis player. Currently Safina is ranked world number 2.

She has been the runner-up in three Grand Slam singles tournaments and won the women's doubles title at the 2007 US Open with Nathalie Dechy. She also won the Olympic silver medal in women's singles at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Her most recent achievement is runner-up in the 2009 French Open.

She is the younger sister of former World No. 1 men's player Marat Safin. She and her brother are the first brother-sister tandem in tennis history to both achieve #1 rankings.

Playing Style

Safina's game is built on her powerful groundstrokes which are hit heavy and flat. Her forehand is considered one of the best and is her "winner heavy" side, her backhand is hitted accurately and can open up the court which can devastate her opponents game. Due to her full power on every shot playing style she also produces a high number of unforced errors. She also has a big serve but is inconsistent most of the time thus delivering a high number of double faults.

Through the years her mental game significantly improved and also her speed she is also considered one of the most fit players on tour.

Early life

Safina was born in Moscow, Russia to Tatar parents. Her mother, tennis coach Rauza Islanova, was her trainer when she was younger. Safina's father is director of the Spartak tennis club in Moscow. At age 8 Safina and her family moved to Valencia, Spain and as a result Safina speaks fluent Spanish as well as Russian and English.

Previously, Safina was coached by Glen Schaap, former coach of Anna Chakvetadze and Nadia Petrova. Her current coach is Željko Krajan. She trains in Varazdin, Croatia.

Safina's idols growing up were Steffi Graf, Jelena Jankovic, Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport. More recently, she has stated that she idolises Rafael Nadal.


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Dinara Safina's playing style and her early life

The world greatest footballer Diego Maradona's litle history

Diego Armando Maradona (born 30 October 1960 in Lanús, Buenos Aires) is a former Argentine football player, and current manager of the Argentine national team. He is considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time; he finished first in an internet vote for the FIFA Player of the Century award, and he shared the award with Pelé.

Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Newell's Old Boys and Napoli, setting world-record contract fees. In his international career, playing for Argentina, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals. He played in four FIFA World Cup tournaments, including the 1986 World Cup where he captained Argentina and led them to their victory over West Germany in the final, winning the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player. In that same tournament's quarter-final round he scored two goals in a 2-1 victory over England that entered soccer history, though for two very different reasons. The first goal was an unpenalized handball known as the "Hand of God", while the second goal was a spectacular 60-metre weave through six England players, commonly referred to as "The Goal of the Century".

Early years

Diego Armando Maradona was born in Lanús, but raised in Villa Fiorito, a shantytown on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires,[6] to a poor family that had moved from Corrientes Province. He was the first son after three daughters. He has two younger brothers, Hugo (el Turco) and Eduardo (Lalo), both of whom were also professional football players.

At age 10, Maradona was spotted by a talent scout while he was playing in his neighborhood club Estrella Roja. He became a staple of Los Cebollitas (The Little Onions), the junior team of Buenos Aires's Argentinos Juniors. As a 12-year-old ball boy, he amused spectators by showing his wizardry with the ball during the halftime intermissions of first division games.

Playing style

Maradona playing for Argentinos Juniors in 1980
Maradona had a compact physique and could withstand physical pressure well. His strong legs and low center of gravity gave him an advantage in short sprints. His physical strengths were illustrated by his two goals against Belgium in the 1986 World Cup. Maradona was a strategist and a team player, as well as highly technical with the ball. He could manage himself effectively in limited spaces, and would attract defenders only to quickly dash out of the melee (as in the second 1986 goal against England), or give an assist to a free teammate. Being short, but strong, he could hold the ball long enough with a defender on his back to wait for a teammate making a run or to find a gap for a quick shot.

One of Maradona's trademark moves was dribbling full-speed on the left wing, and on reaching the opponent's goal line, delivering lethally accurate passes to his teammates. Another trademark was the Rabona, a reverse-cross pass shot behind the leg that holds all the weight. This maneuver led to several assists, such as the powerful cross for Ramón Díaz's header in the 1980 friendly against Switzerland. He was also a dangerous free kick taker.

Personal life

Family

His parents are Diego Maradona Snr and Dalma Salvadore Franco.
Maradona in 1981

Maradona married long-time fiancée Claudia Villafañe on November 7, 1989 in Buenos Aires, after the birth of their daughters, Dalma Nerea (b. 1987) and Giannina Dinorah (b. 1989), by whom he became a grandfather in 2009. In his autobiography, Maradona admits he was not always faithful to Claudia, even though he refers to her as the love of his life.

Maradona and Villafañe divorced in 2004. Daughter Dalma has since asserted that the divorce was the best solution for all, as her parents remained on friendly terms. They traveled together to Napoli for a series of homages in June 2005 and were seen together on many other occasions, including the Argentina matches during 2006 FIFA World Cup.

During the divorce proceedings, Maradona admitted he was the father of Diego Sinagra (b. Naples, 1986). The Italian courts had already so ruled in 1993, after Maradona refused to undergo DNA tests for proving or disproving his paternity. Diego Jr. met Maradona for the first time in May 2003 after tricking his way onto a golf course in Naples where Maradona was playing.

After the divorce, Claudia embarked on a career as a theatre producer, and Dalma is seeking an acting career; she has expressed her desire to attend the Actor's Studio in Los Angeles.

His younger daughter, Giannina, is now married to Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Agüero. His son Diego Sinagra is a soccer player in Italy.


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The world greatest footballer Diego Maradona's litle history