Page 91 - Soccer360 Issue 104

birthday wishes
Martin Ødegaard (Dec. 17) (Arsenal, Norway)
Martin Ødegaard captains both Premier League club Arsenal and the Norway national team. Considered one of the best midfielders in the world, he is known for
his technique, dribbling ability, vision and range of passing. A hardworking player, Ødegaard is an energetic, effective presser of the ball, often covering large distances in order to help his team win back possession. In both loan spells with Real Sociedad and Arsenal, Ødegaard was statistically one of the most productive pressers on his team.
Karim Benzema (Dec. 19) (Al-Ittihad, France)
Karim Benzema is Real Madrid’s all-time second-highest goalscorer and top assist provider. Benzema won 24 trophies with Real Madrid, including four La Liga, three Copa del Rey, and five UEFA Champions League titles. Benzema finished as Champions League top scorer as he won his fifth title in 2022, and subsequently captained the club in his final season before signing for Al-Ittihad the following year.
Kylian Mbappé (Dec.20) (PSG, France)
Widely regarded as a future Ballon d’Or winner, Kylian MBappé is a versatile forward, who has already played in two World Cup finals before celebrating his 25th birthday. Mbappé has been named Ligue 1 Player of the Year a record four times, and has finished as the Ligue 1 top scorer for a joint-record five seasons; in the 2021–22 season, he became the first player to finish as both Ligue 1 top scorer and
top assist provider. In 2023, he was among Time’s 100 most influential people in the world, and was ranked third on the Forbes list of the world’s highest-paid athletes.
Sir Alex Ferguson (Dec. 31) (Ex-Man. Utd. Manager)
Sir Alex Ferguson is a Premier League legend, who guided Manchester United
to 13 league titles and two Champions Leagues. The Scotsman has won more trophies than any other manager in the history of football. Ferguson also won three Scottish league championships, four Scottish Cups and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1983. He briefly managed Scotland following the death of Jock Stein, taking the team to the 1986 World Cup.
Pep Guardiola (Jan. 18) (Man. City Manager)
Pep Guardiola is the only manager to win the continental treble twice, the youngest to win the UEFA Champions League, and he also holds the records for the most consecutive league games won in La Liga, the Bundesliga, and the Premier League. He is considered to be one of the greatest managers of all time.
Alisha Lehmann (Jan. 21) (Aston Villa Womens’, Switzerland)
Alisha Lehmann plays as a forward for English FA WSL club Aston Villa and
the Switzerland national team. She previously played for BSC YB Frauen of the Nationalliga A, for West Ham United of the FA WSL and on loan with Everton of the FA WSL. In July 2015, Lehmann was part of the Swiss U-17 national team, which played its way to the final at the U-17 European Championship in Iceland. In April 2019, she helped West Ham reach the Women’s FA Cup final by scoring the equalizing goal in the semi-final match against Reading.
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