Soccer Star - Stephan El Shaarawy, Italian professional footballer

Stephan El Shaarawy (born 27 October 1992 in Savona, Italy) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Milan. He is a current member of the Italy U21 national team.

Born in Savona to an Egyptian father and an Italian mother, El Shaarawy joined regional Serie A club Genoa at the age of thirteen.

On 21 December 2008, when he was 16 years and 55 days old, he made his first team debut, playing ten minutes in a Serie A away match against Chievo, becoming the fourth youngest player in the history of Serie A. It was his only appearance of the season despite making the bench many times.

In June 2010 he was loaned out to Padova for the 2010–11 Serie B season. In his loan period at Padova, he quickly emerged as a key element for the team, leading the Venetian club to the promotion playoff finals where they then lost to Novara.

On 25 June 2011, El Shaarawy signed for Serie A giants Milan.

On the 18th September 2011, Stephan made his debut with Milan at the Stadio San Paolo in a 3-1 loss to Napoli in Serie A. Three days later, after coming on as a substitute for the injured Alexandre Pato, he scored his first goal for the club, earning his team a 1-1 draw at home against Udinese. In his first six months at Milan, he made a total of seven appearances (only 175 minutes of playing time) leading to reports in the media that he may be loaned out for more playing time to help his progression. However a decision was made between Galliani (the director of Milan), Allegri (the current coach) and himself to stay at the club for the near future. It was then that his performances for Milan began to improve and have led him to becoming one of the most highly rated youngsters in Italy.

Soccer Star - Mario Balotelli, Italian footballer

Mario Barwuah Balotelli (born Mario Barwuah; 12 August 1990) is an Italian footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester City and the Italy national team.

He started his professional football career at Lumezzane and played for the first team twice before having an unsuccessful trial at FC Barcelona, and subsequently joining Internazionale in 2007. Inter manager Roberto Mancini brought Balotelli into the first team, but when Mancini left, Balotelli's disciplinary record fell away. He had a strained relationship with new head coach José Mourinho and was suspended from Inter's first team in January 2009 after a number of disciplinary problems.

His problems deepened in March 2010 when he came under heavy criticism by Inter fans after he appeared on the Italian TV show Striscia la notizia, wearing an A.C. Milan jersey. This damaged the prospect of him having a long career at Inter, but he did make several appearances after that. With doubts over his career at Inter, former coach Roberto Mancini had since moved to Manchester City and decided to give Balotelli a fresh chance at a new club. He joined Manchester City in August 2010, where his performances and off-field activities have continued to be enigmatic and unpredictable.

Balotelli, who is of Ghanaian descent, earned his first cap for the Italian national team on 10 August 2010 in a friendly match against the Côte d'Ivoire.

 

Soccer Star - Thiago Motta, Italian footballer

Thiago Motta (born 28 August 1982) is an Italian footballer who plays for Paris Saint-Germain F.C. in Ligue 1, as a central midfielder.

Having spent his early career at FC Barcelona, his main traits are physical presence, good passing, and a powerful mid-range shot, but he is also known to be injury-prone. He also played two and a half seasons with Internazionale, winning 11 major titles between the two clubs combined.

An Italian citizen before his arrival in Europe (he is of Italian descent), Motta represented its national team since 2011.

 

Soccer Star - Riccardo Montolivo, Italian footballer

Riccardo Montolivo (born 18 January 1985 in Caravaggio, Province of Bergamo) is an Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club Fiorentina and the Italian national team. He will join Milan on 1 July 2012.

Montolivo is a prototypical "regista" (deep-lying playmaker), similar to Andrea Pirlo. Though he prefers to play in the middle, he can play anywhere including defensive midfield but he is more comfortable in an attacking role. Montolivo was born to an Italian father and German mother.

Montolivo began his career in Serie B with Atalanta. At the age of 18, he made his debut during the 2003–04 season. He played 41 matches and scored four goals, helping Atalanta gain promotion to Serie A. In his first season in Serie A, he played 32 times and scored three goals. However, his efforts were in vain as Atalanta were relegated back down to Serie B.

In May 2012, Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri announced that Montolivo would join the club on a free transfer when his contract with Fiorentina expired on 30 June. "Next season Montolivo will arrive and he is a very talented player with great technique," said Allegri to Milan Channel.

 

Soccer Star - Andrea Pirlo, Italian brilliant playmaker

Andrea Pirlo (born 19 May 1979), is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Serie A club Juventus and for the Italian national team. He is usually deployed as a deep-lying playmaker for both Juventus and Italy and is regarded as a leading exponent of this position. Praised for his inventive play and his long passing ability, he is also a set-piece specialist.

Pirlo has played for the Italian youth teams U-15, U-18 and U-21, captaining and leading the latter to victory in the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship as the Golden Player and Top Scorer of the tournament. He joined the Italian senior side during the qualification round for World Cup 2002 and captained the national team to a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics. Later, he was instrumental in their victory in the 2006 World Cup. He was named man of the match three times, including the final, more than any other player in the tournament, and ultimately won the Bronze Ball (third best player in tournament).

With Milan, he has won two UEFA Champions League (2003 and 2007), two European Super Cups (2003 and 2007), two Scudetti (2004 and 2011) an Italian Super Cup (2004), a FIFA World Cup (2006), and the Italian Cup in 2003. In 2012, he added another Scudetto with Juventus.

He came in third and second in IFFHS World Playmaker of the Year awards in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Fellow players on the Italian team gave him the nickname "l'architetto" (the architect) because his long passes frequently set up goal-scoring opportunities for the Azzuri.