Soccer Rising Star

Micah Richards
Personal information
Full name :Micah Lincoln Richards
Date of birth :June 24, 1988 (1988-06-24) (age 18)
Place of birth :Birmingham, England
Height :180 cm (5'11")
Playing position :Defender

Club information

Current club :Manchester City
Number : 2

Micah Lincoln Richards (born June 24, 1988 in Birmingham) is a football player with Manchester City and England.

He made his first team debut on October 22, 2005 against Arsenal, coming on as a substitute and was given his full debut on 12 February 2006 against Charlton Athletic. Since making his first start he has played in the majority of Manchester City's matches, and was named as the club's Young Player of the Year for the 2005-06 season.

Richards came to national prominence when his 94th minute headed goal in a televised FA Cup fixture against Aston Villa gained City a replay. Following the game an emotional Richards was interviewed by Garth Crooks live on BBC One. During the interview he was asked about his goal and used the phrase "fucking hell", and then continued with the interview. At the end of the interview, host Gary Lineker apologised to the televised audience and put it down to "the inexperience of the young lad".

During the 2005-06 season Richards captained the Manchester City youth team which reached the final of the FA Youth Cup. Richards missed the first leg of the final as he was on first team duty, but returned for the second leg. He helped his side to a 2-0 win over Liverpool, but Liverpool youth won the trophy 3-2 on aggregate.

In July 2006 Manchester City rejected a bid of £5m for Richards from Tottenham Hotspur. On 25 July 2006 he signed a new four-year contract, quashing rumours of a move away from the City of Manchester Stadium. He was rewarded with the number 2 shirt for the 2006-07 season, a traditional first team number, rather than the number 45 he wore in 2005-06.

Richards lost his temper with his manager Stuart Pearce in front of Sky TV cameras after he was substituted during the Blues' 1-0 defeat at the Madejski Stadium against Reading on 11 September 2006. The teenage defender had to be calmed down by Paul Dickov after hurling his shirt out of the dug-out and following it up with a volley of abuse.

Richards' second City goal was also an injury time equaliser - this time in a 1-1 draw with Everton at Goodison Park on 30 September 2006.

Of late there have been rumours regarding Richards' future with a host of English clubs keen to sign him, with Arsenal, Chelsea, city rivals Manchester United, and Liverpool under rich new American ownership, all having shown an interest in the 18 year old defender. Liverpool appear to be the favourites to land the young English defender, despite the interest from his boyhood team Arsenal.


" The Hunter" Klaas Jan Huntelaar

Personal information

Full name :Klaas Jan Huntelaar
Date of birth :August 12, 1983 (1983-08-12) (age 23)
Place of birth : Drempt, Gelderland, Netherlands
Height : 183 cm / 6ft
Playing position :Striker

Club information

Current club : AFC Ajax
Number : 9


Klaas Jan Huntelaar (born August 12, 1983 in Drempt, Gelderland, Netherlands) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Ajax Amsterdam and Netherlands, where he has replaced Ruud van Nistelrooy as striker after he fell out with coach Marco van Basten. He is seen as a rising star in Dutch football, having scored 33 goals in the 2005/06 Eredivisie campaign, making him top scorer. His nickname is 'The Hunter'.

In 2000, aged 16, Huntelaar joined PSV Eindhoven’s academy and established himself as a prolific goalscorer for their youth team.

He made his debut for PSV during the first half of the 2002-2003 season but this was to prove his one and only Eredivisie appearance for the club.

Having failed to establish himself in the first team he was loaned out to De Graafschap to gain experience. He made 9 Eredivisie appearances for ‘the Super Farmers’ but failed to score.

In the summer of 2003 Huntelaar was again loaned out. This time to AGOVV Apeldoorn in the Dutch First Division. He was an instant success scoring 26 times in his 35 league appearances and finished the season as the divisions top goalscorer.

After the player turned down the opportunity to sign a new contract with PSV SC Heerenveen moved in to sign him for a transfer fee of €100,000. The following season he scored 17 goals in 31 matches to help Heerenveen qualify for the UEFA Cup. 2005/06 saw him score 17 goals in 15 matches, form which earned him a mid-season transfer to Ajax, who paid € 9 million + future extensives for the player. A substantial sum went to rivals PSV Eindhoven as a result of the training compensation rule imposed by FIFA.

Huntelaar had an immediate impact at Ajax, scoring perhaps his most spectacular goal of the season, a bicycle kick in injury time of the KNVB Cup semifinal against Roda JC, which squared the match and allowed Ajax to go on to victory after the extra periods. Huntelaar then went on to score a brace, including the winner, against PSV Eindhoven to bring Ajax its 16th KNVB Cup.

Huntelaar was the first player to score a goal at Arsenal F.C.'s new Emirates Stadium in a testimonial match for Dennis Bergkamp on July 22nd, 2006 - a match Ajax ended up losing 2-1 (although in the second half, which started off with Ajax leading 1-0, 'legends' like Johan Cruijff, Marco van Basten and Ian Wright played instead).

Huntelaar started the 2006/07 campaign by scoring a brace against Copenhagen in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League 3rd qualifying round. Huntelaar continued scoring this season, getting 21 goals in the league and four in the KNVB Cup, including a goal in the final that Ajax went on to win. He also scored 9 goals out of 9 appearances in the Champions League and UEFA Cup.

Possible transfer from Ajax

Ajax issued a hands-off warning following speculation that Newcastle United was interested in signing the player in the January transfer window. Manchester United and Liverpool are also said to be very interested in the player. Juventus, Arsenal, Olympique Lyonnais and Valencia are also interested in signing the striker.