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Born and brought up in a middle class family in the Whiston area of Merseyside, Steven Gerrard has gone on to become one of England’s finest football players. When Gerrard was nine, he lost his cousin Jon-Paul Gilhooley in the Hillsborough disaster. This loss of a “family member” spurred Gerrard to tackle football in a very sentimental sense and become the footballer he is today. Gerrard ends his autobiography with the words – “I play for Jon-Paul.”

While playing for Whiston Juniors, he caught the eye of the Liverpool scouts. He was drafted into the Liverpool youth setup. He made his Liverpool debut on 29 November 1998 when he came on as a last minute substitute for Vegard Heggem. He has not looked back since. Over the next decade, he has played 355 games for Liverpool scoring 76 times. He has won two FA Cups, two League Cups, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup with Liverpool. The only medal that has eluded him is the Barclays Premier League Winners’ medal.

Gerrard made his international debut against Ukraine on 31 May 2000. After that, he has gone on to represent England on 77 occasions scoring 16 times. He made a solitary substitute appearance at Euro 2000. He scored his first goal in the famous 5-1 rout of Germany in the 2002 World Cup Qualifying rounds. He went on to captain England during Steve Mclaren’s reign as manager. But England suffered back to back losses against Croatia and Russia under his leadership and hence did not make it to Euro 2008. Capello also gave Gerrard a run of games as captain of England, but later settled on John Terry.

At 30, the World Cup in South Africa in six months’ time will be Gerrard’s final chance to win the sport’s biggest trophy. And if he is able to do the same, his name will be etched forever in the annals of English football.

In 1991, Belgian driver Bertrand Gachot was sentenced to two months in prison for spraying CS gas on a taxicab driver. The void left by Gachot at Jordan was the window of opportunity that propelled Michael Schumacher’s racing career. He made his debut at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1991 for Jordan. Exactly one year later at the same venue, he would win his first ever race – racing this time for Benetton.

He had to wait till the 1994 season to secure his first driver’s championship title. Another one followed in 1995. In the summer of 1996, he shifted to Ferrari who had last won the championship in 1979. After four unsuccessful years behind the wheel at Ferrari, he blew away all records winning five consecutive championships from 2000-2004. His last race was the 2006 Interlagos Grand Prix where he finished fourth.

But the mercurial genius was not to be away from the sport for long. In 2009, he returned to Ferrari as their technical advisor. In the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, Ferrari’s number one driver Felipe Massa suffered a serious injury. Schumacher was being readied by the Ferrari bosses to replace Massa till the end of the season. But the move ran into some legal wrangles and Michael decided against racing with a neck injury that he had suffered earlier in the year.

On 23rd December 2009, Schumacher announced that he would race in the 2010 season for the Mercedes Grand Prix Team alongside compatriot Nico Rosberg. Schumacher’s surprise re-entry to the sport has been compared to Niki Lauda’s return in 1982 and Nigel Mansell’s return in 1994. Will the undisputed king of motorsport still be a force to deal with in his second stint with Fomula One? If he does half as well as he had done in his heydays, the legend of Michael Schumacher would be embellished with another glorious chapter.

George Best, a name instantly recognisable around the world is one of football’s all time greats. His talent was first spotted at the age of 15, when Manchester United Football Club scout Bob Bishop watched him play in Belfast – reporting back to United Manager at the time, Matt Busby. that “I think I’ve found you a football genius”. This then resulted in George Best being given a trial at Manchester United by chief scout Joe Armstrong. Ironically Best was actually rejected by his local club in Belfast at the time ‘Glentoran’.

Only 2 years later, at the tender age of 17 he made his debut at Manchester United playing in a match against West Bromwich Albion on 14th September 1963 which they somewhat fortuitously won 1-0, setting a precedent for things to come and giving him a taste for victory from the outset. It was in only his second appearance that George Best managed to get onto the score sheet in a 5-1 victory over Burnley, quickly cementing his position as one of Manchester United’s most promising players in the eyes of Busby. This led to his inclusion in many more first team games after the New Year right to the end of the season.

Best quickly became a firm favourite with the general public as well as the media due to his outstanding ball skill and showmanship, and today is widely perceived as one of the first major superstars to come out of professional football. His good looks and long hair earned him the nickname ‘the fifth Beatle’, and he was often affectionately referred to as Georgie, or Geordie in his native city of Belfast. Before eventually leaving Manchester United, and his subsequent well documented demise, Best made 470 appearances for Manchester United scoring a total of 179 goals. In one remarkable fixture he managed to score six goals in a single game against the fourth division Northampton Town.

As well as many individual remarkable performances Best also achieved some other notable accolades during his football career. These include winning the European Cup after scoring in the final against Benfica during his time at Manchester United, being crowned European Footballer of the Year as well as Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year. Indeed he was so prolific during his time at Manchester United, that it was a sure bet that they would win any match during the 1966-67 season; indeed if online betting sites were around then – betting on Best to score a goal was almost a sure thing and would have earned many punters some easy money.