Happy Birthday to you! - WORLD FOOTBALL
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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.
8. Joao Havelange (100) was born in Rio de Janeiro on 8 May 1916 to Belgian immigrants. He represented Brazil as a swimmer and water polo player in two Olympic Games: Berlin 1936 and Helsinki 1952. Although he trained as a lawyer, Havelange continued to pursue a career in the world of sport and at the age of 42 was appointed chairman of the Brazilian Sports Association (CBD), which later became the Brazilian Football Association (CBF). Voted on to the International Olympic Committee in 1963, Havelange was elected President of FIFA on 11 June 1974. During his six terms in office, until 1998, a total of 50 new associations joined the governing body of world football. It was also during his presidency that FIFA organised the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991 and the first Men’s U-20, Men’s U-17 and Futsal World Cups, in 1977, 1985 and 1989 respectively.
9. Jane Tornqvist (41) took part in two FIFA Women’s World Cup™ tournaments with Sweden, in 1999, where she and her team-mates were eliminated in the quarter-finals, and in 2003, where they lost in the Final versus Germany. The resilient defender also participated in two Women’s Olympic Football Tournaments, at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, and in three successive UEFA Women’s Championships, earning a runners-up medal in 2001. At club level, Tornqvist pulled on the jerseys of numerous Swedish clubs during her career, including Djurgardens, with whom she claimed two Damallsvenskan titles.
10. Dennis Bergkamp (47) represented the Netherlands at two consecutive FIFA World Cup™ contests, at USA 1994 and France 1998, scoring a total of six goals in 12 matches. The wily forward also competed in three UEFA European Championships, twice losing on penalties in the semi-finals (in 1992 and 2000). In an illustrious career that spanned two decades, the skilful Dutchman played for just three clubs, having started out with Ajax, where he won an Eredivisie title, two Dutch Cups, a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, a UEFA Cup and two Dutch Footballer of the Year accolades, and finished top scorer in the league on three occasions. A high-profile move to Inter Milan saw him lift the UEFA Cup – a competition in which he topped the scoring charts – again in 1994. After two seasons in Lombardy, Bergkamp signed for Arsenal, where he would go on to claim three Premier League crowns, four FA Cups, three FA Community Shields and a PFA Players’ Player of the Year award. After hanging up his boots, he first took charge of Ajax’s youth team, before being appointed assistant coach of the senior team and helping his charges to get their hands on four Dutch League titles and one Dutch Super Cup.
11. Thibaut Courtois (24) has worn the No1 jersey for Belgium since contributing to his nation’s successful qualifying campaign for Brazil 2014, where he played in five matches up to and including the quarter-finals, which proved a hurdle too far. After rising to prominence at Genk, where he secured a Belgian Championship, the imposing goalkeeper put pen to paper with Chelsea, who in turn loaned him out to Atletico Madrid. He enjoyed a successful three seasons in the Spanish capital, where he bagged a Liga title, a UEFA Europa League crown and a UEFA Super Cup, and reached the final of the UEFA Champions League. Courtois then returned to Chelsea, where he subsequently landed a Premier League title and an English League Cup.
12. Marcelo (28) is regarded as one of the world’s best full-backs, a status he has earned via fine performances for club and country. With Brazil, he reached the final of the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Cup and the 2012 Men’s Olympic Football Tournament, gained a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics, appeared at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2014 World Cup, and emerged victorious from the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. After having secured the Rio de Janeiro State Championship with Fluminense, the energetic Brazilan joined Real Madrid. In ten seasons at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Marcelo has picked up a host of silverware, including three Liga titles, two Spanish Cups, two Spanish Super Cups, a UEFA Champions League title, a UEFA Super Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup, and he may well add to that collection by the end of this current campaign.
13. Casey Stoney (34) starred at the last three World Cups with England, in 2007, 2011 and 2015, finishing third at the most recent tournament. The versatile defender also played at two UEFA Women’s Championships – in 2009, where the Three Lionesses finished second, and in 2013 – and at the 2012 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament in London. She began her career at Arsenal, where she won two league titles, an FA Women’s Cup and two FA Women’s League Cups, prior to signing for Charlton Athletic, with whom she captured three national cups. Stoney later defended the colours of Chelsea and Lincoln, but then returned to Arsenal to hold aloft the FA Women’s Cup one more time.
14. Gustavo Varela (38) made three appearances for Uruguay at the 2002 World Cup, having previously been part of the side that secured third place at the 2004 Copa America. The incisive winger started out by clinching three Uruguayan League titles with Nacional, at which point he decided to try his luck in Europe with Schalke, who loaned him out to Argentinian outfit Quilmes. In 2011, Varela committed himself to Uruguayan team Cerro.