David Robert Joseph Beckham,[1] OBE[2] (born 2 May 1975) is an English football midfielder currently playing for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy[4] and the England national team. He will join Italian Serie A club Milan on a four-month loan beginning 7 January 2009 in order to retain his fitness levels during the MLS offseason.[5] Beckham earned his much-publicised hundredth cap for England against France on 26 March 2008.[6]
He has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year,[7] and in 2004 was the world's highest-paid footballer.[8] He was Google's most searched of all sports topics in both 2003 and 2004.[9] Such global recognition has made him an elite advertising brand and a top fashion icon.[10][11] Beckham was captain of England from 15 November 2000[12] to 2 July 2006. He made 58 appearances as captain, and ended his tenure in that role after the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals,[13] however, continued to make contributions for the England national team in competitions after this.[14]
Beckham's career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17.[7] During his time there, United won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999.[7] He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons.[15] While at Madrid, Beckham became the first British footballer to play 100 Champions League matches.[7] In his final season, Real clinched the 2006–07 La Liga championship title—Beckham's only major trophy with the club—in the final game of the season on 17 June.[16] In January 2007, it was announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid and sign a five-year contract with Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy.[17]
Beckham's contract with Los Angeles Galaxy became effective on 1 July 2007 and gave him the highest player salary in MLS history.[18] He debuted for the team on 21 July in a friendly versus Chelsea at The Home Depot Center,[19] and on 15 August, he had his first start with the team, scoring his first goal in the 2007 SuperLiga semi-final.[20] His first league start then came on 18 August in front of a record crowd at Giants Stadium.[21]
Beckham is married to former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham.[22] The couple have three sons and currently reside in Beverly Hills, California.
Chelsea Football Club (pronounced /ˈtʃɛlsiː/, also known as The Blues or previously The Pensioners) are a professional English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions three times, and have won the FA Cup four times, the League Cup four times and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup twice.[2]
The club had their first major success in 1955, winning the league championship. Chelsea won several cup competitions during the 1960s and 1970s, but did not win another major title until 1997. The past decade has been the most successful period in Chelsea’s history, capped by winning consecutive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, and reaching their first UEFA Champions League final in 2008.
Chelsea's home is the 42,055-person-capacity[1] Stamford Bridge football stadium in Fulham, West London, where they have played since their establishment. Despite their name, the club are based just outside the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. In 2003, they were bought by Russian oil magnate Roman Abramovich.[3]
Chelsea's traditional kit colours are royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. The club crest has been changed several times in attempts to modernise or re-brand; the current crest, featuring a ceremonial lion holding a staff, is a modified version of the one first adopted in the 1950s.[4] The club enjoys a large fan base, with the fifth highest average all-time attendance in English football.[5] Their average home gate for the 2007-08 season was 41,673, the fifth highest in the Premier League.[6]
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born March 21, 1980 in Porto Alegre), commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho,[3] is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Italian Serie A club A.C. Milan and the Brazil national team.
Ronaldinho, Portuguese for "little Ronaldo", is known in Brazil by the nickname Ronaldinho Gaúcho, in order to distinguish him from Ronaldo, who was already called "Ronaldinho" in Brazil. Ronaldo simply went by his first name upon his move to Europe, thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop the "Gaúcho" and remain simply as Ronaldinho.
He has played for Paris Saint-Germain, and FC Barcelona, with whom he won his first Champions League in 2006. He became a Spanish citizen in January 2007.[4]
