Best Facts of Oliver Bierhoff

Not many players can be very iconic like Oliverr Bierhoff in terms of a heading in the world of football. His heading made the German national team dramatically became a winner in the European Cup in 1996. Udinese and Milan also had positive impact from Bierhoff's heading.

Oliver Bierhoff, the Germany striker and hero of the 1996 European Cup, believes he can fly. Bierhoff relied on his head to fly.

Oliver Bierhoff (image taken from faz.net)

He is not a great talent footballer, where he always has to fight hard to reach the best level. This then makes him always feel humble when he achieves a success.

King of Heading

Bierhoff started his career in Italy with Ascoli, one year after Germany became a champion of World Cup  in 1990, but his name came to prominence while playing for Udinese in 1995.

On June 30, 1996, his name is engraved in the history of the world of football. The man who was then 28 years old changed the course of the final match.

Oliver Bierhoff (image taken from acmilan.com)

Oliver Bierhoff went into the field as a substitute with 20 minutes remaining. At that time Germany faced the Czech Republic and lags 0-1 from Patrik Berger's penalty goal.

Der Panzer, playing for the second time in the European Cup after reunification of West and East Germany, suffered a storm injury for this final match so it was having trouble against Czech Republic driven by energetic winger Karel Poborsky.

However, in just four minutes he scored with a heading that made the score into a draw.

The dynamics of the match are changing. Czech Republic, which initially took control of the match began to weaken. On the other hand, Germany is becoming aggressive.

Bierhoff scored his second goal of the game with a shot back to the body that deceived Petr Kouba in the 95th minute.

At that time, only one goal was needed in extra-time. The second goal created by Bierhoff is the first golden goal in world of football.

Golden goal became a popular term in 1996 and Bierhoff was synonymous with that achievement.

Oliver Bierhoff (image taken from kingfut.com)

After Bierhoff succeeded in becoming a hero for Germany at Euro 1996, his name was cultured by the Udinese people. He was asked to become a captain, and he is considered one of the important parts of Udinese's revival in Serie A. But Bierhoof always refused his status as a star player.

In the 1997/98 Serie A season, Bierhoff became the top scorer with 27 goals. He also brought Udinese through to the UEFA Cup (currently Europa League). One season later, his 20th goal with AC Milan ensured a scudetto. Overall Bierhoff successfully created 103 goals, mostly created for his greatness in the air, as long as in Serie A. Given the great reputation of the defensive players in Serie A and how systematically they are in defense, the achievement is certainly remarkable. His prowess is not something exaggerated.

Read other post about a football player who is call as Il Capitano.

Sources:

• Legenda: Oliver Bierhoff, Tinta Emas si Pencetak Gol Emas: https://juara.bolasport.com/read/ragam/sosok/139721-legenda-oliver-bierhoff-tinta-emas-si-pencetak-gol-emas
• Mengenang Legenda: Oliver Bierhoff, Lelaki Rendah Hati Terus Terbang Tinggi: https://www.fourfourtwo.com/id/features/mengenang-legenda-oliver-bierhoff-lelaki-rendah-hati-terus-terbang-tinggi

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Best Facts of Paolo Cesare Maldini

Paolo Cesare Maldini or Paolo Maldini or Maldini has a variety of abilities in football, defense or attack. But, his greatest ability is to block the movement of the opponent. His ability to attack from the left has inspired many players in the next generation.

Maldini is a beautiful defense symbol in football. He is not the type of defender who often do tackle to stop the opponent. He has the ability to do so, but his execution time is almost always perfect. Maldini leaves the opponent in a state of confusion rather than in pain. Basically he has all the basic skills that a defender needs: strong, fast, calm, intelligent and the ability to read the direction of the opponent's attack.

Paolo Cesare Maldini (image taken from fourfourtwo.com)

When in a one-on-one situation, Maldini seemed to be one step ahead of his opponent. He will calmly follow the movements of the opponent and read where they will kick the ball. Maldini is a figure who anticipates the coming of trouble, and if he fails to anticipate it, he will gracefully overcome it.

Il Capitano

Paolo Maldini is an artist in the world of football. He has given everything to help AC Milan win as many titles as they can: five Champions League trophies, seven Serie A titles, five European Super Cups, and one Coppa Italia have been a testament to his contribution to Milan's glorious era.

Maldini debut with Rosonerri occurred on January 20, 1985 when Milan face Udinese. At that time he came on for Sergio Battistini. Maldini's age was only 16 years old. Although it was the only chance for Maldini to play with Milan that season, his talent became one of Milan's long history successes in the following years.

Paolo Cesare Maldini (image taken from skysports.com)

On his debut, Maldini was positioned by coach Nils Liedholm as the right defender. The following season, Maldini's position was changed to the left defender, as his ability to use both legs. In this position Maldini became a legend as a left defender.

Three years later, under the coaching of Arrigo Sacchi, Maldini successfully presented his first trophy for Milan. The Serie A title of this season was the start of a series of trophies that came to Milan with Maldini as one of their key players.

In 1997, after Franco Baresi (captain and central defender of Milan) retired, Maldini began to try a position as a central defender. This position is well implemented by him. Until now Paolo Maldini is also known as a central defender. Maldini is also known for his influential leadership, his calm temperament and his impeccable defenses.

In the late 80s and early 90s was an era in which Milan seemed to be the greatest club in the world of football. They won three Champions League trophies (1989, 1990, and 1994) and Maldini made a major contribution to the success as Milan players at a young age. Remarkably, it is not the last European trophy that he will offer. Over the next decade, he regained the trophy twice (2003 and 2007) as the team captain he has held since 1996.

Got the title as Il Capitano, Maldini became a symbol of good leadership for AC Milan or the Italian national team.

Paolo Maldini plays in the Italian national team as a left defender. In 1998, he became a central defender in the central three-defensive system at the 1998 World Cup. Afterwards, along with his position in Milan, Maldini always played as a central defender in the Italian national team.

Maldini is the player with the most record in playing for the Italian national team, although he has never been a champion on an international level. Maldini participated in four World Cups and three European Cups.

Paolo Cesare Maldini (image taken from yurianharis.blogspot.co.id)

Although Maldini did not succeed in bringing his country to any international tournaments, his prowess at the left defensive position made him became one of the players in The Best Team of World Cup in 1990 and 1994 . His elegant defense game is a legacy that will always inspire many the current Italian defender. His long career made his philosophy as a defender able to cross several generations, while his ability to adapt to change had made him the right figure to be a model throughout the ages.

For all the achievements and loyalty given by Maldini who only played for AC Milan throughout his career, then AC Milan disable costume number 3 of AC Milan. This costume will only be reactivated when someone from the Maldini dynasty uses it as the main player of AC Milan in the future.

Read other post about a football player who is called as The Santo.

Sources:

• Mengenang Legenda: Paolo Maldini, Legenda Besar Italia yang Tak Pernah Menjuara Piala Dunia: https://www.fourfourtwo.com/id/features/mengenang-legenda-paolo-maldini-legenda-besar-italia-yang-tak-pernah-menjuarai-piala-dunia

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Best Facts of Iker Casillas Fernandez

Iker Casillas is not an eccentric type of goalkeeper like Higuita or Campos, but he is capable of doing a great rescue under the crossbar, so a 100 percent chance by the opponent to score a goal can be thwarted.

There is something interesting from the words of Iker Casillas when Florentino Perez is building a squad 'Los Galacticos' for the sake of his dream to make Real Madrid became the greatest in Spanish and European football. But Iker does not like the designation of Los Galactico. He prefers where he comes from, "I am not Galactico, I am from Mostoles".

Iker Casillas (image taken from www.uefa.com)

The Santo

Not without reason why Iker Casillas is regarded as a 'Santo' by loyal fans of Real Madrid. 25 years togetherness Casillas with El Real passed by through difficult times and glories. Casillas has always proved himself to be a prominent figure in a crucial moment.

Not only respected by his teammates, Iker is also respected by his opponents. The superb reflexes from Casillas make it worth mentioning as one of the best goalkeepers in the Spanish league even in the world.

Iker Casillas (image taken from www.90min.com)

Iker Casillas Fernández (born in Móstoles, Madrid, Spain, May 20, 1981) is a footballer who plays as a goalkeeper from Spain. He is the goalkeeper for Real madrid, F.C. Porto, and the Spanish national team. He also serves as captain of the Spanish national team.

Casillas started his career at a football club in his hometown. He also became part of the Spanish teenage team and won the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup and the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1999.

The legend of madridista, Iker Casillas is a legendary goalkeeper at Real Madrid and Spanish football. He started joining the club when he was 9 years old and defended blanco costume for 25 years. Throughout this time he has turned out to be one of the greatest references in the history of this club, capturing the respect, affection, and admiration of madridismo.

Casillas started his career in Real Madrid's junior squad for the 1990-91 season. On November 27, 1997 at the age of 16, he was first called to the first team to face Rosenborg in the Champions League. He replaces the senior goalkeeper from Germany, Bodo Illgner.

In the Champions League final of 2000, Casillas became the youngest goalkeeper to appear in the final of the most prestigious club championship in Europe. When Real Madrid won 3-0 over Valencia, Casillas was 19 years old.

He has played 725 official matches, of which he has won 19 titles. The victory added also with 1 World Cup and 2 European Cups with the Spanish national team. He is the goalkeeper who won the golden gloves award at the World Cup in 2010.

2007-08 season is a sweet season for Casillas. In this season he helped Real Madrid to retake the 31st La Liga title and conceded only 32 goals in 36 games to claim the Zamora Trophy.

In February 2009, Casillas matched Paco Buyo's record of 454 games (as a goalkeeper) and has since surpassed him to become Real Madrid's most-played goalkeeper of all time.

During the 2011-12 season, Casillas won the IFFHS Best Goalkeeper award, making him the first and only goalkeeper to win it four times.

Iker Casillas (image taken from www.zimbio.com)

Casillas played his 600th match for Real Madrid on January 22, 2012 in a 4-1 win against Athletic Bilbao.

On 2 May 2012, Casillas won his fifth La Liga title and his first title as Real Madrid captain, with a 3-0 win in Bilbao.

He was also elected five times in the formation of Eleven World Player by FIFA FIFPro and 5 times selected as the best goalkeeper by IFFHS. His success in the sport also led to him being elected to the award of Prince Asturias in the Sports Sector, Real Orden Medal of Merito Deportivo, and the Madrid Community Gold Medal.

Read other post about a football player who is called as The Batigol.

Sources:

• Iker Casillas: https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iker_Casillas
• Mengapa Casillas Dijuluki Saint Iker?: https://www.kompasiana.com/wefi/mengapa-casillas-dijuluki-saint-iker_55a48d0b5093733d05641b4a
• Menguak di Balik Julukan Saint Iker untuk Casillas: https://soccer.sindonews.com/read/1023377/55/menguak-di-balik-julukan-saint-iker-untuk-casillas-1436805333

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Best Facts of Gabriel Omar Batistuta

Who is Argentina's sharpest striker in Serie A history? That person is Gabriel Omar Batistuta. He was called as Batigol. Batigol scored 184 goals in 318 Serie A matches from 1991 to 2003.

He has a hard shot. He can use both legs equally well. He is also good at dueling in the air. He can run fast. He is a free-kick execution expert. He has charisma as a leader. Gabriel Batistuta is a reference as a perfect bomber in the world of modern football.

Gabriel Batistuta (image taken from dailymail.co.uk)

The Batigol

In his time, Batistuta was known as a terrible penalty box monster for the opponent. He is a true number 9 striker with complete ability.

Batistuta became famous when playing for Fiorentina. Together with the Italian club, he is like a living icon and legend.

Gabriel Batistuta (image taken from football365.com)

The man born February 1, 1969 is collecting 207 goals in 332 parties in various events.

Most goals are created through his dominant foot: right. With that foot, Batistuta created 92 goals.

However, his left foot remains dangerous because it creates 15 goals. He is also horrible in the air. A total of 30 goals created through a header or 18 percent of the total league goal for Fiorentina.

Still not enough? Add the fact of herself to be a terrifying set-piece executor to the enemy with the power of a shot. La Gazzetta dello Sport recorded a personal record of Batistuta's kick rate reaching 106 kilometers per hour.

Long ago, the seeds of Batigol legend had been found in a place, about 800 kilometers north of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires.

The name of the city is Reconquista. At that time, the Argentine junior national team set up a trial agenda against a local team of reconquista children. As a result, the local boy group won 2-1. Batistuta was in the spotlight for scoring two winning goals for his team.

The action then drew the interest of a junior team coach from Newell's Old Boys, Jorge Griffa. He believes the child will be a special player if trained intensively.

The talented boy was eventually recruited by Newell's as his first professional club in 1988-1989.

After playing for River Plate, Batisuta's great talent became visible with Boca Juniors in 1990-1991.

His performance at the club led him to fly to Italy to join Fiorentina. In La Viola, Batistuta never missed scoring double-digit goals in 9 seasons (1991-2000).

Despite being a living icon in Fiorentina, he needs different challenges in his career. 

His desire was answered through the first scudetto of the bomber in his debut season with AS Roma (2000-2001). The title he had never felt during play for La Viola and became a single scudetto during his time in Italy. It feels ironic for a striker as great as he is.

Gabriel Batistuta (image taken from dailymail.co.uk)

After playing for AS Roma, Batistuta tried his luck in old age with Inter Milan (2002-2003) and a Qatar club, Al Arabi (2003-2005). He retired in March 2005.

In an active career for 17 years, the number of goals he created is not as much as today's Argentine superstar Lionel Messi.

He also left a record in the Argentine national team as an all-time king of goals for Argentina with 56 goals.

Read other post about a football player who is called as The Maestro.

Sources:

• Bolaretro: Batigol Masih yang Terdepan: https://juara.bolasport.com/read/ragam/bola-retro/81587-bolaretro-batigol-masih-yang-terdepan
• Gabriel Batistuta: https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Batistuta
• Legenda: Gabriel Batistuta, Monster Nomor 9 Sejati: https://juara.bolasport.com/read/ragam/sosok/141163-legenda-gabriel-batistuta-monster-nomor-9-sejati

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Best Facts of Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane will always be remembered as one of the maestros in the world of football. His ability to play the ball and his career as a player is remarkable. He was called Zizou.

He started his professional career in 1989 in the small club of France, AS Cannes. Zidane only took three seasons since the promotion of the club's academy to make Girondins Bordeaux want to have him.

Zinedine Zidane (image taken from airtelfootball.ug)

In 1992, Zidane moved to Bordeaux. Four years with Les marine et blanc, he won the Intertoto Cup in 1995 and became runner-up in the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League) in 1995-1996.

The Maestro

Zidane grew up to be a great playmaker in Bordeaux. His ability to dribble, passing, keeping the ball, and individual action through opposing players is Zizou's main skill.

Zinedine Zidane (image taken from betway.co.za)

Performance with Bordeaux had made some Premier League clubs interested in having him. However, the offer from Juventus makes Zidane decided to leave. Zidane's goal to leave is to win the Champions League.

In early 1996-1997, Zidane was officially joined to Juventus. In that season, Zidane won the Serie A and Intercontinental Cup (now the Club World Cup).

As a Juventus player, Zidane successfully won the title of the world's best player version of FIFA or now known as FIFA Ballon d'Or.

However, the man who was born in Marseille, June 23, 1972 was not able to win the Champions League with Juventus. Zidane finally received an offer from Real Madrid in 2001. Real Madrid bought him with a high world transfer record at the time, 77.5 million euros.

Zidane's decision to join Real Madrid in order to meet his desire to win the Champions League was right. In his first season, he immediately won the title.

In fact, the Champions League trophy was successfully obtained by Real Madrid through his left foot shot to bring Madrid win over Bayer Leverkusen with a score of 2-1. Zidane was also selected to be the best player in this match.

Zinedine Zidane (image taken from cayaraha.com)

Zidane's success at club level also took place with the French national team. Zidane first became part of the French team in 1994. He is believed to be a team playmaker after Les Bleus can not play Eric Cantona. Eric Cantona could not play for a year as a result of his "kung fu kick incident".

Zidane played his debut match with France as a reserve player on 17 August 1994 against the Czech Republic. He successfully created two goals in this match.

Four years later at the 1998 World Cup that was held in his country, Zidane successfully gave the first world title for France. In the final match against Brazil, Zidane created two goals by heading to bring France's win over Brazil with a score of 3-0.

The world title was also successfully completed by France by winning the European Cup in 2000 in Belgium-Netherlands. This moment is the peak of the football glory of Les Bleus with Zidane.

Zidane ended his career at Real madrid in 2006. His last achievement as part of the national team was to bring France became runner-up at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Read other post about a soccer player who gets a call as The Phenomenon.

Sources:

• Legenda: Zinedine Zidane, Akhir Pahit Karier Gemilang Sang Maestro: https://juara.bolasport.com/read/ragam/sosok/161423-legenda-zinedine-zidane-akhir-pahit-karier-gemilang-sang-maestro

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Best Facts of Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima

The legendary Brazilian striker, Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima or familiarly known as Ronaldo is a dreaded penalty box predator in his time. Ronaldo is known to have a fast movement, able to shoot with both feet, agile, balanced, full of acceleration, and master a variety of techniques, such as elastico (shift the ball to the right and reverse quickly to the left), step over (rotate the right foot and left on top balls), and nutmeg ability.

Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima (image taken from scoopnest.com)

Because of him, I like to watch the football matches. His individual speed and skill kept me always looking forward to his matches, both when playing for the club and for the Brazilian national team. He always looks amazing as well as horrible for his opponents.

Ronaldo The Phenomenon

Ronaldo started his football career in 1993 by strengthening the Cruzeiro team. He debuted at the age of 16 years against Caldense on May 25, 1993. Two seasons in Cruzeiro closed Ronaldo with a collection of 44 goals from 47 matches. He also led his club to the Copa do Brasil (1993) and Campeonato Mineiro (1994).

Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima (Image taken from lifebogger.com)

This brilliant set-up led Ronaldo to the Brazilian national team at the age of 17 to fight in the 1994 World Cup. The Samba Team become the champion in this World Cup.

PSV Eindhoven recruited the young star in 1994. It took just two seasons for Ronaldo to become the Dutch League's top scorer in 1995.

Ronaldo's sharpness has made FC Barcelona want to recruit him. The club called Blaugrana was willing to disburse 19.5 million US dollars (around Rp 256.8 billion) in 1996 to buy Ronaldo, which also became a transfer record at the time.

Ronaldo then scored 47 goals from 49 appearances. He won the La Liga top scorer in 1997. Ronaldo also brought Blaugrana into a winner in the Cup Winners (1997), Copa del Rey (1997), and Spanish Super Cup (1996).

The man who is identical with balding hair was crowned FIFA as World Player of the Year 1996 at the age of 20 years. This makes Ronaldo the recipient of the youngest prestigious award in the category.

The existence of Ronaldo in Barcelona only for one season. Internazionale Milan then bought Ronaldo. The club, headquartered in Giuseppe Meazza is not hesitant to break the record of transfer in the world by issuing a pocket of 27 million US dollars (approximately Rp 355.3 billion) in 1997.

Ronaldo was able to adapt quickly from the first season. He is 2nd in the Serie A scorer list with 25 goals. Ronaldo embraced the FIFA World Player of the Year title for the second time in 1997 and combined it with the Ballon d'Or trophy.

However, on 21 November 1999, Ronaldo suffered an injury in a Serie A match against Lecce. Ronaldo broke a tendon on the knee that made him surgery.

Ronaldo made his comeback on April 12, 2000. He played seven minutes in the first leg of the Coppa Italia final against Lazio before suffering a knee injury again for the second time.

This injury makes Ronaldo miss the entire 2000-2001 season.

After two operations and rehabilitation, Ronaldo returned to action in the 2002 World Cup to bring Brazil to the fifth World Cup title.

These achievements make Ronaldo the FIFA World Player of the Year award for the third time. He then moved to Real Madrid.

Italian journalist also dubbed Ronaldo as Il Fenomeno or The Phenomenon. Ronaldo left Inter by packing 59 goals from 99 matches.

Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima (Image taken from saulunglujan.wordpress.com)

At Real Madrid, Ronaldo is part of a team with Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, Raul Gonzales, and David Beckham.

Ronaldo created the fastest goal in club history when facing Atletico Madrid. The goal was created when the timepiece just showed 15 seconds on 3 December 2003.

He also locked the title of top scorer in La Liga in 2004 with 25 goals.

Making Real madrid be a champions in La Liga (2003, 2007), Intercontinental Cup (2002), and Spanish Super Cup (2003) are his offerings for El Real.

Ronaldo then moved to AC Milan on January 18, 2007.

Just scoring 9 goals in 20 games for two seasons at the San Siro show Ronaldo no longer able to compete at the top level.

He eventually returned to Brazil to join Corinthians.

Ronaldo's inaugural season at Corinthians runs beautifully. The 23 goals scored he created made it easy for clubs to earn Campeonato Paulista (2009) and Copa do Brasil (2009).

However, on 14 February 2011 Ronaldo decided to retire because he could not bear to hold the recurrence injury that happened to him.

Read other post about a football player who is called as The Maestro.

Sources:

• Legenda: Ronaldo, Penguasa Dunia dengan Kekuatan Supernatural: https://juara.bolasport.com/read/ragam/sosok/153066-legenda.ronaldo.penguasa.dunia.dengan.kekuatan.supernatural/all

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