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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.

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.

Paolo Maldini is a former Italian footballer and widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders in the history of the game. He played left back for both Milan and Italy during a career spanning 3 decades.

Maldini is distinguished as being one of the few top class footballers to spend his entire career with one club. Brought up through the Milan youth ranks he made his professional debut in 1985 in a league match against Udinese at the age of just 16 and continued playing until 2009 – a career spanning 24 glorious years at the end of which Milan retired his no. 3 shirt as a sign of respect. In fact many of the players on the pitch during his final professional match in 2009 weren’t even born when Maldini made his debut in 1985! He also made a record 126 appearances for Italy, scoring 7 goals, though sadly he never won a major honour at international level. A narrow defeat against France in the 2000 European Championships where Italy had the better of the game was the closest he came.

During his career he played in an amazing 9 champions cup finals, and during one scored the fastest goal in the competition’s history in just 51 seconds against Liverpool in 2005, and he won 5 trophies. The last of these came in 2007 when he captained Milan to a 2-1 victory over Liverpool. He also won European Cups in 1989, 1990, 1994 and 2003. Probably the most impressive of these was in 1994 when Milan destroyed a much-fancied Barcelona in 45 minutes winning the game 4-0. The side of that season also set a Serie A record of just 15 goals conceded, a record unlikely ever to be broken, Maldini being part of a back four also comprising Baresi, Tassotti and Costacurta and which is regarded by many as the strongest defence in club football history. As Milan went into decline in the late 90s, overshadowed by Juventus and a brief spell in the limelight for Lazio and Roma, many thought Maldini had probably won his last European Champions League medal, however he defied the odds and went on to win a further 2 in 2003 and 2007.

Before retiring there were calls from sections of the Italian media for Maldini to receive a final call up to the national team to honour his achievements. Marcello Lippi agreed to this and the Italian Football Federation offered him a place in the side to face Northern Ireland in a friendly. Maldini, showing the humility that made him much loved throughout Italian football, declined the offer. His final appearance for the Rossoneri came in a 2-0 victory over Fiorentina in 2009. He ended his career with 5 European Cups, 7 Serie A titles, 5 World Club Championships, 4 European Super Cups, 1 Coppa Italia and 5 Italian super cups. No other player in the modern era has won a comparable amount of silverware on both the domestic and European fronts.

Maldini will be remembered not just as a great footballer but also as an ambassador of the game who conducted himself in a dignified and responsible manner both on and off the field. There has been talk of him moving into coaching, however he has also expressed a desire in past to get involved in the running of the game with UEFA or FIFA. None of these possibilities has yet materialised, but it is unlikely football has seen the last of this legendary left back.