Edwin van der Sar started his career as a professional football player when Louis van Gaal encouraged him to join Ajax in 1990. At that time, Ajax was one of the leading football teams and the perfect training (and proofing) ground for Edwin van der Sar. Edwin van der Sar quickly showed his goalkeeping talents, bringing Ajax to winning the 1991-92 UEFA Cup and of course the famous 1994-95 UEFA Champions League.

In 1999, Manchester United was more than willing to recruit Edwin van der Sar to replace the retiring Peter Schmeichel. However, Edwin van der Sar decided to join Juventus instead and became the first non-Italian to keep goal for the club; it was not long before Van der Sar was recognized as one of the best goalkeepers in the Italian football league.

Van der Sar spent the period between 2001 and 2005 with Fulham, appearing 127 times for the team in the local competition. It was in 2005 and Sir Alex Ferguson finally convinced this amazing goalkeeper to join Manchester United.

Supporting Manchester United’s final defense line, Van der Sar helped the team win the Premier League trophy three times in a row (2007, 2008, 2009) along with the FIFA Club World Cup in 2008.

Samuel Eto’o started his professional career by joining Real Madrid. He could only train with Real Madrid B since he was still a minor. When Real Madrid B was relegated to Segunda División, Eto’o was loaned to second-division CD Leganés for the 1997–98 season.

It was when he was loaned to La Liga team Mallorca that Eto’o started showing his amazing talents. He scored 6 goals in 19 appearances for the team. Mallorca club president Mateo Alemany was pleased to see Eto’o’s playing style and set of skills, and he decided to sign Eto’o on a permanent deal.

During his second season with Mallorca, Eto’o’s distinct playing style was noticed by fans. He scored a total of 11 goals for the team during his second season. Eto’o is a rather controversial figure off the field, and he had several interesting incidents during his time with Mallorca to be noted.

In 2004, while still holding Mallorca’s all-time leading domestic league scorer honor, Eto’o transferred to FC Barcelona. He scored a whopping 108 goals over 145 La Liga appearances and quickly became one of the best strikers in the world. In 2005, Eto’o won the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year.

Franck was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, on April 7th, 1983. At a very young age, Franck showed his talents and love for football. In 1989, he joined local hometown club Conti Boulogne – the same team where he started his senior career as a professional football player – and showed amazing performances as a winger.

From the left-wing position, Franck is capable of creating unbelievable opportunities for attacking strikers to execute. His pace is nearly unrivaled and his ability to execute accurate passes is certainly valuable on the field.

Franck joined Alès in 2002 and then transferred to Stade Brestois a year after. He was then recruited to join Metz; he only played for the team during one season and he transferred to Galatasaray in 2005. With Franck supporting the team’s attacks, Galatasaray won the Turkish Cup the same year; it was also Franck’s first major honor.

It was his move to Olympique de Marseille that brought him back to France. He signed a 5-year contract with the team and quickly became the star of Marseille. It was his amazing performances during the 2006 FIFA World Cup that made every team manager approaching Marseille with an offer.

Franck is now playing for Bayern Munich after signing a deal in 2007.

As you may have guessed, Salomon Kalou is the brother of Bonaventure Kalou who started his career as a professional football player much earlier. When Salomon first started his career, he joined the local club Mimosas – the same club his brother used to play for – before signing for Excelsior Rotterdam in 2003.

Salomon played for Excelsior throughout the 2003 season and showed spectacular performances that captured everyone’s attention; he scored 15 goals in 11 appearances for the team, a stunning record nonetheless. He was then ‘promoted’ to join Feyenoord at the end of the season and played for the team until 2006.

It was José Mourinho who insisted on acquiring Solomon and bringing him to Chelsea in 2006. The team manager acknowledged Solomon’s talents and his fighting spirit; just the right combination Chelsea needed at the time.

Salomon continued to show amazing performances. He scored a total of 32 goals in his 135 Premier League appearances with Chelsea. He helped Chelsea won the 2009-10 Premier League trophy and FA Cup.

Solomon also supported the Ivory Coast national team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, scoring a total of 13 goals for the national team in 36 appearances. It is interesting to see what this young striker can accomplish in the near future.

Gilberto Aparecido da Silva was born on October 7th 1976. As a young boy, Silva showed a lot of potential nonetheless. He was recruited to join the youth team of América Mineiro in 1988, but he was forced to leave football because of the low wage offered by the team.

In 1997, Gilberto was convinced to give football another try. He was then recruited by América Mineiro as a full-time professional football player. He quickly became the key player for the team and helped them win the Serie B division. América Mineiro was then promoted to Serie A and survived for two seasons before being relegated back to the Serie B division.

Gilberto’s professional career didn’t end there. He was recruited by Atlético Mineiro in 2000 after a brilliant season with his former team. It was his new team manager Carlos Alberto Parreira who moved him to the defensive midfield position; Gilberto showed his true potentials soon after.

Arsenal recruited Gilberto in 2002. He played 170 games and scored 17 goals for the team before moving to his current team Panathinaikos.

Giggs started his senior career with Manchester United back in 1990. This means the midfielder has been playing for Manchester United over the period of 21 years since the age of 17. There are not many football players in the world that can stick to one team throughout his career – even less players that start their professional career with a team as capable as Manchester United.

Giggs played a total of 608 Premier League matches for Manchester United, scoring a total 110 goals. With Manchester United, Giggs won the Premier League 11 times including the latest one in the 2008-09 season. Giggs also assisted Manchester United when the team won the UEFA Champions League in 1999 and 2008.

Let’s not forget that Ryan Giggs is also noted as the only player to have scored in every single Premier League season he played since its inception. It was his goal during a match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane that maintained his record. The game also marked Giggs’ 700th appearance for Manchester United (including appearances outside the Premier League).

It is clear that Ryan Giggs is a living football legend, especially with his long list of achievements.