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.



Noticeable:World Cup Football is knocking at your door.So If you wanna watch live World Cup Football of everyday with free online then you have to visit into this blog or into the link: http://sportscelebritynews.blogspot.com

Steven Gerrard personal life and more...