Entries by Ali Banava

Alessandro Nesta, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI^[1][2], (born March 19, 1976 in Rome) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. He plays centre back for Italian Serie A club A.C. Milan. Widely regarded as one of the most talented footballers of his generation, Nesta is rated by many as one of the greatest defenders of all time, and was included in Pelé's selection of the 125 greatest living footballers in FIFA 100. ^[3][4]. In 2007, he was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year, for the fourth time in his career; only Thierry Henry has more appearances, with five. ^[5]

Hossein Rezazadeh (Persian: حسین رضازاده , born May 12, 1978 in Ardabil, Iran) is a former Iranian weightlifter and the current world record holder in the sport.

Andrea Pirlo, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI^[1][2], (born May 19, 1979 in Flero, Lombardy), is an Italian World Cup and Champions League winning footballer who currently plays for Serie A club A.C. Milan and the Italian national team.

Marcel "Marco" van Basten (October 31, 1964 in Oog in Al, Utrecht) is a Dutch football manager, currently in charge of the Dutch national team. Previously, he was a football player who played for Ajax Amsterdam and A.C. Milan in the 1980s and early 1990s. He is regarded as one of the finest strikers of all time and scored 277 goals in a career cut short by injury. Known for his strength on the ball, his tactical awareness and spectacular strikes and volleys, Van Basten was named European Footballer of the Year three times (1988, '89 and '92) and FIFA World Player of the Year in 1992. Van Basten was voted eighth in a poll organised by the French weekly magazine France Football consulting their former Ballon D'Or winners to elect the Football Player of the Century.^[1]

Franco Baresi (born May 8, 1960 in Travagliato, province of Brescia) is an Italian youth team coach and former football defender with A.C. Milan, acknowledged as one of the greatest defenders ever to play the game. Baresi was colloquially called "piscinin", Milanese dialect for "little one".