FC Barcelona Player Profiles - Eric Abidal

Eric Abidal was signed in the summer of 2007 as a replacement for Gio. While he is a natural left back, Abidal can also play as a centre back when necessary with his combination of footballing skill, positioning and tactical awareness as well as his semi-legendary runs up the wing in support of the forwards.

Futbol Club Barcelona is Abidal's first team outside France and he arrived at the club after strong interest from Arsenal. Despite being pursued by Italian clubs also, he refused to move there because he feels the game in Italy is still too racist. His move to Barcelona is under a four year deal and on arrival in his new team was unable to assume is usual number 20 due to it already being worn by Deco and he wears 22 instead.

Chelsea FC

He moved from Olympique Lyon, who Barcelona have faced in the 2007-08 Champions League, with who he won the French league title on three occasions in a row (2004-5, 2005-6, 2006-7), as well as the French Cup of Champions twice (2004-5, 2005-6). As part of the deal to move to Barcelona, Lyon will gain half a million Euros if the Catalan team win the Champions League in the next four years. Previous clubs also include Lyon-La-Duchere, Monaco and Lille.

The player, who is of Martinique decent, was considered one of the best fullbacks in the country and played for the French national squad on more than 20 occasions, including being part of the team that were runners up in the 2006 World Cup.

FC Barcelona Player Profiles - Eric Abidal

A Short Biography of Famous Soccer Player - Frank Lampard

His complete name is Frank James Lampard. He was born in Romford, London, England on 20 June 1978. He is an English soccer player who now plays for Chelsea. His playing in the field is as Midfielder. For his club and national side, Lampard holds the role as vice-captain.

He is regarded as one of the best soccer players in the world. He has got the Chelsea Player of the Year award three times. In Premier League history, he is also is the highest goal scoring midfielder with 129 league goals. With seniors clubs, Lampard experienced playing soccer for West Ham United (1995-2001), Swansea City (1995-1996 as a loan), Chelsea (2001-).

Chelsea FC

Frank Lampard spent the majority of his early years playing soccer in his local park with the rest of his family. He has constantly been observed as a very determined individual, and that quality was linked with him from an early age.

He was first marked by England U-21 manager Peter Taylor, and his under-21 first appearance came on 13 November 1997 in a competition against Greece. In international career, since making his first appearance in October 1999Lampard has been played 82 times by England, and has made 20 goals. For two successive years in 2004 and 2005, he was selected as England player of the year.

As a professional soccer player, Lampard has won many honors with his clubs. With West Ham United, he won UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1999. and with Chelsea, he got UEFA Champions League (Runner-up: 2008), Premier League (Champion: 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10, and Runner-up: 2003-04, 2006-07, 2007-08), FA Cup (Winner: 2007, 2009, 2010, and Runner-up: 2002), Football League Cup (Winner: 2005, 2007, and Runner-up: 2008), FA Community Shield (Winner: 2005, 2009, and Runner-up: 2006, 2007).

In addition, Lampard also won many individual honors. Some of them are 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year (Silver Award), 2005 Ballon d'Or (Silver Award), FWA Footballer of the Year (2005), UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year (2008), World XI (2005), PFA Fans' Player of the Year (2005), England Player of the Year (2004, 2005), Euro 2004 (Team of the Tournament), Premier League Player of the Month (2003, 2005, 2008), Barclays Player Of The Season (2005, 2006), Chelsea Player of the Year (2004, 2005, 2009), PFA Premier League Team of the Year (2004, 2005, 2006), Premier League's Player of the Decade, (2000-2009), ESM Team of the Year (2005, 2006), and FWA Tribute Award (2010).

A Short Biography of Famous Soccer Player - Frank Lampard

The Rise of Professional Soccer Player Salaries

Soccer has come a long way in the last twenty years. There was a time when players reminded us of the fact that professional soccer was a short career lasting only around 10 to 15 years and less than that for some players. Clubs would sometimes help out their old players by granting a testimonial match with attendance revenue being given to the player in question.

In those days, it was hard not to feel some sympathy for players who had fallen on hard times for a variety of reasons. But today professional soccer player salaries are astronomical and continue to rise. Many players are now earning more in a week than the fans who pay to watch them earn in a year. This sometimes leads to an uneasy relationship between the players and the fans that are ultimately funding these salaries. If the fans think a particular player is not trying hard enough, they will voice their opinions vociferously.
 
The top earners have now broken the six figure barrier pocketing over £100,000 per week which is an extraordinary amount of money for anyone to earn in a 7 day period. This has led to calls for the introduction of a salary cap to try slowing down the spiralling cost of player wages which critics claim is out of control.
 
The argument against introducing a salary cap is that it may prove to be illegal under the current European law. Another way to curb spending would be limiting the number of foreign players each club is able to field at any one time although there is a case both for and against this kind of measure.
 
The problem with a constant increase in salaries is that a climate of competition is created with players on the lower end of the scale wanting their contract to be brought more into line with their team mates. Money talks and this can also dictate transfer activity with players often choosing one club over another for financial reasons rather than football ones.
 
For more football related articles please visit English Football Blog for the latest news and comment on the premiership soccer scene.

Chelsea

The Rise of Professional Soccer Player Salaries

Player Profile of Frank Lampard

Frank James Lampard was born on 20 June 1978 in Romford, London. He plays in the midfield position for Chelsea and International Football for England.

Lampards father Frank Lampard senior played for West Ham which is were Frank Lampard junior started his career. His senior debut came in the 1997-98 season, which saw West Ham finish fifth in the league, their best Premier League positioning to date (not including the old first division).

Chelsea Football Club

It was in 2001 that Lampard transferred to Chelsea for a staggering £11 million. Lampard is a great influence and key part for Chelsea by helping them win two Premier League titles and domestic double cup winners in 2007. He has also developed in becoming a great goal scorer for club and country.

In 2009, Lampard was named as the Premier League's Player of the decade, this was also a good year as it saw him score 22 league goals and helping Chelsea win the 2009-10 Premier League title and the F.A Cup.

He is in the clubs and premier league history by becoming the midfielder scoring the most league goals, he has also been awarded as being chosen as Player of the Year on three occasions.

In 2005 Lampard was voted second as the FIFA World Player of the Year and also England's Player of the year in 2004 and 2005.

In 1997 Lampard made his debut for the England under 21's, he has been capped on 82 occasions, his first cap game was in 1999 and he has now scored 20 goals for them. He has played in two World Cups for England, 2006 in which he scored five goals and was Englands top goal scorer, and four goals helped England qualify in 2010 in which he played in all games.

Individual Achievements

2005 FIFA World Player of the Year - Silver Award
2005 Ballon d'Or - Silver Award
2005 FWA Footballer of the year
2008 UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year
2005 PFA Fans Player of the Year
2005 England Player of the Year
2004 England Player of the Year
September 2003, April 2005, October 2005 and October 2008
Premier League Player of the Month
2006, 2006
Barclays Player of the Season
2004, 2005, 2009
Chelsea Player of the Year

His autobiography, Totally Frank, was published in August 2006.

Player Profile of Frank Lampard

EPL Season 2007-08 - Your Player Transfer Guide

Shirley Bassey's song Big Spender could not come truer for the 20-club English Premiership League. With the new season starting on 11 August 2007, the transfer outlay for the 20 top soccer clubs in England has already exceeded the £300m spent last season - then already setting a dubious expenditure record. In fact, soccer pundits expect their total outlay is to surpass the magical £500m mark by the time the transfer window shuts on 31 August 2007, which is more than enough to feed millions of homeless people around the world. Indeed, the EPL is by far the world's most successfully and obscenely expensive soccer league.

Get this: with the latest television deal signed and sealed, the worldwide TV rights almost doubled to £625m, including highlights, radio, Internet and mobile-phone contracts, total amount expected to be poured into the game is well over £2.7b for the next three years. As consumers, we are indirectly funding this amount of money by paying more to watch live TV action.

Strange enough, baring an exception 1995 whereby the title was won on the last day by Blackburn Rovers, the crown has been worn by only three clubs, with Manchester United dominating follow by Arsenal and Chelsea. We find it difficult to believe that the title will escape from the clutches of any of these three clubs in the coming new season. But who knows? Perhaps Liverpool, the most successful English club in history with their massive outlay this season, will win their first ever EPL title.

In the latest transfer market, Manchester United has fired the first salvo by spending over £50m to procure new players so far. Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspurs are playing catch-up after spending over £30m each, with surprising Portsmouth, West Ham and Fulham over £20m each, and Arsenal, Sunderland, Birmingham and Chelsea a little over £10m each. With the league being so lucrative, it is easy to understand why even modest clubs are splurging to maximum their chances of staying up for as many seasons as possible. This is evidenced by the transfer dealings of new Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez, who sanctioned more than £20m worth of deals, well surpassing the measly £1m spent four years ago. And this makes Fulham the biggest spender in West London, surpassing the mighty Chelsea.

For people like me without deep pockets, I am contented with spending a few dollars on a wager that Shirley Bassey's Big Spender will top the bill board charts once again this coming season. Don't bet against it. Cheers.

Cheap Shirt Cheap Levi's Mens Jeans Cost Lasik Laser Eye Surgery

Cristiano Ronaldo is the Hottest Soccer Player in the Circuit

Cristiano Ronaldo, was born on 5 February 1985 in San Antonia, Madeira. He is a Portuguese soccer player who plays in the winger position and is known for his ability to score goals using both his right and left foot. Cristiano Ronaldo holds another distinction and that is of being the most expensive player in soccer history. He was transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid for £80 million (US$132m/EUR94m).

Cristiano Ronaldo started playing soccer at the age of eight and started off with an amateur team called Andorinha. He signed up with a local club called Nacional in 1995 and went on to win the title. Following this, he joined a 3-day soccer trial with Sporting Clube de Portugal and was later signed on for an undisclosed sum. Cristiano Ronaldo went on to join other youth players of Sporting who he had trained with at the Alcochete at Sproting's football academy. Ronaldo achieved the distinction of being the only Sporting player to have played for the U-16, U-17, U-18, B-team, and first team of the club in the same season. He ended up scoring two goals on his debut with Sporting against Moreirense during the UEFA Under-17 Championships.

Cristiano Ronaldo was spotted at the age of 16 by Ex-Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier but at that time Liverpool declined because they felt he was too young. Later on in 2003, he caught the attention of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson while playing for Sporting. Sporting defeated Manchester United 3-1 in Lisbon.

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first ever Portugese player in the Manchester United team. He was signed on after the 2002-03 season for £12.24 million and he scored his first goal as a United player against Portsmouth in November 2003. He was also responsible for scoring the 1000th premier league goal for Manchester United in October 2005 against Middlesbrough. In 2005, Ronaldo was voted as the FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year.

Cristiano Ronaldo earned his first Portugal team cap against Kazakhstan in August 2003 as they went on to win the match 1-0. He made it to the Euro 2004 in spite of their loss to Greece in the finals. Ronaldo was able to score only 2 goals in the Euro 2004 championship. The same year, he went on to represent Portugal in the 2004 Summer Olympics and was considered to be the second-highest scorer in the FIFA World Cup qualification stage of the European zone.

In the 2006-07 season, Ronaldo won consecutive "Barclays Player of the Month" award and thus became the third player in Premier League Championship history to have achieved it. In the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, Cristiano Ronaldo scored eight goals for Portugal but finished the tournament with only one goal. In total, Ronaldo has appeared in 336 matches playing for Sporting CP, Manchester United, and Real Madrid and has scored 136 goals. He has also published an autobiography titled "Moments"

Cost Lasik Laser Eye Surgery

English Football - No Player is Bigger Than the Club Itself

In modern day football, many of the sports star players are paid massive salaries. Some players are more like Hollywood film stars rather than professional sportsmen. That is when the fame and fortune goes to the footballers head. There have been many instances of players becoming very popular and courted by other clubs. This can make some individuals think they are more important than their employers.

It might be different in some countries but in English football no player is bigger than the club itself. Players come and go regardless of how good they might be but football clubs have existed for as long as the sport itself. The two go hand in hand and that will never change. For this reason alone clubs are far more important than individual players. When a player believes he is bigger and more powerful than the club it is a slap in the face to everyone.
 
Players would do well to remember the time, effort and hard work that managers and coaching staff devote to their development. These people are unsung heroes and rarely get any credit for their endeavours. Sadly this is all too often forgotten as the star player is usually more concerned with his own publicity and celebrity status.
 
Professional football is a very lucrative career these days. Because the wages have risen so much some players have started behaving like spoilt children. These footballers are a selfish bunch and are only interested in one thing. They ought to remember just who is paying their wages. Football supporters ultimately fund the player wages and deserve to be given some respect in return.
 
The vast majority of English football supporters would agree that no player is bigger than the club itself. Some football players have been guilty of biting the hand that feeds them. This does not go down well with the average fan that will spend a considerable sum of money supporting their favourite team. No matter how famous or wealthy a player becomes they should respect the club and what it has done for their career.

Cheap Levi's Mens Jeans

Chelsea's Greatest Player - Gianfranco Zola

Zola began his footballing career with Sardinian side Nuorese in the early eighties, he also spent three seasons at Torres before signing for Serie A team Napoli in 1989. Alongside Zola at Napoli were football stars such as Diego Maradona and Brazilian striker Careca. Zola spent many hours training with Maradona and admitted to learning everything from the Argentine.

Ruud Hullit signed Zola for Chelsea in 1996 for £4.5 million. Zola fitted in straight away, unlike many Italian players who find it hard to adapt to the pace of English football, he was instrumental in helping the side reach the FA Cup final which they went on to win, beating Middlesbrough 2-1. At the end of the season he was voted FWA Player Of The Year, the first Chelsea player ever to do so.

His skill, agility and goal scoring instincts helped Chelsea reach another FA Cup final in 2000 when they beat Aston Villa 1-0. Zola forged a great striking partnership with Jimmy Floyd Hasslebank and also went on the score one of the best ever goals for Chelsea. In an FA cup tie against Norwich, he back heeled a corner inside the near post as the ball was in mid air.

During the 2001/2002 season, new manager Claudio Ranieri was keen to introduce younger blood to the squad and Zola was often sidelined. He returned to Italy in 2003 to play for Cagliari in his native Sardinia.

In 2003 Zola was voted Chelsea's best ever player and a year later he recieved an OBE, an honorary member of the British Empire in a ceremony in Rome.

Cheap Shirt Shopping | Reviews and Compare Prices