Monday, April 23, 2012

Nikica Jelavic


Zone Soccer Player | Nikica Jelavic | He started his career with Prva HNL side Hajduk Split in 2002, before moving to the Belgian Pro League club Zulte Waregem in 2007.  For the 2008-09 season played for the Austrian Jelavic champions Rapid Vienna. In the Austrian Bundesliga he played 24 games (as a first squad in 9 and as substitute in 15) and scored seven goals without any yellow or red cards. In the Europa League, he played six games and scored four goals with one assist. In the summer of 2010 Jelavic was linked with a transfer to Rangers. On 19 August, Rapid Announced That Jelavic would be signing for Rangers, after the player Announced he would not play in Rapid's Europa League qualifying match against Aston Villa.


On 20 August 2010 Jelavic completed a £ 4 million move to Rangers on a four-year-deal. Due to his former club Rapid Vienna eliminating Aston Villa from the Europa League, Jelavic was ineligible to Participate in the Rangers' Champions League campaign, after Becoming cup tied after Appearing for the Austrian side in the Earlier rounds . Johnstone on 27 February 2011, scored two goals Jelavic and assisted a third with a back heel pass. On 20 March 2011, scored the winning goal Jelavic in extra time in the Rangers' 2-1 win over Celtic in the 2011 Scottish League Cup Final. Jelavic received the SFA goal of the season award for his goal against Aberdeen.  Jelavic scored his first European goal for Rangers on 3 August 2011 in a 1-1 draw against Malmo in a UEFA Champions League qualifying game. On 5 November 2011 Jelavic scored his first brace of the season Helping Rangers a 3-1 victory to over Dundee United. Jelavic scored another two goals in a 2-0 win over Hibernian on 10 December 2011.


On 10 March 2012, scored his first goal Jelavic for Everton in his first start for the club, scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur at Goodison Park . Jelavic scored his first brace for Everton against Norwich City in a 2-2 draw at Carrow Road in the Premier League. On 14 April, Jelavic scored the opener in the FA Cup Semi-Final against local rivals Everton Liverpool at Wembley the which went on to lose 2-1. On 22 April, Jelavic scored his second brace for Everton, as he scored the opener and the third goal at Old Trafford against Manchester United, in a pulsating 4-4 draw.


Jelavic eventually made his full international debut in a friendly match against Oman on 8 October 2009 in Rijeka, coming on as a substitute for Ivan Klasnic in the 64th minute in the which he also netted his first international goal to secure his team a 3-2 win in the final moments of the match.


Personal information
Full name Nikica Jelavic
Date of birth 27 August 1985 (age 26)
Place of birth Capljina, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Striker

Club information
Current club Everton
Number 7

Youth career
1999-2001 GOŠK Gabela
2001-2002 Neretva
Hajduk Split 2002-2005

Senior career
years Team
Hajduk Split 2002-2007 35 (8)
2007-2008 Zulte Waregem 23 (3)
2008-2010 Rapid Vienna 71 (27)
2010-2012 Rangers 45 (30)
2012-Everton 9 (6)

National team
2002 Croatia U17 2 (0)
2003 Croatia U18 2 (0)
2009-Croatia 18 (7)


Honours

Club
     Rangers
         Scottish Premier League: 2010-11
         Scottish League Cup: 2011

     Everton
         FA Cup Player of the Round: Sixth Round 2011-12

Marouane Fellaini


Zone Soccer Player | Marouane Fellaini | At the age of 17, he signed his first contract with Standard Liege permanent. Born in Etterbeek, Brussels, Fellaini began playing football at the age of 8 for Anderlecht. In his first season at Anderlecht's Academy, he scored 26 goals in his second and he scored 37. Fellaini's first love was track, with the 10.000 meters being his preferred event. After rejected advances from Manchester United and Following reported interest from Aston Villa, Real Madrid, Tottenham and Bayern Munich, Fellaini signed for Everton in September 2008 on a five-year deal from Standard Liege for an initial transfer fee of £ 15 million (a record for a Belgian player and a club record for Everton). He made his Everton debut in a 3-2 away victory at Stoke City on 14 September 2008, and scored his first goal for the team against Newcastle United in a 2-2 home draw on 5 October 2008. Fellaini went on to score nine goals in his first season, the most he has scored in a single season at the club to date.


At the end of the 2008-09 season Everton's Fellaini was named Young Player of the Season. In his time in England he has Become well known for his large "afro" hair, Becoming a cult hero with the Everton fans sporting Afro wigs regularly as a homage to Fellaini. Later Fellaini Reverted to play in his favored defensive midfield area.  Fellaini suffered an ankle injury in an FA Cup replay victory against Chelsea in February 2011 and although he was Able to play in a 2-0 win against Sunderland a week later, the injury Caused him to miss the remainder of the 2010-11 season.


He did not play a competitive match until August 2011, when he Appeared as a substitute in a 1-0 loss to Queens Park Rangers at Goodison Park and played the full match in the very next fixture, as Everton beat Sheffield United 3 -1 in the League Cup. Eligible to play for either Belgium or Morocco, Fellaini he chose to Represent the country of his birth from youth level upwards.


Personal information
Full name Marouane Fellaini-Bakkioui
Date of birth 22 November 1987 (age 24)
Place of birth Etterbeek, Belgium
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 1/2 in)
Playing position Midfielder

Club information
Current club Everton
Number 25

Youth career
Anderlecht 1994-1997
Mons 1997-2000
2000-2002 R. Francs Borains
2002-2004 Sporting Charleroi
2004-2006 Standard Liege

Senior career
years Team
2006-2008 Standard Liege 64 (9)
2008-Everton 104 (14)

National team
2007-Belgium 33 (5)


Honours

Club
Standard Liège
     Belgian First Division winner: 2007-08
     Belgian Ebony Shoe winner: 2008

Everton
     FA Cup runner-up: 2009
     Young Player of the Season winner: 2008/09

Gabriel Agbonlahor


Zone Soccer Player | Gabriel Agbonlahor | Agbonlahor's Premier League debut for Villa came on 18 March 2006 at the age of 19, under manager David O'Leary, against Everton at Goodison Park. Agbonlahor had played every minute of Aston Villa's campaign in 2006-07, until he was replaced by Patrik Berger, in the 2-0 away fixture against Reading, on 10 February 2007. The Following was the first match of the season did not start Agbonlahor That-he instead Appeared from the bench, Replacing new Villa signing Shaun Maloney.  Following this break, Agbonlahor went on a scoring spree. He scored from the right-wing against Everton on 2 April, to gain Villa a valuable point. Following this match, Agbonlahor signed a new four-year contract at Aston Villa. Agbonlahor made it three in a row on Easter Monday, again scoring an equalizer, adjudged to have crossed the line by Assistant referee Dave Richardson.


However, this was a high point in a dismal run of form in the which he scored just one goal in 12 league games. After the heavy defeat to Liverpool and Despite his lack of form Agbonlahor was recalled to the starting 11 and went on to score a goal against Manchester United on 5 April in a 3-2 defeat for Villa. Gabriel Agbonlahor was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year with team mate Ashley Young winning the honor. Agbonlahor scored his first goal of the 2011-12 season in Aston Villa's 3-1 home win over Blackburn Rovers on 20 August 2011, and Followed this up with the Levellers in a 2-2 away draw against Everton 10 days later. This Meant That Agbonlahor had equaled his Premier League goals tally from 2010-11 after just five games in to the new season. Meanwhile on the pitch Agbonlahor continued to impress, scoring the first goal and setting up Darren Bent for the second in a man of the match performance against Wigan Athletic on 1 October. On 3 April 2012, after Aston Villa captain Stilyan Petrov's diagnosis with acute leukemia, Agbonlahor was named club captain upon Petrov's diagnosis.


Agbonlahor's Ancestry qualifies him to play for Scotland or Nigeria at international level, but he chose to play for his Homeland of England. On 20 September 2006, Agbonlahor was penciled in as a player in the Nigeria U-20 team for the match against Rwanda. On 28 September 2006, Agbonlahor received his first call-up to the England Under-21 squad, and won his first U21 cap as a substitute against Germany on 6 October. Agbonlahor was then omitted from the England's Under-21 Championship squad, by manager Stuart Pearce, on 30 May 2007, as a result of missing the England U21 training camp in Spain.


On 1 February, Agbonlahor was named in Fabio Capello's 23-man England squad to play Switzerland in February 2008, although a hamstring injury forced him to withdraw from the game.  On 15 November 2008, he was called up to Capello's squad for the upcoming match against Germany in Berlin, joining three other players in the Aston Villa squad: Ashley Young, Curtis Davies and Gareth Barry.


Personal information
Full name Gabriel Agbonlahor Imuetinyan
Date of birth 13 October 1986 (age 25)
Place of birth Birmingham, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position Striker, Winger

Club information

Current club Aston Villa
Number 11

Youth career
1994-2005 Aston Villa

Senior career
years Team
2005-Aston Villa 216 (53)
2005 Watford (loan) 2 (0)
2005 Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 8 (0)

National team
2006-2009 England U21 16 (5)
2008-England 3 (0)


Honours

Club
Aston Villa
     Football League Cup Runner-Up: 2009-10

Individual
     Premier League Player of the Month (1): November 2007