Rising Football Star - Victor Wanyama, Kenyan footballer

Victor Mugabe Wanyama (born 25 June 1991) is a Kenyan footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or a centre back for Scottish Premier League side Celtic and the Kenya national team. Wanyama became the first ever Kenyan player to score in the UEFA Champions League when he scored the first goal in Celtic's historic 2-1 win over Barcelona on November 7th, 2012.

Wanyama comes from a very sporting family, his brother is Inter Milan midfielder McDonald Mariga currently on loan at Parma from Inter Milan, while other brothers Thomas and Sylvester Wanyama play for the 2009 Kenyan Premier League champions Sofapaka and club Sony Sugar respectively. His father Noah Wanyama was a footballer for AFC Leopards in the 1980s and his sister Mercy is a professional basketball player in Kenya. He is managed by ExtraTime and has a boot sponsorship deal with Nike.

 

Rising Football Star - Raheem Sterling, English footballer

Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is an English footballer who plays for Premier League club Liverpool and the English national team mainly as a winger. He began his youth career at Queens Park Rangers before signing for Liverpool in 2010. Sterling made his Premier League debut in the 2011–12 season. He represented England at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 level before being capped at full level by the national side for the first time in November 2012.

Sterling grew up in the Maverley area of Kingston, Jamaica and was raised by his grandmother. At the age of five Sterling emigrated to London, England with his mother. Once arrived, he attended Copland High School in Wembley, North West London.

 

Rising Football Star - Paul Pogba, French footballer

Paul Labile Pogba (born 15 March 1993) is a French footballer who plays for Italian club Juventus in Serie A. Of Guinean descent, he operates primarily as a midfielder and is comfortable at playing both in attack and defence. Pogba was described by his former club Manchester United as a "powerful, skillful, and creative" player who has "an eye for goal and a penchant for the spectacular.

Pogba started his football career playing for local amateur clubs in Paris such as US Roissy-en-Brie and US Torcy before joining professional club Le Havre in 2007. He played for Le Havre for two years before venturing to England to join Manchester United in 2009. Pogba's transfer was subject to controversial debate as his former club accused the English club of tapping up the player. After three years with Manchester United, in which he made seven first-team appearances, in July 2012, he departed the club to join Juventus after his contract with the English club expired.

Pogba is a French youth international having represented his nation at all levels for which he has been eligible. With the under-16 team, he captained his nation to victories at the Aegean Cup and the Tournoi du Val-de-Marne and, at under-17 level, played at the 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship.

Rising Football Star - Oscar, Brazilian footballer

Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Júnior (born 9 September 1991), commonly known as Oscar, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea and the Brazilian national team.

Oscar began his career at Sâo Paulo, where he won the Brazilian Serie A in 2008. In 2009, he went to court against the club due to irregularities in his contract. After a series of controversies he left for Internacional, where he spent the next three years of his career.

His displays for club and country caught the eye of Barclays Premier League clubs Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in 2012, and by the 9th July it appeared that Chelsea had won the race. About 2 weeks later Chelsea confirmed the deal, and Oscar was handed the number 11 shirt, following on from Chelsea legend Didier Drogba.

Oscar is a Brazil international and has represented his country at U-20 level, at the 2012 London Olympics and at senior level. On 20 August 2011, Oscar scored three goals in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup final win against Portugal, becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in the FIFA U-20 World Cup final. Oscar later described his performances at the tournament as being a "gateway to the senior side". He earned his first cap for the national team against Argentina. His first goal also came against Argentina in a 3-4 defeat in June 2012.

His playing style and ability have drawn comparison to Brazil international Kaká and Germany international Mesut Özil.

 

Football Star Wallpapers - Edin Džeko, Bosnian footballer

Edin Džeko (born 17 March 1986) is a Bosnian footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester City and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. He was named Bosnian Footballer of the Year for 2009 and 2010. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, he is known as Bosanski dijamant (The Bosnian Diamond). He has also played for Željezničar, FK Teplice, FK Ústí nad Labem and Wolfsburg.

Džeko has played 44 times for his country and scored 21 goals since 2007, becoming second highest Bosnian goal scorer of all time, a single goal short of Elvir Bolić. He scored nine goals during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, finishing as top scorer of Group 5. He made a name for himself while playing for Wolfsburg, with whom he won the Bundesliga in the 2008–09 season. He was second highest goal scorer with 26 goals. In the 2009–10 season, Džeko was the top scorer with 22 Goals. He also registered ten assists each in both seasons.

He scored an important equalizer for Manchester City in the 80th minute of the match during the fourth round match of the 2011 FA Cup against Notts County which ended in a 1–1 draw. His goal forced a replay for Manchester City and an FA Cup triumph. Džeko scored the only goal of the game in a 1–0 win against Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League on 25 April 2011 to ensure the club would directly qualify for their first ever Champions League tournament. Manchester City finished the season third, three points ahead of Arsenal.

During the 2011–12 season, Džeko scored four goals in one game for Manchester City, completing a "perfect hat-trick" against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. On the final day of the 2011–12 season, Džeko scored an equaliser against Queens Park Rangers in the 92nd minute, before Sergio Agüero won it for City with seconds to go, ensuring the team won a Premier League title for the first time in 44 years.

 

 

 

Football Star Wallpapers - Luka Modrić, Croatian footballer

Luka Modrić (born 9 September 1985) is a Croatian footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur and for the Croatia national football team as a midfielder.

Modrić's childhood coincided with the Croatian War of Independence. After showing promise in hometown club Zadar's youth team, he was signed by Dinamo Zagreb as a teenager in 2002. His professional career began with loan spells at Zrinjski Mostar and Inter Zaprešić. While he was playing for GNK Dinamo Zagreb, they won three consecutive league titles and several domestic cups, with Modrić named Prva HNL "Player of the Year" in 2007.

He moved to the Premier League in 2008 and has since achieved significant success with the Spurs. He played for the Croatian national team at Euro 2008 and Euro 2012.

 

Football Star Wallpapers - Gonzalo Higuaín, Argentine professional footballer

Gonzalo Gerardo "El Pipita" Higuaín (born 10 December 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer. He was born in France, attaining Argentine citizenship in 2007, and now holding dual nationality. He currently plays as a striker for Real Madrid and the Argentina national football team.

Higuaín was born in Brest, France, the son of the Argentine former footballer Jorge Higuaín, who was playing for Stade Brestois 29 as an expatriate. Therefore, he holds dual French-Argentine nationality. Having left the country at the age of 10 months, he did not return to France until the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Even though he does not speak French, he holds a French passport because his father was naturalized in France. He successfully applied for Argentine nationality in January 2007.

Higuaín has two older brothers, Nicolas and Federico and one younger brother, Lautaro.

In December 2006, Spanish club Real Madrid signed Higuaín for €13 million, after River Plate had earlier turned down a €10 million offer for the 19-year-old striker. His debut came on 11 January 2007 against Real Betis in the second round of the Copa del Rey in Seville. His presentation at the League came 3 days later, on 14 January 2007, against Real Zaragoza at home. Higuain was involved in the creation of numerous scoring chances and in the assistance for the only goal, which earned Madrid the victory. His first goal with Real came on 24 February when the team faced Atlético Madrid in the Madrid derby, scoring the tying goal (1–1) at the Estadio Vicente Calderón. Later on the season, Higuaín showed an impressive performance by scoring a last minute goal on a league match against Espanyol to earn his team a 4–3 victory when the tie was rampant on the scoreboard. However, during his first season in the Bernabéu, Higuaín arose some doubts over his performance due to his lack of goals.

 

Football Star Wallpapers - Neymar, Brazilian footballer

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), commonly known simply as Neymar is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward for Santos and the Brazilian national football team. He won the 2011 FIFA Puskás Award for scoring the best goal of the season in the Brazileirão in a 5–4 loss to Flamengo.

Born in Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo, Neymar joined Santos in 2003 and eventually made his first-team debut six years later aged 17 on 7 March 2009 in a 2–1 win against Oeste. He made another appearance the following week against Mogi Mirim, during which he scored his first goal for Santos. On 11 April, in the 2009 Campeonato Paulista semi-final first leg against Palmeiras, Neymar scored the decisive goal in a 2–1 win at Estádio Vila Belmiro. In the final however Santos suffered a 4–2 aggregate defeat to Corinthians.

On 15 April 2010, Neymar scored six goals for Santos in an 8–1 routing of Guarani in the round of 16 of the Brazilian Cup. Following the 2010 Campeonato Paulista in which Neymar scored 14 goals in 19 games, the club were crowned champions after a 5–5 aggregate win over Santo André in the finals. Neymar was subsequently given the award for the best player in the competition. Neymar's performances for Santos have drawn comparisons to other Brazilians, including Robinho and Pelé. In June 2010, Santos rejected a £12 million bid for him from English Premier League team West Ham United. Neymar said he did not think it was time to leave Santos, and that he was entirely focused on his current club, However, Renato Rodrigues insisted that he did not want to stay in Brazil.

Following Neymar's performances for Brazil's U-17 team at the 2009 U-17 World Cup in which he scored a goal in the opening match against Japan former Brazilian football players Pelé and Romário reportedly urged coach Dunga to take Neymar to the 2010 World Cup. Although the widespread opinion that Neymar deserved a place in Dunga's squad went as far as a 14,000 signature petition, and despite the huge pressure on Dunga to pick Neymar, he was omitted from both the squad of 23, and the stand-by list. Although Dunga described Neymar as "extremely talented", he claimed that he had not been tested sufficiently on the international level to earn a World Cup spot and he had failed to impress enough while on international duty. On 26 July 2010, Neymar was selected for the first time in the Brazil senior team by new head coach Mano Menezes for a friendly match against the United States to be played in East Rutherford, New Jersey. On 10 August 2010 he made his debut with the national team in that game, aged 18 years old, starting the match and wearing the number 11 jersey. He scored on his debut after 28 minutes, a header coming from an André Santos cross in a 2–0 win for Brazil. On 27 March 2011, he scored twice in a 2–0 win against Scotland at the Emirates Stadium. During the match against Scotland, a banana was thrown onto the pitch after he scored from the penalty spot, which led Neymar to complain about 'constant jeering and an atmosphere of racism', implying that Scottish fans exhibited racism. While Scottish officials explained that Neymar had been booed solely for perceived injury-feigning, a German student who was in the station amongst Brazil supporters said that he threw the banana with no racist intentions. This led to the Scottish Football Association asking the Brazilian Football Confederation for an apology for the accusations made to the Scottish fans. Neymar refused to apologise or retract his words claiming he 'did not accuse any person or any group of supporters'. Neymar took part at the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, where he scored two goals in the first round game against Ecuador.