Mesut Oezil — The sigh of relief in German football was almost audible when Mesut Ozil made the step up to international class with a string of outstanding performances. At last, people said, the three-time world champions had a new “number ten”. And they were right: a sprightly and technically gifted playmaker, Ozil is the kind of player that does …

Mary Leakey was born Mary Douglas Nichol on February 6, 1913, in London, England to Erskine Edward Nichol and Cecilia Marion (Frere) Nichol. Since Erskine worked as a painter, specializing in water colour landscapes, the Nichol family would move from place to place, visiting numerous locations in the USA, Italy, and Egypt, where Erskine painted scenes to be sold in …

Martin Palermo earned his recall to the Argentina side by doing what he does best: scoring goals, and lots of them. Boca Juniors’ all-time top scorer with 218 in all, El Loco endured a frustrating time in his first spell in the blue and white striped jersey, during which he had the misfortune to miss three penalties in a 1999 …

Maxi Rodriguez — A dynamic midfielder known for his powerful running and eye for goal, Maxi Rodriguez has brought all those qualities to bear for Argentina’s youth and senior teams and in the highly competitive Spanish and English top flights. Starting his career at Newell’s Old Boys in 1999, he moved to Espanyol three years later. It was in Spain …

Luis Suarez, is one of the stars of the Uruguay team for obvious reasons: he is a world-class finisher with remarkable technical ability, is blessed with a powerful shot and has the ability to out-jump opponents, which means he also poses a serious aerial threat. Suarez was only 11 when he left his native city of Salto to travel nearly 500 …

Luis Fabiano — Luis Fabiano Clemente (born 8 November 1980 in Campinas, Sao Paulo), commonly known as Luis Fabiano is a Brazilian football player, who currently plays for Sevilla FC as a striker. There was a time when Luis Fabiano seemed destined to have a career that flattered to deceive. That time has positively passed, though, and he is now …

Lakshmi Nivas Mittal (born June 15, 1950) is a London-based Indian billionaire industrialist, born in Sadulpur Village, in Churu district of Rajasthan, India and residing in Kensington, London. He is the 5th richest person in the world and the richest Indian, with a fortune of U$32 billion according to Forbes. The Financial Times named Mittal its 2006 Person of the …

Klaas Jan Huntelaar — Top scorer for the Netherlands in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying, the former terror of Eredivisie defences is still pursuing greater recognition for his talents overseas. The AC Milan marksman has yet to enjoy a defining moment in a major competition and remains slightly tainted by a brief and frustrating spell with Real Madrid. A regular …

Kevin Pietersen — Kevin Peter Pietersen is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey. He had also played for Indian Premier League team Royal Challengers Bangalore for its second and third seasons, captaining the side in his first, prior to being bought by the Deccan Chargers …

Keisuke Honda is an indispensable member of Takeshi Okada’s team. A prolific midfielder who will turn 24 the day before Japan kick-off their South Africa 2010 campaign, he dazzled for CSKA Moscow in the deep waters of the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League, playing a critical role in their unforeseen charge to the quarter-finals. Honda started out at Nagoya Grampus, scoring …