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.

 

Soccer Star Wallpapers - Mario Balotelli, Italian footballer

Mario Barwuah Balotelli (born Mario Barwuah; 12 August 1990) is an Italian footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester City and the Italy national team.

He started his professional football career at Lumezzane and played for the first team twice before having an unsuccessful trial at FC Barcelona, and subsequently joining Internazionale in 2007. Inter manager Roberto Mancini brought Balotelli into the first team, but when Mancini left, Balotelli's disciplinary record fell away. He had a strained relationship with new head coach José Mourinho and was suspended from Inter's first team in January 2009 after a number of disciplinary problems.

His problems deepened in March 2010 when he came under heavy criticism by Inter fans after he appeared on the Italian TV show Striscia la notizia, wearing an A.C. Milan jersey. This damaged the prospect of him having a long career at Inter, but he did make several appearances after that. With doubts over his career at Inter, former coach Roberto Mancini had since moved to Manchester City and decided to give Balotelli a fresh chance at a new club. He joined Manchester City in August 2010, where his performances and off-field activities have continued to be enigmatic and unpredictable.

Balotelli, who is of Ghanaian descent, earned his first cap for the Italian national team on 10 August 2010 in a friendly match against the Côte d'Ivoire.

 

 

 

 

Soccer Star Wallpapers - Andrés Iniesta, Spanish football

Andrés Iniesta Luján (born 11 May 1984) is a Spanish football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team.

Iniesta came through La Masia, the Barcelona youth academy, and impressed from an early age. He made his first-team debut in 2002, aged 18. He began playing regularly during the 2004–05 season, and has remained in the side ever since. He was an integral part of the sextuple-winning Barcelona side in 2009, the only time which a club has achieved six titles in a year.

Iniesta played for Spain at Under-16, Under-19 and Under-21 levels, before making his international debut in 2006. He was selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, playing one game, as Spain went out in the second round. He helped Spain qualify for Euro 2008, and played an important role in the side as they went on to win the competition, playing every game and being selected in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. Iniesta was selected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was a key member of the victorious Spanish side; he scored the winning goal in the final against the Netherlands, also being named Man of the Match, and was selected in the tournament's All-Star Team. He was also the Man of the Match for two other World Cup games.

Iniesta comes from a small village named Fuentealbilla in the province of Albacete, Castile–La Mancha. At the age of 12, while playing for Albacete in a junior seven-a-side tournament in Brunete, he attracted the attention of scouts from many clubs around Spain. His parents knew the FC Barcelona youth team coach, Enrique Orizaola, and he persuaded them to consider sending Iniesta to the Barcelona youth academy. Iniesta travelled there with his parents and visited La Masia, the Spanish farmhouse where the team house their young players; the trip convinced them to enroll Iniesta in the Barcelona youth ranks. Iniesta says he "cried rivers" the day he left for La Masia and struggled being separated from his parents; he was very shy and kept to himself while there.

He captained the Barcelona Under-15 team to victory in the Nike Premier Cup of 1999, scoring the winning goal in the last minute of the final, and being named player of the tournament. The trophy was presented by one of Iniesta's idols: the then first-team captain Josep Guardiola, whose poster hung above Iniesta's bed. Guardiola gave Iniesta a signed photograph dedicated to "the best player I've ever seen", and it was around this time that he reportedly said to Barcelona midfielder and then-rising star Xavi that, "You will retire me, but Iniesta will retire us both." As a manager, Guardiola would make Xavi and Iniesta the heart of his treble-winning Barcelona side of 2009, a decade after his famous prediction.

Iniesta rose through the club's youth teams and, by the age of 16, was already the key player for FC Barcelona B. Barcelona manager Louis van Gaal handed Iniesta his senior first-team debut on 29 October 2002, in a UEFA Champions League group game against Club Brugge. He appeared ten times in the 2003–04 league, starting in five of the games and scoring once as Barcelona finished second behind Valencia CF.

   

 

 

Football Star Wallpapers - Riccardo Montolivo, Italian footballer

Riccardo Montolivo (born 18 January 1985 in Caravaggio, Province of Bergamo) is an Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club Fiorentina and the Italian national team. He will join Milan on 1 July 2012.

Montolivo is a prototypical "regista" (deep-lying playmaker), similar to Andrea Pirlo. Though he prefers to play in the middle, he can play anywhere including defensive midfield but he is more comfortable in an attacking role. Montolivo was born to an Italian father and German mother.

Montolivo began his career in Serie B with Atalanta. At the age of 18, he made his debut during the 2003–04 season. He played 41 matches and scored four goals, helping Atalanta gain promotion to Serie A. In his first season in Serie A, he played 32 times and scored three goals. However, his efforts were in vain as Atalanta were relegated back down to Serie B.

In May 2012, Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri announced that Montolivo would join the club on a free transfer when his contract with Fiorentina expired on 30 June. "Next season Montolivo will arrive and he is a very talented player with great technique," said Allegri to Milan Channel.

 

 

Football Star Wallpapers - Thiago Motta, Italian footballer

Thiago Motta (born 28 August 1982) is an Italian footballer who plays for Paris Saint-Germain F.C. in Ligue 1, as a central midfielder.

Having spent his early career at FC Barcelona, his main traits are physical presence, good passing, and a powerful mid-range shot, but he is also known to be injury-prone. He also played two and a half seasons with Internazionale, winning 11 major titles between the two clubs combined.

An Italian citizen before his arrival in Europe (he is of Italian descent), Motta represented its national team since 2011.