Mesut Özil (born 15 October 1988) is a footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and for the German national team. Özil has been a youth national team member since 2006, and a member of the German national team since 2009. He gained international attention during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was nominated for the Golden Ball Award which is awarded to the tournament's best player. Following his breakout performance at the World Cup, he was transferred to Real Madrid in August 2010.
His nicknames include "der Rabe"-The Raven (or the Spanish, "El Cuervo")- playing on his smart and opportunistic style of play, “der neue Diego” – the new Diego – in reference to Brazilian Diego Ribas da Cunha whose playmaker-role he inherited at Werder Bremen, "German Messi" and "German Zidane".
Özil began his youth career playing for various clubs in Gelsenkirchen and then played five years for Rot-Weiss Essen.
In 2005, he moved to the youth department of FC Schalke 04. He was a midfielder and wore 17 as his squad number, after starting as play-maker and central attacking midfielder in the place of the suspended Lincoln in Ligapokal matches against Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich for Schalke. On making the first team there, he was described as 'the next big thing', but he eventually fell out with club management and moved on to Werder Bremen in January 2008.
On 31 January 2008, he moved to Werder Bremen for a reported fee of €4.3 million, signing a contract with the German club until 30 June 2011. Fresh off his fallout at Schalke 04 he stepped into the shoes of Brazilian playmaker Diego to fire the northern club to the 2009 DFB-Pokal with the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in Berlin. He also excelled in Europe where he led Werder Bremen to the final of the last ever UEFA Cup, losing out to Shakhtar Donetsk. Although Bremen failed to get going in their 2008–09 Bundesliga season, eventually finishing in a disappointing 10th, Özil managed to make a significant impact in most games and came away with a respectable three goals and 15 assists that highlighted his attacking credentials. In his second season, Bremen ended in third, with Özil contributing 9 goals and 17 assists in 31 matches.
Due to his performances in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he ensured his place among Europe's top young talents. On 17 August 2010 Werder Bremen announced that they had reached an agreement with Real Madrid. The transfer fee is believed to be in the region of €15 million. He made his debut on 22 August in a friendly match against Hércules, which Real Madrid won 3–1.
Özil warming up against Leicester City in a pre-season friendly in 2011.
He then made his La Liga debut for Real Madrid as a substitute for Ángel di María in the 62nd minute against Mallorca, which Real Madrid drew 0–0. Özil made his season debut in Champions League on 15 September. He got his first assist with Real Madrid in the 74th minute against Ajax after he crossed in the ball, resulting in a Higuaín goal. Özil's performances for Real Madrid have been praised by media, fans and players.
He walked off the pitch as a second half substitute to standing ovations in his first two games as a starter at the Santiago Bernabéu. His first goal came in a league match against Deportivo La Coruña on 3 October 2010, in a 6–1 victory. Özil's first Champions League goal with Real came in the 14th minute against Milan on 19 October 2010. On 22 December he made his debut in Copa del Rey, scoring once in a 8–0 victory over Levante.
On 6 March 2011, after providing two assists in a 3–1 victory over Racing Santander, Özil was greatly praised by worldwide media thanks to his performance on the pitch, thus consolidating his outstanding season so far. He finished his 2010/2011 season with Madrid with 25 assists, which was the highest for any player in any major European competition that season.
Özil will wear the number 10 shirt for Real Madrid in 2011–12, signalling Jose Mourinho's intent to use the German international as his main playmaker. On 17 August 2011, Özil was sent off in the last minute of the second leg of the 2011 Supercopa de España after an altercation with David Villa.
Real Madrid won 4-0 over Espanyol in La League, Real Madrid who come to the stadium Estadio Cornella-El Prat creating goal-tally through trigol Gonzalo Higuain and one goal by Jose Callejon, Monday (3 / 10). With this victory Real Madrid managed to climb from seventh to third in La Liga standings. (Photo: Reuters / Gustau Nacarino) www.vivanews.com
Thursday evening October 27, 2011, the Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Coriano, Italy, packed with thousands of people. They were packed neatly in the church and in the streets. All eyes fixed on the corpse and prayers Italian, Marco Simoncelli, who died at the Grand Prix of Malaysia October 23, 2011. (Photo: REUTERS) Vivanews.com
A crew tried to calm Paolo, the father of Marco Simoncelli in the pit area. Marco Simoncelli died after an accident in Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang. (REUTERS / Stringer)
Paolo, the father of Marco Simoncelli of Italy, who were entertained in the pit area. Marco Simoncelli has died after an accident in Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang. (REUTERS / Stringer)
MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli's body was in put in an ambulance at the Sepang Circuit. (REUTERS / Samsul Said)
In this photo shows the sequence of events, the Honda rider Marco Simoncelli seen just before and after the accident, involving Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi. (Reuters / Dorna)
MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli on the ground shortly after the accident in Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang Circuit. (Reuters / Samsul Said)
Yamaha rider Colin Edwards of the U.S. left the health center after the crash with Honda rider Marco Simoncelli at the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, October 23, 2011. (REUTERS / Stringer)
Mesut Özil (born 15 October 1988) is a footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and for the German national team. Özil has been a youth national team member since 2006, and a member of the German national team since 2009. He gained international attention during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was nominated for the Golden Ball Award which is awarded to the tournament's best player. Following his breakout performance at the World Cup, he was transferred to Real Madrid in August 2010.
On 31 January 2008, he moved to Werder Bremen for a reported fee of €4.3 million, signing a contract with the German club until 30 June 2011. Fresh off his fallout at Schalke 04 he stepped into the shoes of Brazilian playmaker Diego to fire the northern club to the 2009 DFB-Pokal with the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in Berlin. He also excelled in Europe where he led Werder Bremen to the final of the last ever UEFA Cup, losing out to Shakhtar Donetsk. Although Bremen failed to get going in their 2008–09 Bundesliga season, eventually finishing in a disappointing 10th, Özil managed to make a significant impact in most games and came away with a respectable three goals and 15 assists that highlighted his attacking credentials. In his second season, Bremen ended in third, with Özil contributing 9 goals and 17 assists in 31 matches.
He then made his La Liga debut for Real Madrid as a substitute for Ángel di María in the 62nd minute against Mallorca, which Real Madrid drew 0–0. Özil made his season debut in Champions League on 15 September. He got his first assist with Real Madrid in the 74th minute against Ajax after he crossed in the ball, resulting in a Higuaín goal. Özil's performances for Real Madrid have been praised by media, fans and players.
Roger Federer (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP number one position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 17 October 2011, he is ranked World No. 4 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. He is one of seven male players to capture the career Grand Slam and one of three (with Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal) to do so on three different surfaces (clay, grass and hard courts). He is the only male player in tennis history to have reached the title match of each Grand Slam tournament at least 5 times. Many sports analysts, tennis critics, and former and current players consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time.
Federer was born in Binningen, near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South African-born Lynette. He holds both Swiss and South African citizenships. He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, near Basel, close to the French-German borders and Federer speaks Swiss German, German, French and English fluently, Swiss German being his native language. He was raised as a Roman Catholic and met Pope Benedict XVI while playing the 2006 Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome. Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer was subject to compulsory military service in the Swiss Armed Forces. However, in 2003 he was deemed unfit due to a long-standing back problem and was subsequently not required to fulfill his 'obligations'. Federer himself also credits the range of sports he played as a child – he also played badminton and basketball – for his hand-eye coordination. “I was always very much more interested if a ball was involved,” he says. Most tennis prodigies, by contrast, play tennis at the exclusion of pretty much everything else. "Having first played tennis, then badminton, and now back to tennis, I have an appreciation for how certain skills translate from one sport to another. I’ve lost some youthful vigor but am in some ways a better tennis player now because of the badminton years, when I learned how to construct points and control space with chess-like strategy (I used to play a little chess too), the importance of proper footwork, and the creative use of the hand and wrist for finesse shots."
