 Marek Hamšík of Napoli |
"When Marek plays in the Champions League he'll be on his way to winning the Ballon d'Or. For me he's the new Steven Gerrard, a champion of international stature"
Gianluca Nani, West Ham sporting director
"Hamšík is one of our jewels"
Pierpaolo Marino, Napoli sporting director
"Hamšík is skilful and very cheeky on the pitch, he’s a real talent"
Walter Novellino, Torino coach
Given the young age, capability and strong personality, Marek Hamšík is considered one of the hottest properties in European football.
Plays like an experienced veteran, the attacking midfielder is a creative player who always plays with his head up and never does spectacular tricks.
He plays the ball very efficiently and he seems to move through opposition effortlessly. His abilities include his sublime ball control and brilliant movement but while he's not super quick he can accelerate suddenly and effectively in short bursts.
He's got a stunning shot which he usually strikes sweetly with immense power, but his biggest strength lies in his decision making, positioning and overview of the field as his overall completed passes statistics is over 90%.
The Banská Bystrica-born star started playing for a small youth team called Jupie Podlavice in his hometown before signed with a major Slovak team Slovan Bratislava in 2002. He learned his craft in the youth ranks at Slovan and played for the A-team in one match, in which he scored a goal.
His talent were immediately noticed by Italian club Brescia, which in the summer of 2004, offered him a five-year professional contract and paid the Slovak side €500,000 in compensation.
Aged just 17 and 237 days, Hamšík made his professional and Serie A debut with Brescia in a 3-1 defeat against Chievo Verona on March 2005, becoming the third Slovakian to play in the Italian top flight after Ancona's Miloš Glonek and Vratislav Greško of Parma.
That marked his only taste of life in the big stage that time as Brescia were later relegated, but his progress has continued quickly in Serie B.
In 2005/06 season, Hamšík was an ever-present at the heart of Rondinelle midfield as the club finished 10th in Serie B, resurrecting his side after the retirement of Roberto Baggio. In the next season, he was able to score 10 goals in 40 appearances with Brescia.
And there was an interesting story attached to his name as he was scored a 56 consecutive penalties in a training session, without any of the three Brescia goalkeeper has been able to deny one of his spot-kicks!
Hamšík has represented Slovakia since the junior categories. He played for the Slovak U-17, U-19 and U-21 national team before handed his senior debut in a 2-2 friendly draw against Poland on February 2007.
On June 2007, newly-promoted Serie A club Napoli bought Hamšík from Brescia for €5.5 million with a contract until 2012.
Hamšík played his first competitive match for Napoli against Cesena in the first round of Coppa Italia, which they won 4-0 with Hamšík providing the opening goal and scoring the second goal himself.
He then scored his first Serie A goal in the match against Sampdoria on September 2007. The youngster ended his first season with Napoli as the club's top scorer, with nine goals from 37 games.
Hamšík, who is dreaming of emulating his hero Pavel Nedvěd, was named the 2007 Young Slovak Footballer of the Year while he was also voted second for the Slovak Footballer of the Year - behind Martin Škrtel.
A stunning season with Napoli has seen Hamšík become one of the highly regarded youngsters in Europe with many clubs chasing his signature, including Chelsea, Juventus and Liverpool.
Chelsea scouts are said to be hugely impressed by what they have seen of the Slovakian star, and have told Roman Abramovich to get his chequebook out.
Hamšík, though, is said to be on the verge of signing a new contract with the Partenopei, and has stated that he sees his long-term future at Stadio San Paolo.
Full name: Marek Hamšík
Date of birth: July 27, 1987
Birthplace: Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Nationality: Slovakian
Height: 1.83 m
Weight: 73 kg
Club: Napoli
Position: Attacking midfielder
Number: 17
Related entries:
Technorati tags: Slovakia Napoli Marek Hamsík
Plays like an experienced veteran, the attacking midfielder is a creative player who always plays with his head up and never does spectacular tricks.
He's got a stunning shot which he usually strikes sweetly with immense power, but his biggest strength lies in his decision making, positioning and overview of the field as his overall completed passes statistics is over 90%.
The Banská Bystrica-born star started playing for a small youth team called Jupie Podlavice in his hometown before signed with a major Slovak team Slovan Bratislava in 2002. He learned his craft in the youth ranks at Slovan and played for the A-team in one match, in which he scored a goal.
His talent were immediately noticed by Italian club Brescia, which in the summer of 2004, offered him a five-year professional contract and paid the Slovak side €500,000 in compensation.
Aged just 17 and 237 days, Hamšík made his professional and Serie A debut with Brescia in a 3-1 defeat against Chievo Verona on March 2005, becoming the third Slovakian to play in the Italian top flight after Ancona's Miloš Glonek and Vratislav Greško of Parma.
In 2005/06 season, Hamšík was an ever-present at the heart of Rondinelle midfield as the club finished 10th in Serie B, resurrecting his side after the retirement of Roberto Baggio. In the next season, he was able to score 10 goals in 40 appearances with Brescia.
And there was an interesting story attached to his name as he was scored a 56 consecutive penalties in a training session, without any of the three Brescia goalkeeper has been able to deny one of his spot-kicks!
Hamšík has represented Slovakia since the junior categories. He played for the Slovak U-17, U-19 and U-21 national team before handed his senior debut in a 2-2 friendly draw against Poland on February 2007.
On June 2007, newly-promoted Serie A club Napoli bought Hamšík from Brescia for €5.5 million with a contract until 2012.
He then scored his first Serie A goal in the match against Sampdoria on September 2007. The youngster ended his first season with Napoli as the club's top scorer, with nine goals from 37 games.
Hamšík, who is dreaming of emulating his hero Pavel Nedvěd, was named the 2007 Young Slovak Footballer of the Year while he was also voted second for the Slovak Footballer of the Year - behind Martin Škrtel.
A stunning season with Napoli has seen Hamšík become one of the highly regarded youngsters in Europe with many clubs chasing his signature, including Chelsea, Juventus and Liverpool.
Chelsea scouts are said to be hugely impressed by what they have seen of the Slovakian star, and have told Roman Abramovich to get his chequebook out.
Hamšík, though, is said to be on the verge of signing a new contract with the Partenopei, and has stated that he sees his long-term future at Stadio San Paolo.
Full name: Marek Hamšík
Date of birth: July 27, 1987
Birthplace: Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Nationality: Slovakian
Height: 1.83 m
Weight: 73 kg
Club: Napoli
Position: Attacking midfielder
Number: 17
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 Miguel Veloso of Sporting Lisbon |
"Planning for next season with Miguel Veloso is one thing. Planning for next season without Miguel Veloso is something completely different"
Paulo Bento, Sporting Lisbon coach
"Veloso is a great player, I believe that he will sign for us in the future"
Ariedo Braida, AC Milan general manager
"It is impossible to ignore good players and Veloso would be hard to ignore"
Carlos Queiroz, former Manchester United assistant manager
Touted as the next big money export set to leave Portugal, Miguel Veloso is a versatile performer who can play as a defensive midfielder, central defender or at left-back.
His strength, versatility and talented left-foot have led to a queue of potential suitors from top European clubs, with Arsenal and Manchester United said to be front-runners for his signature.
The Sporting Lisbon star has more to his armoury than tough tackling and a physical presence as he is an intelligent passer of the ball with a tremendously powerful shot.
His long throughballs even rarely missing their intended target thanks to his uncanny ability to select the right option in every, even the tightest, of situations.
Although starting his career as a centre-back, it is as a defensive midfielder that Veloso has excelled, and his star is rising fast.
He is the son of former Portugal and Benfica stalwart defender António Veloso. His father was a Benfica defender for 15 years, including seven seasons as club captain, and played 40 times for the Selecção. Paulo Bento, his current coach at Sporting, spent three seasons at O Glorioso during the 90s and played alongside Veloso Sr. during the 1994/95 campaign.
Miguel tried to follow in his father's footsteps at the Estádio da Luz, but was surprisingly rejected by Benfica. At the age 14, he switched to rivals Sporting upon recommendation from his father because of the club’s unrivalled reputation in nurturing home-grown players.
Sporting do not have the budget to compete with rivals FC Porto and Benfica in the transfer market, but their ability to mould young talent has kept them competitive. Luís Figo, Simão Sabrosa, Hugo Viana, Ricardo Quaresma, Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani, all passed through the Sporting academy on their way to the top.
Veloso won the youth championship with Sporting in 2004/05 then excelled on loan at third division outfit CD Olivais e Moscavide the next season. There, he accomplished, as an influential player, promotion to the second division.
As a result of this positive loan, Sporting recalled Veloso for the following season. And he burst onto the scene in spectacular fashion at the start of the 2006/07 campaign when he was thrown in at the deep end in Sporting’s opening Champions League match at home to a star-studded Inter Milan side.
The Italian giants were strong favourites and before the match much was made of Figo’s homecoming, but by the end of the ninety minutes all the talk was of Veloso, who produced a man-of-the-match performance to completely shut Figo and Patrick Vieira out and helped Sporting to a memorable 1-0 win.
In 2007-08 Veloso was everpresent, with João Moutinho, in Sporting's lineups throughout the season as his club played in the Champions League, reached UEFA Cup quarter-finals, finished second in domestic league and won Portuguese Cup for second year in a row.
Throughout his two seasons since bursting onto the scene at Sporting, Veloso has grown in stature to become a crucial cog in the dynamics of the Lisbon outfit.
Inevitably rumours quickly began swirling that some of Europe’s biggest clubs were preparing to make a bid for the talented youngster, but Veloso signed a long-term contract that will keep him at the Estádio José Alvalade until 2013.
The Coimbra-born player, who captained Portugal to victory on home soil in the 2003 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, was part of the Portuguese team that knocked out of the group stages in 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Netherlands.
However, his impressive performances in the Netherlands, where he scored twice in three group games, has earned him a call-up into the Portuguese full squad for the first time.
On August 2007, he was called by Selecção boss Luiz Felipe Scolari for a Euro 2008 qualifier against Armenia before making his international debut against Azerbaijan two months later and went on to make three starts in their final qualifying campaign against Kazakhstan, Armenia and Finland.
In the European Championship finals, Veloso only appeared once in the 2-0 group defeat to the co-hosts Switzerland.
Provided he stays injury free the pony-tailed star looks set for a glittering career at the very top of the game.
Full name: Miguel Luís Pinto Veloso
Date of birth: May 11, 1986
Birthplace: Coimbra, Portugal
Nationality: Portuguese
Height: 1.81 m
Weight: 79 kg
Club: Sporting Lisbon
Position: Defender, Defensive midfielder
Number: 24
Honours:
Portuguese II Divisão Serie D (2006)
Portuguese Cup (2007, 2008)
Portuguese Super Cup (2007, 2008)
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Technorati tags: Portugal Sporting Lisbon Miguel Veloso
His strength, versatility and talented left-foot have led to a queue of potential suitors from top European clubs, with Arsenal and Manchester United said to be front-runners for his signature.
His long throughballs even rarely missing their intended target thanks to his uncanny ability to select the right option in every, even the tightest, of situations.
Although starting his career as a centre-back, it is as a defensive midfielder that Veloso has excelled, and his star is rising fast.
He is the son of former Portugal and Benfica stalwart defender António Veloso. His father was a Benfica defender for 15 years, including seven seasons as club captain, and played 40 times for the Selecção. Paulo Bento, his current coach at Sporting, spent three seasons at O Glorioso during the 90s and played alongside Veloso Sr. during the 1994/95 campaign.
Miguel tried to follow in his father's footsteps at the Estádio da Luz, but was surprisingly rejected by Benfica. At the age 14, he switched to rivals Sporting upon recommendation from his father because of the club’s unrivalled reputation in nurturing home-grown players.
Sporting do not have the budget to compete with rivals FC Porto and Benfica in the transfer market, but their ability to mould young talent has kept them competitive. Luís Figo, Simão Sabrosa, Hugo Viana, Ricardo Quaresma, Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani, all passed through the Sporting academy on their way to the top.
As a result of this positive loan, Sporting recalled Veloso for the following season. And he burst onto the scene in spectacular fashion at the start of the 2006/07 campaign when he was thrown in at the deep end in Sporting’s opening Champions League match at home to a star-studded Inter Milan side.
The Italian giants were strong favourites and before the match much was made of Figo’s homecoming, but by the end of the ninety minutes all the talk was of Veloso, who produced a man-of-the-match performance to completely shut Figo and Patrick Vieira out and helped Sporting to a memorable 1-0 win.
In 2007-08 Veloso was everpresent, with João Moutinho, in Sporting's lineups throughout the season as his club played in the Champions League, reached UEFA Cup quarter-finals, finished second in domestic league and won Portuguese Cup for second year in a row.
Throughout his two seasons since bursting onto the scene at Sporting, Veloso has grown in stature to become a crucial cog in the dynamics of the Lisbon outfit.
The Coimbra-born player, who captained Portugal to victory on home soil in the 2003 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, was part of the Portuguese team that knocked out of the group stages in 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Netherlands.
However, his impressive performances in the Netherlands, where he scored twice in three group games, has earned him a call-up into the Portuguese full squad for the first time.
On August 2007, he was called by Selecção boss Luiz Felipe Scolari for a Euro 2008 qualifier against Armenia before making his international debut against Azerbaijan two months later and went on to make three starts in their final qualifying campaign against Kazakhstan, Armenia and Finland.
In the European Championship finals, Veloso only appeared once in the 2-0 group defeat to the co-hosts Switzerland.
Provided he stays injury free the pony-tailed star looks set for a glittering career at the very top of the game.
Full name: Miguel Luís Pinto Veloso
Date of birth: May 11, 1986
Birthplace: Coimbra, Portugal
Nationality: Portuguese
Height: 1.81 m
Weight: 79 kg
Club: Sporting Lisbon
Position: Defender, Defensive midfielder
Number: 24
Honours:
Portuguese II Divisão Serie D (2006)
Portuguese Cup (2007, 2008)
Portuguese Super Cup (2007, 2008)
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 Sebastian Giovinco of Juventus |
"He's a player I know very well. He's played for me for the U-21s and he's a player I admire. He's one of those players who can change a game"
Gianfranco Zola, West Ham manager
"Giovinco has more creativity than (Alessandro) Del Piero"
Dino Zoff, Juventus legend
"He's fundamental to the team's play and in terms of giving his team-mates confidence"
Pierluigi Casiraghi, Italy U-21 coach
Blessed with outstanding technique, mazy dribbles and expert passing, Sebastian Giovinco has been touted by Juventus fans as the successor to Alessandro Del Piero.
Giovinco has impressive skills, excellent speed and playmaking ability which of course encouraged the Del Piero comparisons.
He is a real talent who can play in any position up front with a similar sized frame to Gianfranco Zola and the great Diego Maradona.
Due to his short stature and his technical skills, Giovinco acquired the nickname formica atomica (atom ant, after the eponymous Hanna-Barbera character). Standing at only 1.64m and tipping the scales at just 59kg, his physique is more suited to a champion jockey than the next calcio superstar.
But don't be deceived by his slight stature as Super Seba is considered one of the most exciting young talents in world football, although only being in the early stages of his footballing career.
Born in the northern Italian city of Torino to southern Italian parents, Giovinco grew up highly interested in football and impressed Juventus who brought him into their youth system in 2001. At the age of 14, he was already embarrassing the 16-year-old's as he played an important role in winning the Campionato Primavera in 2005/06 campaign.
He was successively integrated into the Juventus first team and made his debut on May 2007, in a Serie B league match against Bologna, entering in as a substitute in place of Raffaele Palladino, and promptly marking his debut with a splendid assist for David Trezeguet's tap-in.
A few months later in July, he was loaned to Tuscan Serie A club Empoli as part of the Sergio Almirón deal, and he scored his first Serie A goal on September 2007, when Empoli beat Palermo 3-1.
In 35 matches with Empoli, he scored six goals, including an incredible 91st minute free kick against AS Roma which was compared by some pundits to Ronaldinho's against England in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Unfortunately, the Azzurri finished the season in 18th place and will be playing the 2008/09 season in Serie B.
On June 2008, it was confirmed that Giovinco would return to Juventus for the 2008/2009 campaign, giving him the chance to make a big impact in Turin and play at the Champions League level as well.
The pint-sized midfielder played his first Serie A match for the Bianconeri against Catania on September 2008, coming in for veteran Pavel Nedved late in second half, and played a great game assisting Amauri on Juventus' 1-0 goal. He scored his first Juve goal in a game against Lecce on December 2008, netting from a freekick in the 2-1 away win.
His skills attracted the attention of youth national coaches, and he has represented Italy since the age of 15 and has been outstanding at every level. He made his first U-21 appearance in a match against Albania, and marked his debut once again with an assists - this time for Roberto Acquafresca who scored Azzurrini's only goal in the 1-0 victory.
At the 2008 Toulon Tournament in France in May, Giovinco was voted as the tournament's most valuable player. He started the tournament by scoring both goals in a 2-0 victory over the Ivory Coast, then assisted on both goals in a 2-0 defeat of the United States. In the semifinals, his winning penalty clinched success against Japan. Italy ultimately won the competition, defeating Chile 1–0 in the final.
Giovinco then appeared in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing where his adventure with the Azzurrini ended in ignominy at the hands of Belgium in the quarter-finals. However, his 30-yard blast against Honduras in the first match of the competition will live long in the memory.
Little wonder then that Giovinco's name was hastily wrote on to shopping lists for top clubs all over Europe. With the sharks forming a ring around their prized asset, the Old Lady started drawing up the paperwork for a bumper contract offer to tie Giovinco to the club for the foreseeable future. And on October 2008, it was announced that the diminutive attacking midfielder has extended his contract with Juventus through until 2013.
Patience may be a virtue, but the prospect of Giovinco harnessing the full extent of his potential is certainly a mouthwatering one. However, the question is whether a man used to being a big fish in a small pond with Empoli and the Azzurrini can cope with the choppy waters of Juventus' ocean of talent.
Full name: Sebastian Giovinco
Date of birth: January 26, 1987
Birthplace: Torino, Italy
Nationality: Italian
Height: 1.64 m
Weight: 59 kg
Club: Juventus
Position: Attacking Midfielder
Number: 20
Honours:
International Tournament of Toulon (2008)
Italian Serie B (2007)
Related entries:
Technorati tags: Italy Juventus Sebastian Giovinco
Giovinco has impressive skills, excellent speed and playmaking ability which of course encouraged the Del Piero comparisons.
He is a real talent who can play in any position up front with a similar sized frame to Gianfranco Zola and the great Diego Maradona.
But don't be deceived by his slight stature as Super Seba is considered one of the most exciting young talents in world football, although only being in the early stages of his footballing career.
Born in the northern Italian city of Torino to southern Italian parents, Giovinco grew up highly interested in football and impressed Juventus who brought him into their youth system in 2001. At the age of 14, he was already embarrassing the 16-year-old's as he played an important role in winning the Campionato Primavera in 2005/06 campaign.
He was successively integrated into the Juventus first team and made his debut on May 2007, in a Serie B league match against Bologna, entering in as a substitute in place of Raffaele Palladino, and promptly marking his debut with a splendid assist for David Trezeguet's tap-in.
A few months later in July, he was loaned to Tuscan Serie A club Empoli as part of the Sergio Almirón deal, and he scored his first Serie A goal on September 2007, when Empoli beat Palermo 3-1.
On June 2008, it was confirmed that Giovinco would return to Juventus for the 2008/2009 campaign, giving him the chance to make a big impact in Turin and play at the Champions League level as well.
The pint-sized midfielder played his first Serie A match for the Bianconeri against Catania on September 2008, coming in for veteran Pavel Nedved late in second half, and played a great game assisting Amauri on Juventus' 1-0 goal. He scored his first Juve goal in a game against Lecce on December 2008, netting from a freekick in the 2-1 away win.
His skills attracted the attention of youth national coaches, and he has represented Italy since the age of 15 and has been outstanding at every level. He made his first U-21 appearance in a match against Albania, and marked his debut once again with an assists - this time for Roberto Acquafresca who scored Azzurrini's only goal in the 1-0 victory.
At the 2008 Toulon Tournament in France in May, Giovinco was voted as the tournament's most valuable player. He started the tournament by scoring both goals in a 2-0 victory over the Ivory Coast, then assisted on both goals in a 2-0 defeat of the United States. In the semifinals, his winning penalty clinched success against Japan. Italy ultimately won the competition, defeating Chile 1–0 in the final.
Little wonder then that Giovinco's name was hastily wrote on to shopping lists for top clubs all over Europe. With the sharks forming a ring around their prized asset, the Old Lady started drawing up the paperwork for a bumper contract offer to tie Giovinco to the club for the foreseeable future. And on October 2008, it was announced that the diminutive attacking midfielder has extended his contract with Juventus through until 2013.
Patience may be a virtue, but the prospect of Giovinco harnessing the full extent of his potential is certainly a mouthwatering one. However, the question is whether a man used to being a big fish in a small pond with Empoli and the Azzurrini can cope with the choppy waters of Juventus' ocean of talent.
Full name: Sebastian Giovinco
Date of birth: January 26, 1987
Birthplace: Torino, Italy
Nationality: Italian
Height: 1.64 m
Weight: 59 kg
Club: Juventus
Position: Attacking Midfielder
Number: 20
Honours:
International Tournament of Toulon (2008)
Italian Serie B (2007)
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Technorati tags: Italy Juventus Sebastian Giovinco
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