The Best Footballer

More and more leagues, over the years, both at national and international levels have been introduced in the footballing circuit which has further boosted the development and progress of the game

By Muhammad Shahbaz Zahid

Football is as big a sport as it can get. With billions of followers worldwide, the game is growing at a rapid pace every day.

More and more leagues, over the years, both at national and international levels have been introduced in the footballing circuit which has further boosted the development and progress of the game.

From Asia to Europe and Africa to America, the game of football (called soccer in some areas) is almost worshipped like a god. The die-hard fans of the game just can't ignore the thrills and chills of the sport they love to extreme levels.

And the most important part of the footballing spirit is its players, who take the liking for the game up to a different echelon.

They are the ones who portray their skills on the field, create huge fan following, wave the flags of their countries and give their best to win trophies and honours for their teams -- be it their national or club.

Let's take a look at some of the biggest names in the games who are considered to be the best footballers on the planet.

CRISTIANO RONALDO: Not a lookalike but having a similar name that of Brazil's legendary striker Ronaldo, the Portuguese wonder-kid has taken over the football world by storm.

Born in Funchal, the 23-year-old can play in different roles on the field -- most prominently as a striker, a winger or even in the midfield.

Ronaldo, after playing for local club Sporting Lisbon in his early days, was signed up by English club Manchester United in 2003. And since then, his journey towards the top tier of best footballers in the world has been unstoppable.

Ronaldo's stature grew so much early on that he was only able to play just 2 matches for the national U-21 team and invited for the senior camp quickly. To honour his form and contributions on the field, he has been given 53 chances to play for the national senior team, during which he has scored sixteen goals.

An embarrassing moment during the 2006 World Cup in Germany occurred when Portugal defeated England on penalties in the quarter-finals. Ronaldo was accused of playing a trick against his Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney during the match, which led to Rooney's sending off.

Though it was expected that Ronaldo would receive harsh treatment from Rooney as well as from English and Manchester United fans, but Ronaldo's heroics for the club helped him stop his image from getting tarnished.

This season has been the breakthrough spell for Ronaldo. Though nobody doubted his class and technique before, but Ronaldo, has this season, silenced his strongest of critics after having scored at will for his club.

He is the top goalscorer for now in the English Premier League (EPL) after scoring an impressive 25 goals in the league (stats updated till 27th of March).

After winning the FA and League Cups and a Community Shield with United, Ronaldo helped the English giants to yet another League title in 2007 and his 34 goals (in all competitions) this season surely guarantees the Red Devils of yet another crown, at least that of EPL.

To cap that, United are also in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League and with Ronaldo is such superb nick, a European crown for the team from Manchester after their wonderful triumph in 1999 looks strong on the cards.

Ronaldo's form has been so brilliant that he just broke United legend George Best's goalscoring record recently and was amongst the top three footballers of the world in recent ceremony.

LIONEL MESSI: The new Maradona in the making could become even better in a few years time if he continues on with his energy and enthusiasm that has made him one of the most wanted names in the game.

The Argentine prodigy, born in Rosario, has emerged as the most prolific talent available. After joining Barcelona's youth system in 2000, the 20-year-old Messi has settled in Spain quite well.

After making his official debut for Barca in 2004, Messi helped his club in winning two successive Primera Liga (Spanish league) titles and a Champions League crown against Arsenal in the 2006 final.

And it wasn't the first time that Messi has tasted success on the field. Messi was the player of the tournament when he led Argentina U-20s to World Cup title in 2005. The same year, he made his debut for the senior team. Messi was also an integral part of Argentina's 2006 World Cup campaign.

Since joining Barca's senior team, Messi has scored 41 goals for them in 100 matches (in all competitions). Messi is a player fast as lightening and has the ability to tear apart defences. His control on the ball is unbelievable and passing skills are exceptional as well.

Messi was announced as the second best player in the world (in 2007) awards but he promises he will grab the top spot soon. Though he has been hampered with injuries over the last one year, his charisma and style makes him the most valuable asset Barca and Argentina have these days.

FRANCK RIBERY: Smallish in stature but big at heart, the Frenchman, born in Boulogne-sur-Mer, is the next Zinedine Zidane on the horizon.

After making his name for Turkish club Galatasaray in 2005, Ribery signed up for French giants Marseille five months later. That's where the true success story started.

Ribery, the 24-year-old, had two successful seasons with Marseille and was on top of the wish-lists everywhere as soon as the transfer windows opened. Ribery helped Marseille finished second in 2006-07 season which could have made his wish come true of playing in the Champions League but he chose for another option. He joined Germany's big guns Bayern Munich, who themselves failed to qualify for the elite European competition this season.

Ribery had attracted another big clubs such as Spanish champions Real Madrid and England's Arsenal after his successful run in the World Cup for France, helping them reach the final, but his decision to join Bayern stunned many.

For Bayern's fans, this season has been enormous as Ribery has shown his true class. Bayern are on top of the ladder in Germany and are eyeing the league title after their failure last season. Ribery has teamed up beautifully with other new Bayern signings such as Italy's Luca Toni and Germany's Miroslav Klose.

Ribery is firing on all cylinders at the moment and it wouldn't be a surprise to any one if he reaches the heights once his former teammate Zidane reached in the sporting world.

KAKA: He is the most wonderful player present at the moment. The heartthrob of millions of fans around the world, the Brazilian ace has won and achieved everything that is to be won and achieved in the world of football.

The 25-year-old, who was born in Brasilia, started playing for local side Sao Paulo, who were themselves the biggest club in Brazil at that moment. In 2003, Italian hotshots AC Milan brought Kaka for a hefty sum and since then Milan have revolved around him.

Kaka is also an important member in the Brazil squad. He was a part their World Cup-winning team in 2002 and helped Brazil reach the quarter-finals of the following edition. With Brazil, he has also won the Confederations Cup in 2005.

It's the club which has showered more spotlight on Kaka. After winning the Serie A (Italian league) a year after joining Milan, Kaka also won the Italian Super Cup the same year.

Going across the continent of Europe, his famousness grew more after Milan won the UEFA Super Cup in 2003 and 2007 and the coveted Champions League title last year as well. The win against Liverpool in 2007 was the highlight of Kaka's career.

He grabbed all the honours available after that victory including the World Player of the Year award -- an achievement that every player dreams of. A total of sixteen individual awards were given to Kaka -- another breathtaking feat -- which has cemented his name in the list of greatest ever players seen on the football pitch.

WAYNE ROONEY: The 22-year-old striker is one of the few good players England has produced in recent times.

Born in Liverpool, Rooney grew up supporting Everton, a team from Merseyside, and went on to play for them. In October 2002, Rooney became the youngest ever goalscorer in the EPL history (though this record has been broken afterwards).

Rooney stayed for two seasons at Everton and later joined Manchester United, who offered him a 31-million pound deal. He thus got the honour of being the most expensive teenage football player.

It was a dream start of Rooney in a United shirt when he scored a hat-trick for them against Fenerbahce in their Champions League match.

Rooney's fortunes have changed since then as he has won the EPL title, a Community Shield and a League Cup with United. FA Cup seems to be missing from his collection after United finished runners-up in 2005 and 2007.

Rooney is an important part of the Lions -- the English national team -- and sometimes plays as a lone striker provided by a backup from a strong midfield which includes the likes of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard.

England hasn't found a good striker since the early days of Michael Owen and though Owen has returned to the starting XI, Rooney still remains the man to lead England.

Courtesy: The News Pakistan