Soccer Star - Roberto Soldado, Spanish footballer

Roberto Soldado Rillo (born 27 May 1985) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Valencia CF as a striker.

Born in Valencia, joined Real Madrid at the age of 15 from local small club CF Don Bosco. After seasons of prolific goalscoring with the club's B team, he made his first team debut on 23 October 2005, against Valencia CF, playing 18 minutes in a 1–2 home loss. Previously, on 28 September, he had scored an 86th minute winner after just six minutes on the pitch, in the season's UEFA Champions League contest against Olympiakos FC (2–1 home win), adding a late equalizer against CA Osasuna and another in a 3–2 success at Racing de Santander as Real finished second in the league, also netting in the Copa del Rey 4–0 win against Athletic Bilbao.

In early June 2010, after a successful year at Getafe - 16 league goals, and the club qualified for the UEFA Europa League - Soldado returned to his hometown and signed for Valencia for €10 million, replacing FC Barcelona-bound David Villa. In his first official game, on 14 September, for the Champions League group stage, he contributed one goal in the Che's 4–0 win at Bursaspor; when the two teams met at the Estadio Mestalla in November, he netted two more, in a 6–1 success.

Handsome Soccer Star - Raúl González, Spanish footballer

 Raúl González Blanco (born 27 June 1977 in Madrid, Spain), known simply as Raúl, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for German club Schalke 04. Raúl had spent most of his career playing for Spanish club Real Madrid and is the club's all-time top goalscorer. Raúl is a three-time winner of the UEFA Champions League and has long been the competition's all-time leading goalscorer. He left Real Madrid on 25 July 2010, having scored 323 goals in 741 appearances, and joined Schalke.

Early in his career, Raúl's goal celebration consisted of kissing his wedding ring as an acknowledgment to his wife Mamen Sanz whom he married in 1999 and with whom he has four sons and a daughter: Jorge, named after Jorge Valdano, Hugo, twins Héctor and Mateo and María. He enjoys listening to Spanish music and reading, especially the books of Arturo Pérez Reverte.

On 16 October 2004, Raúl González Blanco was appointed as FAO Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations.

Handsome Soccer Star - Pedro Rodríguez Ledesma, Spanish footballer

Pedro Eliezer Rodríguez Ledesma (born 28 July 1987), commonly known as Pedro or Pedrito, is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team, as a forward or winger.

Pedro usually plays the ball with his left foot but is actually right-footed. He can play on either side of the pitch, and even fit in as a target man. He is excellent at finding the right position and has a strong shot that is most noticeable from long range.

During the 2009–10 season at his main club, FC Barcelona, Pedro became the first player in history to score in six different official competitions in one season.

 

 

Soccer Star - Fernando Torres, Spanish footballer

Fernando José Torres Sanz (born 20 March 1984), nicknamed El Niño (The Kid in Spanish), is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker.

Torres started his career with Atlético Madrid, progressing through their youth system to the first team squad. He made his first team debut in 2001 and finished his time at the club having scored 75 goals in 174 La Liga appearances. Prior to his La Liga debut, Torres played two seasons in the Segunda División for Atlético Madrid, making 40 appearances and scoring seven goals. He joined Premier League club Liverpool in 2007 after signing for a club record transfer fee. He marked his first season at Anfield by being Liverpool's first player since Robbie Fowler in the 1995–96 season to score more than 20 league goals in a season. Torres became the fastest player in Liverpool history to score 50 league goals after scoring against Aston Villa in December 2009. He left the club in January 2011 to join Chelsea for a record British transfer fee of £50 million, which also made him the most expensive Spanish player in history.

Torres is a Spanish international and made his debut for the country against Portugal in 2003. He has since participated in four major tournaments, UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Torres did not score at Euro 2004, but netted three at the 2006 World Cup. He scored twice at UEFA Euro 2008, including the winning goal for Spain in their 1–0 win over Germany in the Final. He won the 2010 World Cup with Spain, but did not score any goals during the tournament.

 

 

Handsome Soccer Star - David Villa, Spanish footballer

David Villa Sánchez (born 3 December 1981), nicknamed El Guaje (Asturian: The Kid), is a Spanish footballer who currently plays as a striker for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national football team. He can also operate as a winger.

Despite sustaining a serious injury as a child, he started his professional career with Sporting de Gijón. He moved to Real Zaragoza after two seasons, where he made his La Liga début, winning his first senior honours—the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España. He joined Valencia CF in 2005 for a transfer fee of €12 million and was part of the Valencia team that won the Copa del Rey in the 2007–08 season. In 2010 he moved to FC Barcelona for €40 million where he won his first La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles.

Villa made his international début in 2005. He has since participated in three major tournaments, becoming an integral member of the Spain teams that won Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. He scored three goals at the 2006 World Cup, was the top scorer at Euro 2008 and earned the Silver Boot at the 2010 World Cup. He is the first Spanish player to ever reach 50 international goals and is Spain's all-time top goalscorer, having has also scored more World Cup goals than any other player in Spain's history in the process. The goals-to-games ratio he has achieved for the national team has not been matched by any player since Alfredo Di Stéfano.

In 2003 Villa married his childhood sweetheart Patricia González (who had also been a footballer in her teenage years). They had a daughter who they named Zaida. Her name is engraved on his personalised Adidas F50's, while one boot bears the Spanish flag, the other has the Asturian flag. In 2009, his second daughter Olaya was born, named after the wife of Fernando Torres, who is a close friend of Patricia. His footballing idols are Luis Enrique and Quini.

Villa frequently attends charity events.

He is actively involved with the campaigns of the UNICEF charity.

Beginning in July 2008, a "David Villa Camp" is held annually, where children receive training from professional footballers. Villa also participates in a training session with the children.
Villa featured on the Spanish box art for video game FIFA 07.

 

Soccer Star - Jesús Navas, Spanish footballer

 

Jesús Navas González ( born 21 November 1985) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Sevilla FC in La Liga.

A right winger who can play on the left flank on occasion, his main assets are his quick dribbling and an ability to run at opposing defenders.

Born in Los Palacios y Villafranca, Province of Seville, Navas joined Sevilla FC's youth system at age 15. In 2003–04, he made his first team (and La Liga) debut when he played 12 minutes in a 0–1 loss at RCD Espanyol on 23 November 2003, and added four more matches before the league was over, none complete. In the 2004–05 season, Navas was permanently promoted to the first team, scoring two times from 22 appearances and, on 4 May 2005, his link to the club was extended until 2010, as he also made his Spanish U21 debuts.

In 2005–06, Navas once again impressed, being a crucial element as the Andalusians won their first UEFA Cup; he appeared in all 12 matches, including the final against Middlesbrough. In August 2006, a deal was arranged for Navas' transfer to Chelsea, but the player declined the move, citing possible homesickness. In the league, Navas was consistently listed in the best players' ranks, entering the 'Top 50' of Don Balón magazine each year since 2005.

For the next three seasons, Navas continued to be a regular for Sevilla, always being the club's top assister, while adding nine league goals. He also helped it to the 2007–08 domestic cup, and to the third place in the following season's league.

In 2009–10, Navas was everpresent, appearing in more than 50 official matches, and leading the league in decisive passes (including two in the last round against UD Almería, as Sevilla edged RCD Mallorca for the final fourth place, with a 3–2 away triumph). On May 19, 2010, he closed the scoresheet at 2–0 in the Spanish Cup final, against Atlético Madrid.

Navas' 2010–11 season was greatly undermined by injury, as he appeared in less than half of the matches for Sevilla. On 13 March 2011, he scored through a rare header in a 1–1 home draw against eventual champions FC Barcelona, for his only goal of the campaign.

 

Soccer Star - David Silva, Spanish footballer

David Josué Jiménez Silva (born 8 January 1986) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Manchester City and the Spanish national team. Silva is capable of playing on the wing, as a traditional number 10 and sometimes as a supporting striker. A Spanish international since the age of 20 with over fifty caps, he was a member of the squads that won both the Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup.

He spent six years of his professional career with Valencia CF, appearing in more than 150 games and winning one Copa del Rey, before moving in 2010 to Manchester City.

Silva was born in Arguineguín, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands to Fernando Jiménez, a former municipal police officer who eventually was responsible for the safety of the Valencia CF stadium, and Eva Silva. His father, Fernando, is Canarian while his mother, Eva, is of Japanese descent, confirmed in an interview by his family members to the Canarian media. Silva has two younger siblings, sister Natalia and brother Nando. He is commonly called by the nickname "Chino" (Spanish for "Chinese") due to his physical appearance.

Silva began playing football in the youth team of UD San Fernando, near Maspalomas. Originally he played as a goalkeeper, before becoming a winger and mirrored his game around his footballing idol as a youth, Michael Laudrup. When he was 14, he received an offer to become a youth player at Valencia CF, which he accepted. He stayed in Valencia's youth set-up until he was 17.

Handsome Soccer Star - Xabi Alonso, Spanish Footballer

Xabier "Xabi" Alonso Olano ( born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Real Madrid as a midfielder.

Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his home region Gipuzkoa. After a brief loan period at Eibar he returned to Sociedad where then manager John Toshack appointed Alonso as his team captain. Alonso succeeded in the role, taking Real Sociedad to second place in the 2002–03 season. He moved to Liverpool in August 2004 for £10.5 million. He won the UEFA Champions League in his first season at the club, scoring the equalising goal in the final. The following season he won the FA Cup and the FA Community Shield. He moved to Real Madrid for the start of the 2009–10 season, in a deal worth around £30 million. Internationally, Alonso has represented Spain in the Euro 2004, Euro 2008 tournaments and in the 2006 World Cup and 2010 World Cup. He made his international debut in April 2003 in a 4–0 victory against Ecuador, and he won Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup with Spain.