Johan Cruijff was born in Amsterdam on the 25th of April 1947, and joined the famous Ajax youth programme only ten years later. He made his first team debut at the age of 17 in 1964 against GVAV. He started as he meant to go on, scoring Ajax’s only goal in their 3-1 defeat. This was the worst season in the club’s history - they finished 13th. Cruijff established himself as a favourite centre-forward in the first team, and the following season Ajax won the league, with Cruiff scoring an incredible 25 goals in 23 appearances, including three hat tricks. From then on, Cruijff became a living legend to Ajax fans.

The following seasons were even more successful - he scored 33 times and Ajax won both the league and the KNVB, the Netherlands equivalent of the FA Cup. He won the title of Dutch footballer of the year in the '66, '67, and '69 seasons. The '69 season saw Cruijff’s Ajax win another league and cup double. This season also saw Ajax reach the finals of the European cup, but they were defeated 4-1 by AC Milan. At the beginning of the season, Cruijff suffered a serious groin injury that was to recur at various intervals throughout his career. During his absence, Gerrie Muhren wore his number nine shirt. When Cruijff returned, he wore the number 14 shirt, and decided to stick with it for the rest of his career.

In those days, players were usually allotted a shirt numbered 1 to 11 depending on their starting position. It was highly unusual for a regular starter to wear the number 14. He also began wearing the number 14 during his international appearances. This became something of a trademark - there is a documentary about him entitled ‘Number 14’, and it is frequently referenced in biographies. 1971 was also an extraordinarily successful year for Cruijff’s Ajax, who defeated Panathinaikos 2-0 at Wembley. This season saw Cruijff named European player of the year for the first time. To dispel speculation that he would move clubs, he signed a seven-year contract at the end of that season. However, after winning two more European Cups in 1972 and 1973, he signed to Barcelona for six million guilder.

Always willing to express his political beliefs publicly, he made himself popular among Catalans by declaring that he could never play for Real Madrid because of its association with the Fascist leader General Franco. He helped Barcelona to their first ‘La Liga’ championship in 14 years in 1973/74, and was named European footballer of the year for good measure. During his tenure at Barcelona, Cruijff scored his most famous goal, known popularly as the ‘Phantom’ goal, because of its seemingly supernatural quality. Somehow, Cruijff managed to jump in the air with his back to goal, and use his heel to score past a beleaguered Atletico Madrid goalkeeper.

Like so many of Europe’s best known players of the 1970’s, Cruijff was lured to the United States to play exhibition matches for the New York Cosmos and eventually signed a lucrative contract with the Los Angeles Aztecs. After a season with the Aztecs, he switched coasts, and signed for a season with the Washington Diplomats. By this time the campaign to elevate the status of soccer in the eyes of US sports fans had more or less run its course, and Cruijff returned to the Netherlands in 1981.

A 34 year old Cruijff signed to Ajax but the club decided not to extend his contract after the end of the second season. This angered the Amsterdam-born Cruijff, who moved to arch rivals Feyenoord in protest. He helped the club to its first league and cup double in over a decade. At the end of the 83/84 season, after making 33 appearances and scoring 11 times for Feyenoord, Cruijff retired after 20 years as one of the most prolific strikers in the world.

Cruijff also enjoyed a distinguished career as an international, playing a central role in the famous 1974 Dutch team that came second place in the FIFA World Cup Finals, where he was named player of the tournament. They lost the final 2-1 to their West German hosts, after Cruijff coordinated one of the most famous pieces of attacking football in history, which ended with the Netherlands scoring a penalty. Although Cruijff helped the Netherlands to qualify for the 1978 World Cup, he refused to participate in the actual tournament as it was being held in Argentina, which was in the grip of a right-wing military junta, which had seized power during a coup two years ago. Without him, the Netherlands lost in the final again.

Cruijff is the embodiment of ‘total football’, a style of play developed by Ajax coach Rinus Michaels. The style arose in opposition to the physical aspect of the game prevalent at the time, emphasising the importance of technical skill and awareness. Cruijff and his Ajax team-mates were able swap positions at the drop of a hat - he was particularly fond of taking defenders unawares by moving out from his central position to the wings. He commented; "Total football is to do with your way of thinking, character - everything is involved. The Dutch team at that time was made up mostly from Ajax players. We could change position easily, and that's total football... the first defender was the centre forward, which was me. We had a change of mentality on the field where we thought we could achieve anything."

Cruijff reprised his role as a football technician in managerial roles at Ajax and Barcelona. He led an all-star Barcelona team to victory against Sampdoria at the Wembley European Cup finals in 1992. He is Barcelona’s most successful manager to date; the club won 11 competitions under his stewardship. In 1999 he was named European footballer of the century, and is widely regarded as one of the top five players ever to of played the game.

Alfredo Di Stefano was born to Italian parents in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires on 4th of July 1926. He was from a farming family and had a gruelling upbringing. Being the oldest son in the family he had a heavy workload on the farm but still found time to indulge his love for football. It was perhaps this gruelling physical work from a young age that helped him develop his levels of fitness and made him such a devastatingly agile and fit player on the football field later in life. His achievements, both for the most successful teams of his era and on the international stage, were huge. Despite never reaching a World Cup Final, he is arguably one of the greatest footballers ever to have played, with Pele being his closest rival.

Di Stefano's first club at 12 was Los Cardales, with whom he won the amateur championship. Three years later, he was playing for the second team of then-giants River Plate and at 16 he took up a place on the right wing in the first team. At that time the team had one of the most feared sets of forwards in Argentinian football, La Maquina, meaning “The Machine”. As a result he began playing on loan for another team, Huracan, where he scored one of the fastest goals in Argentinian football against his own club River Plate.

His high scoring record continued and he returned to River Plate aged 20. He was moved to centre-forward to take the place of Pedernera who had moved to Atlanta. In a fiercely contested match against Atlanta, Di Stefano scored the winning goal. He was set upon by the Atlanta fans and was hospitalised.

At 21 Di Stefano made his international début for Argentina in 1947. An injury in the first team allowed him to play throughout the cup and he was the second highest goal scorer, helping Argentina retain the South American Championship.

1949 saw the footballers of Argentina go on strike and so Di Stefano moved to play for Columbian side, Millonarios. He dominated the midfield of the Columbian league, scoring 267 goals in 294 games over his four year spell there. His impressive record attracted the attention of the Spanish teams and soon a transfer was being discussed. Ramon Trias Fargas, son of a Millonarios shareholder, was trying to source Di Stefano for Barcelona. The Barcelona chief scout then inadvertently threw a spanner in the works by introducing his Columbian friend, Joan Busquets. Busquets was director of CF Santa Fe, one of Millonarios' main rivals, and allegedly tried to sabotage the move. Busquets put pressure on Millonarios to accept less than Di Stefano was worth, despite the player also owing his old club money. Fargas claimed that the Barcelona president Cerreto had allowed him $20,000 for the move, but then dropped the figure to $10,000 plus the player's debts to Millonarios.

The debacle continued when Di Stefano signed a deal to transfer to Barcelona from River Plate. FIFA had authorised the move, but it was blocked by the Spanish League, as they said both Millonarios and River Plate had to be in agreement. In a bizarre twist of fate, Di Stefano eventually signed to Real Madrid on his arrival in Spain, owing to the infighting within the Barcelona camp.

The confusion did not stop there. The Spanish government first issued a ban on foreign players in the league, and then went on to announce that Barcelona and Madrid had agreed to share Di Stefano for four seasons. The idea of him alternating between the two clubs angered fans so much that Carreto was forced to resign. Barcelona accepted a figure of four million pesetas to allow Di Stefano to play exclusively for Madrid, a decision that they claim was made under pressure from Franco, the Fascist leader. The situation clearly took its toll on Di Stefano and he played uncharacteristically poorly for his first few games with the club.

It did not take long for Di Stefano to overcome his poor start and he scored in the majority of his matches in the first season. He went from strength to strength at the club and also for the Spanish national team whom he represented on 31 occasions. He is perhaps most famous for his performance in the European Cup, where he scored four goals in four consecutive winning finals, and then a hat trick in the fifth.

Sadly he did not get a chance to make such a name for himself in the World Cup. Argentina did not compete when he represented them in 1950 and 1954. Di Stefano was granted Spanish citizenship in 1956, but Spain failed to qualify in the following World Cup. Four years later injury prevented him from competing in the championship proper, after scoring in the qualifiers.

Di Stefano took up various coaching roles after retiring. He led his old club River Plate and Boca Juniors to title victories. In 1982 to 1984 he took up the position of manager with another of his old sides, Real Madrid. Despite suffering a heart attack in 2005, he played in an inaugural match between Real Madrid and Stades De Reims. Real Madrid won the rematch of the 1956 European Cup Final.

Born in Göppingen in 1964, Jürgen Klinsmann will go down as one of the best German strikers of the modern era. “The Golden Bomber”, a nickname which derives from his blonde hair and predatory goal scoring nature, enjoyed an illustrious playing career which stretched across Europe. He played for many famous clubs, scoring 232 goals in the process.

He is particularly well thought of amongst the faithful at Tottenham Hotspur, where he had two spells, in which he became famous for the ‘Klinsmann Dive’, a celebration which he pioneered as he celebrated his first goal for the club against Sheffield Wednesday. He recently managed the German national team to an unexpected third-place finish in the 2006 World Cup. He subsequently resigned in July 2006 and since then has been linked with various managerial posts such as Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and LA Galaxy. It remains to be seen where the German’s next adventure will begin.

Klinsmann’s first involvement in football came when he was just eight years old. During his youth, he played in every position, including goalkeeper. It wasn’t until he turned seventeen that he signed a professional contract with Stuttgarter Kickers, a second division club at the time, in Germany.

In 1984, he joined another Stuttgart club, the more celebrated VfB Stuttgart. It was here where Klinsmann started to make a name for himself as a prolific goal scorer, as he scored 79 goals in 156 appearances. In 1988, he was topscorer of the Bundesliga and was voted “German Player of the Year”. This form brought him to the attention of many leading European clubs. As a result, in the summer of 1989, it was Internazionale who sealed the sought after signature of this highly rated German striker. He joined fellow countrymen Lothar Matthäus and Andreas Brehme in a team that easily won the Serie A title in their maiden season at the club. After scoring 40 goals in 123 appearances for the Milan club, Klinsmann moved to France in 1992 to play for AS Monaco. He had now established himself as one of the finest strikers in world football, but didn’t win a major trophy in the two years he was at the French club.

His journey through Europe continued, and White Hart Lane was his next destination when he signed for Tottenham Hotspur in 1994. Upon his arrival in England, he was not very popular amongst the English press. This was not only because his German side had knocked England out of the 1990 World Cup, but also because he came with the reputation as a diver. However, Klinsmann was soon one of the favourites amongst the press, after he made fun of himself by diving across the pitch to celebrate his first goal for the club against Sheffield Wednesday. Here is is some YouTube action of that goal. This act endeared him not only to the press, but the British public in general. Klinsmann went on the win the 1995 Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year. His passion and spirit shown whilst on the pitch, along with his goals, has made him one of the true greats at Tottenham Hotspur.

After only one season in London, he joined Bayern Munich where he again continued his goal ratio of one in every two matches, scoring 31 goals in 65 appearances. He then played eight games for Serie A side Sampdoria in Italy, before returning to Spurs in 1998 on loan, where he saved them from relegation – scoring nine goals in just fifteen appearances. It was during his second spell at Spurs that Klinsmann decided to retire from playing professional football after the 1998 World Cup. However, he was persuaded to come out of retirement in 2003 when he played under a stage name, Jay Goppingen, for Orange County Blue Star in the American Premier Development League. The 39-year-old still had a taste for goals, scoring five in just eight outings.

Klinsmann’s onternational career was also successful. He was first called up for Germany duty in 1987, after which he accumulated 108 caps, along with 47 goals.

He achieved many International landmarks whilst playing for his country. He became the first player ever to score at least three goals in each of three World Cups. He has now been joined by Ronaldo of Brazil in that elite group. However, Klinsmann still remains second all time in World Cup goals scored by a German with 11, and only Gerd Muller has scored more. He is joint fifth in the overall rankings, in which Ronaldo tops with fifteen goals.

Klinsmann played in three European Championships, reached the final in 1992, and went one better when he won a winners medal in Euro ‘96 in England. He also played in three World Cups in the 90s. He achieved the ultimate prize when the West German side won the World Cup in 1990, in which he scored three goals. His greatest performance at a World Cup came in USA for the 1994 World Cup, where he scored five goals. Klinsmann also has a bronze Olympic medal to his name, and has scored eight goals to go with his fourteen Olympic caps for his country.

Klinsmann’s first job outside his professional playing career was with a sports marketing consultancy based in the United States, where he became vice-president. He was heavily involved in Major League Soccer as part of the Los Angeles Galaxy team. He then returned to Germany in 2004 to take charge of the national team, and succeeded former team mate and strike partner Rudi Völler.

Klinsmann’s first and only task as manager of the Germany team was to bring success in a World Cup which they hosted in 2006. Klinsmann brought a much-needed freshness to the International set-up and placed huge emphasis on youth in his squads. Players were no longer picked because of who they were, but instead on current form and merit. The clearest example of this was when Klinsmann dropped Oliver Kahn, and made Jens Lehmann the new number one goalkeeper after his excellent season with Arsenal.

Klinsmann’s arrival as manager of the national team was not greeted with too much praise from the German public or press. In the build up to the World Cup, his German team were humiliated by Italy, losing 4-1. Klinsmann also commuted to Germany from the United States, something which was very much frowned upon by the German public.

However, Germany’s performance under Klinsmann in the 2006 World Cup hushed his critics. Germany won all three group stage games against Costa Rica, Poland and Ecuador with ease. Then, a 2-0 victory against Sweden in the first knockout stage set up a mouth watering tie against much favoured Argentina in the quarter finals.

After an equalising goal from striker Miroslav Klose, the match went to penalties. Germany won 4-2 with help from Lehmann and his infamous note, which contained information on all the Argentinian spot-kickers. The nation was now behind Klinsmann but Germany’s heroics sadly ended there, as they crashed out of the competition after losing 2-0 in extra time to eventual winners Italy. They did, however, defeat Portugal 3-1 in the third and fourth playoff match. After this victory, there was a huge parade in Berlin where Klinsmann and his young squad were treated to an emphatic reaction from the public. Even Franz Beckenbauer, a previous critic of Klinsmann, announced that he wanted to keep Klinsmann as the coach. The new attacking style of play that Klinsmann created was now accepted by the German public, as they felt that national pride had been restored. To cap it all off, Klinsmann was even referred to as “Kaiser”, meaning “emperor”, a word which is normally set aside for German footballing greats such as Beckenbauer.

Despite all the support, Klinsmann stepped down as coach because of family reasons.

Jürgen Klinsmann has now proved himself as both a player, and as a manager. The future for the German can only be a bright one. Whenever a top managerial vacancy arises, he seems to be one of the first names to be put into the hat. Where his next destination is, only he knows. But, whatever his choice, it will most likely be the right one for him and his team.