The hard player: Younès Kaboul
Younès Kaboul was born on 4 January 1986 in Saint-Julien-en-Genevois. A French-trained defender, he honed his craft at AJ Auxerre (68 matches, 3 goals) before crossing the Channel to Tottenham Hotspur. He then had a stint at Portsmouth (50 matches, 5 goals) before returning to Spurs, where he amassed a total of 111 appearances and 4 goals. He closed out his career at Watford FC (26 matches, 2 goals).
Developed in the French youth system, he earned 12 caps and scored 1 goal for the under-16 national side. Born in Saint-Julien-en-Genevois, close to the Swiss border, this French international defender built the core of his career on English soil.
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PlayThe medium player: Nicklas Bendtner
Nicklas Bendtner was born on 16 January 1988 in Copenhagen. A Danish striker who came through Arsenal’s ranks, he made 171 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 47 goals. His career also took him to Birmingham City (48 matches, 13 goals) and VfL Wolfsburg (47 matches, 9 goals), as well as a loan spell at Sunderland (30 matches, 8 goals).
He brought his career to a close at Rosenborg BK, the club where he was most prolific, with 35 goals in 86 matches. On the international stage, he made an impression from the youth ranks, netting 3 goals in just 3 matches with Denmark’s under-16 side.
The easy player: Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer was born on 13 August 1970 in Newcastle. He joined Blackburn Rovers, where he won the English championship in 1995, before moving to his beloved Newcastle United, where he scored 206 goals in 405 matches to become the club’s all-time top scorer. Most notably, he is the all-time leading scorer in Premier League history with 260 goals. He was named FWA Player of the Year in 1994 and PFA Player of the Year in 1995 and 1997.
As England captain, he scored 30 goals in 63 international appearances and reached the semi-finals of Euro 96, where he claimed the Golden Boot. In 1996, he finished third in the Ballon d’Or standings. After retiring as a player in 2006, he became a TV pundit for the BBC. In 2009, he briefly stepped away from that role to manage Newcastle United for the final eight matches of the 2008-09 season, in an ultimately unsuccessful bid to save them from relegation.