Happy Birthday to you!
In our regular Sunday feature, FIFA.com presents you with some of the biggest names in football who will be celebrating their birthdays over the coming week.
1. Aron Winter (48), part of the Netherlands’ golden generation, competed in three FIFA World Cup™ tournaments, in 1990, 1994 and 1998. The defensive midfielder also participated in four UEFA European Championships, including the 1988 edition, where the Dutch prevailed in style. A product of Ajax’s famed youth system, he established himself in the Amsterdam side’s senior team, with whom he won the Dutch League, Dutch Cup, UEFA Cup and European Cup Winner’s Cup. The Suriname-born grafter then exported his skills to Italy, where he turned out for Lazio and Inter Milan, lifting another UEFA Cup with the latter outfit. In 1999, Winter returned to Ajax, where, after a one-season loan spell with Sparta Rotterdam, he saw out the remainder of his playing days. After hanging up his boots, he tried his hand at coaching, taking charge of Ajax’s reserve side and then of Toronto FC, whom he guided to two Canadian Championships. The former international currently fulfils the role of Dutch national U-19 coach.
2. Trevor Sinclair (42) was selected for the England national squad that travelled to Korea/Japan 2002, during which he made four appearances, including the Three Lions’ defeat by Brazil in the quarter-finals. The pacey winger began his career at Blackpool, before moving to Queens Park Rangers and then West Ham, where he secured the UEFA Intertoto Cup. Four seasons at Manchester City followed, as did a transfer to Cardiff City, with whom he reached the FA Cup final in 2008.
3. Jacob Spoonley (28) was part of the Auckland City team that finished third at the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup, in what was his fourth adventure at the prestigious contest. On the international stage, the reliable goalkeeper starred for New Zealand at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada and the 2008 Men’s Olympic Football Tournament in Beijing. Spoonley has spent the entirety of his club career in his homeland, pulling on the jerseys of clubs such as Wellington Phoenix, Miramar Rangers and the aforementioned Auckland City.
4. Omar Bravo (35) appeared for Mexico at Germany 2006, where he scored two goals in three matches, and at four CONCACAF Gold Cups, from which he emerged victorious twice, in 2003 and 2009. In addition, the skilful forward finished third at the 2007 Copa America and took part in the 2004 Olympic Football Tournament, where he notched two goals. Bravo started out at Chivas, landing a Mexican League title and topping the domestic scoring charts. The Los Mochis native later defended the colours of Deportivo La Coruna, Tigres UANL, Sporting Kansas City, Cruz Azul and Atlas.
5. Ahmed Hassan (22) is one of Egyptian football’s most promising attackers, having showcased his skills and eye for goal at two U-20 World Cups (in 2011 and 2013) and at the 2013 African U-20 Championship. The North African striker has also been capped for the Egyptian senior XI, appearing in a number of CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. After impressing in Al Ahly’s youth set-up, Hassan signed for Portuguese outfit Rio Ave, with whom he recently reached three domestic cup finals (Portuguese Cup, League Cup and Super Cup), losing to Benfica each time. The Cairo-born front man is presently his club’s top scorer for the season, and the joint second top scorer in the Portuguese top flight.
6. Harald Schumacher (61) was West Germany’s last line of defence at Spain 1982 and Mexico 1986, where his nation lost in the final to Italy and Argentina respectively, and at two European Championships, including EURO 1980, where he and his team-mates captured the continental crown. At club level, the single-minded shot-stopper bagged a Bundesliga title and three German Cups in a 15-year spell with Cologne, prior to joining Schalke and then Fenerbahce, where he earned a Turkish League winners’ medal. Following a season with Bayern Munich, the two-time German Footballer of the Year saw out the rest of his career at Borussia Dortmund, where he added another league crown to his CV. After retiring from the game, Schumacher worked as a goalkeeper coach for several German clubs, and took the reins of Fortuna Cologne for a brief period.
7. Jozef Chovanec (55) played for Czechoslovakia at Italy 1990, but could not prevent his country from losing to eventual winners West Germany in the quarter-finals. The versatile midfield man turned professional at Sparta Prague, where he won seven league titles and three national cups during three separate stints with the illustrious club. The 1986 Czechoslovakian Footballer of the Year also tried his luck abroad, spending three successful campaigns with PSV Eindhoven. Chovanec moved into coaching post-retirement, guiding the Czech Republic to EURO 2000. He later took the helm at Sparta Prague, Kuban Krasnodar (Russia), Baniyas (UAE) and current club Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia).