12th July is a day to remember for football fans. All of the four players born today presented innumerable moments for us to cherish. We wish them Happy Birthday and take a moment to remember their journey from scratch to becoming a star in the galaxy of this beautiful game.
Vinicius Junior(12th July,2000)-
Vinicius is one of the most promising prospects of world football. This 20 years old kid was born in 12th July 2000 in Sao Paulo. He started his career from the youth ranks of Flamengo. He was promoted to the main side of Flamengo in 2017. His journey took a huge leap as he moved to Real Madrid Castilla for a fee around 46mil Euro making him second most expensive footballer in Brazilian league’s history.
He first impressed the fans when Santiago Solari made him a regular starter at Real Madrid last season. This season, he has impressed manager Zinedine Zidane by his talent who promoted him to the senior Real Madrid side. He made 46 appearances for Real Madrid helping them to win Club World Cup in 2019 and Supercopa Espana in 2020. He is currently one of the most important players for Madrid. He also made his debut for Brazil National side on 10th September 2019 in 72nd minute against Peru.
James Rodriguez(12th July,1991)-
James David Rodriguez Rubio or James Rodriguez is a Colombian superstar born on 12th July 1991. He started his career with his local side Envigado. He started a match just at the age of 14 making him second youngest Colombian to start a professional match. He helped Envigado to move to the Colombian first division. He signed for the Argentinian club Banfield. He became the youngest foreigner to score a goal in Argentina after he scored just in the age of 17. He helped Banfield to win Argentine Championship for the first time in the club’s history.
On 6th July 2010 Porto signed him for a fee of 5.1mil euro and James moved to Europe. He won the LPFP player of the year for Breakthrough Player award in 2011-12 season making him first Columbian to do so. He won SJPF player of the month for two times. He also won Portuguese golden ball making him the second Columbian to win the award as well as the youngest player to do so.
On 25th May 2013 James moved to Monaco for a fee of $ 45 million making him second expensive transfer in Portuguese league history and most expensive player in League One. James became a sensation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, who won the Golden Boot with 6 goals in the competition, also won the Puscas award thanks to screamer against Uruguay. On 22nd July 2014, James moved to his dream club Real Madrid following the dream world cup. His transfer fee of 63mil made him the expensive Columbian and fourth most expensive player in the world. He was one of the most impactful footballers in Carlo Ancelotti‘s side. But after Zidane took charge his importance decreased and he was loaned out to Bayern Munich for 2 years. But Bayern didn’t make him permanent and returned to Madrid in this season.
Christian Vieri(12th July,1973)-
Christian Vieri was an Italian legend who was born in 12th July 1973. He played as a CF and began his career with Torino. He played for clubs like Atalanta, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Lazio Inter Milan, AC Milan, Monaco. He won various notable honours like Pichachi Trophy, Guerin De Oro, Gezetta Sports award. He was featured in FIFA WC all-stars team and Fifa XI along with ESM team of the year. He was named in greatest 100 footballers to play the game by Fifa and World Soccer.
Antonio Cassano(12th July,1982)-
Antonio Cassano was another gifted Italian footballer who was born on this date. He was a versatile footballer who played as an Attacking mid, Second striker, winger and striker. He started his career with Bari and played for Roma, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Parma and Sampdoria. He won Serie A young footballer of the year in 2001 and 2003.
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