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Martina Navratilova Early life and tennis career

Martina Navratilova born October 18, 1956 is a Czech American and former Czechoslovak tennis player and a former World No. 1. Billie Jean King said about Navratilova in 2006, "She's the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player who's ever lived."
Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam women's doubles titles (an all-time record), and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. She reached the Wimbledon singles final 12 times, including 9 consecutive years from 1982 through 1990, and won the women's singles title at Wimbledon a record 9 times. She and King each won 20 Wimbledon titles, an all-time record. Navratilova is one of just three women to have accomplished a career Grand Slam in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles (called the Grand Slam "boxed set") a record she shares with Margaret Court and Doris Hart. She holds the open era record for most singles titles (167) and doubles titles (177). She recorded the longest winning streak in the open era (74 consecutive matches) and three of the six longest winning streaks in the women's open era. Navratilova, Margaret Court, and Maureen Connolly share the record for the most consecutive Grand Slam singles titles (six). Navratilova reached 11 consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, second all-time to Steffi Graf's 13. In women's doubles, Navratilova and Pam Shriver won 109 consecutive matches and won all four Grand Slam titles in 1984. Also the pair set an all time record of 79 titles together and tied Louise Brough Clapp's and Margaret Osborne duPont's record of 20 Grand Slam women's doubles titles as a team.
Originally from Czechoslovakia, she was stripped of her citizenship when, in 1975 at the age of 18, she asked the United States for political asylum and was granted temporary residency. At the time, Navratilova was being told by the Czechoslovakian Sports Federation that she was becoming too Americanized and that she should go back to school and make tennis secondary. Navratilova became a US citizen in 1981, but on January 9, 2008, she had her Czech citizenship restored. She stated she has not renounced her American citizenship nor does she plan to do so and that the restoration of her Czech citizenship was not politically motivated.
Navratilova is a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy. She also serves the Health and Fitness Ambassador for AARP in an alliance created to help AARP's millions of members lead active, healthy lives.
Contents
* 1 Early life and tennis career
* 2 Personal life
* 3 Activism and politics
* 4 Career statistics
o 4.1 Open era records
* 5 Recognition
* 6 I'm a Celebrity
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 Further reading
* 10 Video
* 11 External links
Early life and tennis career
Navratilova was born Martina Šubertová in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Her parents divorced when she was three, and in 1962 her mother Jana married Miroslav Navrátil, who became her first tennis coach. Martina then took the name of her stepfather (adding the feminine suffix "ová"), thus becoming Martina Navrátilová (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmarcɪna ˈnavraːcɪlovaː] ( listen)). Her father Mirek[9] remarried and divorced. When she was eight, he committed suicide. In 2008, Navratilova's mother died of emphysema, aged 75. has a sister, Jana, and an older paternal half-brother.
In 1972 at the age of 15, Navratilova won the Czechoslovakia national tennis championship. In 1973, aged 16, she made her debut on the United States Lawn Tennis Association professional tour but did not turn professional until 1975. She won her first professional singles title in Orlando, Florida in 1974 at the age of 17. Upon arriving in the United States, Navratilova first lived with former Vaudeville actress, Frances Dewey Wormser, and her husband, Morton Wormser, a tennis enthusiast.
Navratilova was the runner-up at two Grand Slam singles tournaments in 1975. She lost in the final of the Australian Open to Evonne Goolagong Cawley and in the final of the French Open to Chris Evert. After losing to Evert in the semifinals of that year's US Open, the 18-year-old Navratilova went to the offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in New York City and informed them that she wished to defect from Communist Czechoslovakia. Within a month, she received a green card.
Navratilova won her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 1978, where she defeated Evert in three sets in the final and captured the World No. 1 ranking for the first time. She successfully defended her Wimbledon title in 1979, again beating Evert in the final, and retained her World No. 1 ranking. In 1981, Navratilova won her third Grand Slam singles title by defeating Evert in the final of the Australian Open. Navratilova also reached the final of the US Open, where she lost a third set tiebreak to Tracy Austin. Navratilova won both Wimbledon and the French Open in 1982.
After adopting basketball player Nancy Lieberman's exercise plan and using graphite racquets, Navratilova became the most dominant player in women's tennis. After losing in the fourth round of the first Grand Slam event of 1983, the French Open, she captured the year's three remaining Grand Slam titles (the Australian Open was held in December at that time). Navratilova's loss at the French Open was her only singles defeat during that year, during which she established an 86–1 record. Her winning percentage was the best ever for a post-1968 professional tennis player. During 1982, 1983, and 1984, Navratilova lost a total of only six singles matches.[citation needed]
Navratilova won the 1984 French Open, thus holding all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously. Her accomplishment was declared a "Grand Slam" by Philippe Chatrier, president of the International Tennis Federation. Many tennis observers, however, insisted that it was not a true Grand Slam because the titles had not been won in a single calendar year. Navratilova extended her Grand Slam singles tournament winning streak to a record-equalling six following wins at Wimbledon and the US Open. She entered the 1984 Australian Open with a chance of winning all four titles in the same year. In the semifinals, however, Helena Suková ended Navratilova's 74-match winning streak (a record for a professional) 1–6, 6–3, 7–5.[citation needed]

A left-hander, Navratilova won all four Grand Slam women's doubles titles in 1984, partnering right-handed Pam Shriver, a tall and talented player whose most noted stroke was a slice forehand, a shot virtually unheard of in the game today. This was part of a record 109-match winning streak that the pair achieved between 1983 and 1985. (Navratilova was ranked the World No. 1 doubles player for a period of over three years in the 1980s.) From 1985 through 1987, Navratilova reached the women's singles final at all 11 Grand Slam tournaments held during those three years, winning six of them. From 1982 through 1990, she reached the Wimbledon final nine consecutive times. She reached the US Open final five consecutive times from 1983 through 1987 and appeared in the French Open final five out of six years from 1982 through 1987.[citation needed]
17-year old German player Steffi Graf emerged on the scene in 1987 when she beat Navratilova in the final of the French Open. Navratilova defeated Graf in the 1987 Wimbledon and US Open finals (and at the US Open became only the third player in the open era to win the women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles at the same event). Graf's consistent play throughout 1987, however, allowed her to obtain the World No. 1 ranking before the end of the year. Graf eventually broke Navratilova's records of 156 consecutive weeks and 331 total weeks as the World No. 1 singles player but did not break Navratilova's record 167 singles titles as Graf reached 107. In 1988, Graf won all four Grand Slam singles titles, beating Navratilova 5–7, 6–2, 6–1 in the Wimbledon final along the way.[citation needed]
In 1989, Graf and Navratilova met in the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open, with Graf winning both encounters in three sets. Despite the age difference between the two players, Navratilova won 9 of the 18 career singles matches with Graf and 5 of the 9 Grand Slam singles matches with her. At age 34, Navratilova defeated Graf the last time they played in a Gran

Martina Navratilova

Boris Becker Tennis career

Boris Franz Becker born 22 November 1967 is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17. Boris also won four year end championships titles including three ATP Masters World Tour Finals (played 8 finals, second all-time to Lendl 9) and one WCT Finals. In addition five Masters 1000 series titles. Tennis Magazine put Becker in 18th place on its list of the 40 greatest tennis players from 1965 to 2005.
Contents
* 1 Early life
* 2 Tennis career
o 2.1 Playing style
* 3 Equipment
* 4 Records
* 5 Career statistics
* 6 Post-retirement career
* 7 Personal life
o 7.1 Relationships
* 8 References
* 9 See also
* 10 Further reading
* 11 Video
* 12 External link
Early life
Becker was born in Leimen, West Germany, the only son of Elvira (née Pisch), who was raised in Czechoslovakia, and Karl-Heinz Becker.[2] Becker was raised Catholic.[2][3] His father, an architect, founded the tennis centre (Tennis-Club Blau-Weiß 1964 Leimen e. V.) in Leimen, where Boris learned the game.
Tennis career
Boris turned professional in 1984 and won his first professional doubles title that year in Munich. As a West German teenager, Becker won his first top-level singles title in June 1985 at Queen's Club and two weeks later on 7 July, became the first unseeded player and the first German to win the Wimbledon singles title, defeating Kevin Curren in four sets. At the time, he was the youngest ever male Grand Slam singles champion at 17 years, 7 months (a record later broken by Michael Chang in 1989, who won the French Open when he was 17 years, 3 months). Two months after his triumph, Becker became the youngest winner of the Cincinnati Open.
In 1986, Becker successfully defended his Wimbledon title, defeating World No. 1 Ivan Lendl in straight sets in the final. Becker, then ranked World No. 2, was upset in the second round of Wimbledon in 1987 by the World No. 70 player, Peter Doohan. In the Davis Cup that year, Becker and John McEnroe played one of the longest matches in tennis history. Becker won 4–6, 15–13, 8–10, 6–2, 6–2 (at that time, there were no tiebreaks in the Davis Cup). The match lasted 6 hours and 22 minutes.
Becker was back in the Wimbledon final in 1988, where he lost in four sets to Stefan Edberg in a match that marked the start of one of Wimbledon's great rivalries. Becker also helped West Germany win its first Davis Cup in 1988. He won the year-ending Masters title in New York City, defeating five-time champion Lendl in the final. The same year he also won season ending WCT Finals for the rival World Championship Tennis tour defeating Stefan Edberg in four sets.
In 1989, Becker won two Grand Slam singles titles, the only year he won more than one. After losing to Edberg in the French Open semifinals, he defeated Edberg in the Wimbledon final and then beat Lendl in the US Open final. He also helped West Germany retain the Davis Cup, defeating Andre Agassi in the semifinal round. As a result, Becker was named Player of The Year by the ATP Tour. The World No. 1 ranking, however, still eluded him.
In 1990, Becker met Edberg for the third consecutive year in the Wimbledon final, but this time was on the losing end of a long five-set match. He also failed to defend his US Open title, losing to Agassi in the semifinals. Becker reached the final of the Australian Open for the first time in his career in 1991, where he defeated Lendl to claim the World No. 1 ranking. Another loss to Agassi in the French Open semifinals kept him from winning the first two Grand Slam tournaments of the year. He was ranked World No. 1 for twelve weeks during 1991, though he never managed to finish a year with that ranking.
In 1992 Becker won a seven tour titles including his second ATP Tour World Championships defeating Jim Courier in four sets.
By 1993, issues back home over his courtship of and marriage to Barbara Feltus, whose mother was German and father was African-American, and tax problems with the German Government, had caused Becker to slide into a severe mid-career decline. Becker was ranked World No. 2 during Wimbledon in 1991 and reached his fourth consecutive final there. However, he lost in straight sets to fellow German compatriot and World No. 7 Michael Stich. Becker and Stich developed a fierce rivalry, with the media often comparing a passionate Becker to a more stoic Stich.[citation needed] However, Becker and Stich teamed in 1992 to win the men's doubles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. Becker defeated Jim Courier in straight sets to win the 1992 year-end ATP Tour World Championships in Frankfurt.
In 1995, Becker, now almost a half decade past his prime, reached the Wimbledon final for the seventh time, by defeating Agassi in the semifinals. In the final however, the years past-his-prime Becker, further fatigued after grueling baseline contests with Cedric Pioline and then with Agassi, ran out of gas after winning the first set in a tiebreak, and lost in four sets to Pete Sampras. He won the year-end ATP Tour World Championships for the third and last time in Frankfurt with a straight-set win over Chang in the final. Becker's sixth and final Grand Slam title came in 1996 when he defeated Chang in the final of the Australian Open. In that tournament, Becker delivered a humorous victory speech.[citation needed] When he mentioned his sponsors, he cut himself short, by saying that he did not have the whole day left. He then consoled Chang, by saying that his (Becker's) days were numbered, while Chang was still young. After winning the Queen's Club Championships for the fourth time, Becker was widely expected to mount a serious challenge for the Wimbledon title in 1996, but his bid ended abruptly when he damaged his right wrist during a third-round match against Neville Godwin and was forced to withdraw.

Boris Becker

Boris BeckerBoris Becker

Boris Becker

hakan sukur club career

Hakan Şükür born 1 September 1971 a Turkish former footballer, who played as a striker.
He spent the majority of his professional career with Galatasaray, being a three-time Gol Kralı (Goal King, title and award given to the annual top goalscorer of the Süper Lig), the club in three different spells and winning a total of 14 major titles.
Şükür represented Turkey a total of 112 times, scoring 51 goals, making him the nation's top goalscorer and 19th in the world. One of the most prolific strikers of the modern era, he netted 383 goals throughout his club career, as well as the fastest ever in a FIFA World Cup, in 2002. He retired from football in 2008, only scoring once in single digits for his main team, in 13 seasons.
Contents
* 1 Club career
* 2 International career
o 2.1 International goals
* 3 Statistics
o 3.1 Club
o 3.2 European Cup goals
o 3.3 International
* 4 Honours
o 4.1 Club
o 4.2 Country
o 4.3 Individual
* 5 References
* 6 External links
Club career
Born in Adapazarı, Sakarya Province, Şükür began his football career with local club Sakaryaspor, making his professional debut shortly after his 17th birthday. His first goal came in a match against Eskişehirspor on 26 February 1989: with the match tied 2–2, he entered the pitch as a substitute and scored the winning goal.[3] He went on to score a further 18 Süper Lig goals in his three-year spell with the club.
In the summer of 1990, Şükür joined fellow first division outfit Bursaspor. He scored six goals in 27 matches in his second season, helping the team to a sixth-place finish, and making his Turkish national team debut shortly after.
Subsequently, Şükür signed for national giants Galatasaray SK. Nicknamed the Bull of the Bosphorus, he scored 19 goals in 30 matches in his first season with the club, helping it lift both the league and cup titles, adding 16 and 19, respectively, in the next two seasons, and attracting the attention of Torino FC. In 1995, he moved to the Italian club, becoming the second Turkish player to ever play in the Serie A, but returned to his country and Galatasaray in the following winter transfer window, failing to settle and only scoring once in the league.
Upon his return to Galatasaray, Şükür regained his scoring form, scoring 16 goals in the league and helping the club win the cup. The following season, he bagged 38 goals in the league, tying him for second-most goals scored in a season with Metin Oktay, one goal behind record holder Tanju Çolak; both players were playing for Galatasaray when they broke the record.[3] Şükür also finished third in the ESM Golden Boot rankings with 57 points, behind Mário Jardel (60) and Ronaldo (68). He won the Gol Kralı award the following two seasons, scoring 32 and 19 goals respectively, with the Istanbul side winning the title in all three seasons.
In the 1999–2000 season, Şükür's last with Galatasaray in his second stint, the team completed a domestic double for the second year in succession, and added the year's UEFA Cup, becoming the first Turkish side to win a European title; in the 4–1 penalty shootout win against Arsenal, he scored on his attempt, having netted 10 times in 17 games during the campaign.
Subsequently, Şükür moved to Italy once again, this time to F.C. Internazionale Milano, scoring six goals in 35 official games. After one single season, he signed with another team in the country, Parma FC, but was unable to produce again, only scoring three times. In December 2002, he joined Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League, scoring twice in nine appearances, both goals coming in a match against Fulham),
Şükür returned to Galatasaray in 2003, scoring 12 times in 28 league games in his first season, and 18 in the following, with the team winning the 2005 Turkish cup during that timeframe. Also, on 3 December 2003, he scored twice in a 2–0 home defeat of Juventus FC, for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as Turkey's Golden Player by the Turkish Football Federation, as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.
In the 2005–06 season, Şükür again scored in double digits (ten) as Galatasaray again won the league. After helping the club win a record-tying seventeenth first division title in 2007–08, netting 11 goals, he decided to retire from the game, aged nearly 37. Subsequently, he often appeared as a television pundit on TRT. During his career, he scored 38 goals in all European competitions.
International career
Hakan Şükür playing for Turkey during the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Şükür won his first cap for Turkey in a friendly with Luxembourg in March 1992 - his debut being awarded by Danish manager Sepp Piontek - scoring his first international goal in his next match, against Denmark, and totalling six in his first 11 appearances.
He represented the nation at UEFA Euro 1996 (three matches, no goals), Euro 2000 (scoring twice for the quarterfinalists, in a 2–0 group stage win against hosts Belgium) and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
In the latter competition, held in South Korea and Japan, he scored once for Turkey in seven matches, as the national team finished in third place: on 29 June, Şükür scored the fastest ever goal in a FIFA World Cup, netting against South Korea in 10.8 seconds (3–2 win).[5] Of his 112 senior appearances, he captained Turkey in 30; after appearing in some Euro 2008 qualifiers, notably scoring four against Moldova in a 5–0 win in Frankfurt, Germany,[11] he was not selected for the finals in Switzerland and Austria, his final game being a 0–1 home loss against Greece, at the age of 36 (17 October 2007).

hakan sukur

nani chnha career

Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha born 17 November 1986, commonly known as Nani, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger for English side Manchester United and the Portugal national team.
Nani began his career with Cristiano Ronaldo, joining the youth team in 2003 before making his first-team debut in 2005. During his two-year tenure in Portugal, Nani won only one trophy: the Portuguese Cup in the 2006–07 season. Before the 2007–08 season, Nani's performances attracted the attention of Manchester United, who eventually secured his services in July 2007. He gained first-team status almost immediately and has since won the Premier League twice, the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, and the League Cup in the 2008–09 Season.
Nani made his Portugal debut in 2006, scoring his first goal in the process, and has since established himself as a key member for them. He was heavily featured during Euro 2008 and throughout the 2010 World Cup qualification process.
Contents
* 1 Early life
* 2 Club career
o 2.1 Early career
o 2.2 Sporting CP
o 2.3 Manchester United
+ 2.3.1 Early years
+ 2.3.2 Breakthrough
+ 2.3.3 2010–11
* 3 International career
o 3.1 International goals
* 4 Career statistics
o 4.1 International
* 5 Honours
o 5.1 Club
o 5.2 Individual
* 6 Celebration
* 7 References
* 8 External links
Early life
Born in Praia, Cape Verde, Nani emigrated with his family to Portugal at an early age. He was raised by his aunt Antonia in the Amadora district of Lisbon, where he and childhood friend, midfielder Manuel Fernandes, would often kick a ball about together. He was given the name Nani as a baby by his siter.
Club career
Early career
Nani grew up supporting Sporting CP and played junior football alongside Ricardo Vaz Tê at Queluz youth club Real Sport Clube, before joining the youth squad of Sporting CP.
According to the former coach of the Real Sport Clube junior team, a quick friendship was formed between Vaz Té and Nani but their dislike of losing became a complication in training. The two got into a fight during a training session which resulted in the two having to be separated and be punished for a week which resulted in neither playing the following Sunday. While Vaz Té came to practice for that week, Nani did not appear.
Sporting CP
Nani made his debut for Sporting in 2005–06, making 29 appearances and scoring four goals. In his second season, he had similar numbers with 29 appearances and five goals. He also played in six European games, scoring once.
Manchester United
Early years
Nani was sold to Manchester United for €25.5 million, five percent of which was paid to Real de Massamá. He passed his medical on 6 June 2007, and signed a five-year contract a month later, joining Portugal team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo – with whom he lived for a time at the start of his Manchester United career – at the club.
Nani scored on his debut in a pre-season friendly against Shenzhen, netting the third in a 6–0 win. He also scored in the following game against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical with a chip off the right post from the left side of the penalty area in a 3–0 win.
On 5 August 2007, Nani made his competitive debut for United, coming on as a substitute in the Community Shield against Chelsea. He marked his debut with a trophy after the Red Devils won 3–0 on penalties, following a 1–1 This was followed up by Nani's third goal for the club three days later, when he scored against Glentoran in another 3–0 pre-season win.
Nani with Gilberto Silva
Nani's Premier League debut came in United's opening match at home to Reading on 12 August as a substitute for Wayne Rooney, who had suffered a foot injury. 26 August 2007, Nani scored his first competitive goal for Manchester United, scoring a 30-yard winner in the 69th minute against Tottenham Hotspur. Nani also set up crucial goals for Louis Saha and Nemanja Vidić allowing United to beat both Sunderland and Everton 1–0.He also scored with a stunning strike against Middlesbrough, which set the ball rolling to a 4–1 win. It was the first game in which it was thought that Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tévez showed the first real promise of forming a good strike partnership. He returned to his previous club, Sporting, in a Champions League tie in September, though it was team-mate and fellow former Sporting man Cristiano Ronaldo who stole the limelight by scoring the winner in a 1–0 win.[22]
Nani playing for United in 2008
On 16 February 2008, Nani put in a man of the match performance against Arsenal in the FA Cup Fourth Round, his goal and two assists helping United to a 4–0 win over their rivals. During the match, Nani was involved in an altercation with Arsenal captain William Gallas who felt that the Portuguese was "showboating". After the match, Arsène Wenger was equally displeased, while Gilberto Silva said that Nani had a "big head".
On 23 March 2008, Nani set up the second and scored the final goal in a 3–0 victory over rivals Liverpool, in the 79th and 81st minutes respectively, after coming onto the pitch as a substitute.
On 3 May, towards the end of a 4–1 win over West Ham United, Nani was sent off for the first time in his Manchester United career for a headbutt on West Ham defender Lucas Neill. On 21 May, Nani came on as a substitute for Wayne Rooney in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final as United defeated Chelsea 6–5 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time. Nani took and scored Manchester United's crucial fifth penalty in the shootout.
Nani scored his first goal of the 2008–09 season on 23 September 2008, scoring United's third goal in a 3–1 win over Middlesbrough in the last minute to secure passage to the Fourth Round of the Carling Cup. On 18 October, he scored from a Wayne Rooney assist to complete the 4–0 rout of West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford. On 20 January 2009, he opened the scoring for United in their 4–2 win at home to Derby County in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final.

nani choda

nani choda

nani choda

alexandre pato career

Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva born 2 September 1989 commonly known as Alexandre Pato or simply Pato, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Italian Serie A club Milan and the Brazilian national team. His nickname, Pato, refers to his place of birth, Pato Branco, it is also a reference to his nickname "the duck", the literal translation of pato in Portuguese. Contents * 1 Early career * 2 Club career o 2.1 Internacional + 2.1.1 2006 + 2.1.2 2007 o 2.2 Milan + 2.2.1 2007–08 season + 2.2.2 2008–09 season + 2.2.3 2009–10 season + 2.2.4 2010-11 season * 3 International career * 4 Personal life * 5 Statistics o 5.1 Club o 5.2 International o 5.3 International goals * 6 Honours * 7 References o 7.1 Publications o 7.2 Citations * 8 External links Early career He started playing indoor football in his hometown at the age of three. Soon, his ability became known all around the south Brazilian state of Paraná for being a skillful and talented goal scorer and, after being praised by many of his managers, the teenager went to Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, to try out for Grêmio. He was turned away by Grêmio, the club whom he had supported since a boy – but local rivals Internacional convinced him to play for them. Despite the two clubs being bitter enemies, Pato’s parents convinced their youngster to switch his allegiance. Pato said in an interview with the Brazilian television program, Esporte Espetacular that at age 11, he broke his arm and while examining the injuries, doctors found a tumour in the arm and feared the arm needed to be amputated. A successful operation removed the tumour. Club career Internacional 2006 In June 2006, at only 16 years of age, Pato was signed by Sport Club Internacional to compete in the Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-20. Despite the fact that he was competing against players up to four years older than him, Pato became top scorer of the competition as Internacional Sub-20 defeated Grêmio 4–0. Ready to join the Inter first team in November that same year, his debut finally happened at the Estádio Palestra Itália against São Paulo giants Palmeiras for the Campeonato Brasileiro. Alexandre Pato met and surpassed any and all expectations of what was expected of him as he scored his first professional goal within the first minute of the game. The rest of his participation was spent dribbling and confusing defenders as he made two assists (and almost scoring another himself) to help Internacional rout Palmeiras 4–1. He was substituted off in the 77th minute. Pato was included in the Internacional squad that won the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup. During this event, Pato broke Pelé's long standing record as he became the youngest ever player to score in a FIFA organised competition at the age of 17 years and 102 days old against African club champions Al-Ahly. Pelé was 17 years and 239 days old when he scored against Wales during the 1958 FIFA World Cup. 2007 Keeping up with his promising figure, Pato debuted at the Campeonato Gaúcho on February 24 against Veranópolis and scored a goal in the 2–1 victory. He also debuted in Copa Libertadores on February 28 against Emelec of Ecuador (also his first game at Beira-Rio) and scored once during the 3–0 thumping. But the biggest highlight of Pato's time with Internacional was during the Recopa Sudamericana as he helped Internacional win their first ever title. Against Pachuca of Mexico, he scored one goal in the 2–1 defeat in Mexico. But on the return game in June 7 and with more than fifty-one thousand Colorados present, Pato had a luxurious performance as he scored once and led the 4–0 thrashing to win Internacional's third international title. Milan 2007–08 season Incumbent European champions A.C. Milan officially confirmed the signing of Pato on 2 August 2007 €22 million to transfer his contract from Internacional. Due to FIFA football regulations regarding non-EU minors, Pato was unable to play official matches for Milan until 3 January 2008, when the Italian transfer window and registration reopened. However, Milan was allowed to include the player in friendlies and training beginning 3 September 2007, one day after his 18th birthday. Pato made his non-competitive debut in a 2–2 draw against Dynamo Kiev on 7 September 2007 and scored a header. On 4 January 2008, Pato's transfer to Milan became official. Pato scored his first Milan goal on his Serie A debut against Napoli in a 5–2 home victory on 13 January 2008. He scored his first brace for Milan, in a 2–0 victory over Genoa at the San Siro on 27 January 2008. He finished the 2007–08 season with 9 goals in 20 appearances (18 in the league).

Alexandre Pato

Alexandre Pato

Alexandre Pato

Alexandre Pato