The hard player: Nuri Şahin
Born on 5 September 1988 in Lüdenscheid, Germany, Nuri Şahin is a German-born midfielder who built most of his career at Borussia Dortmund. Across all spells, he clocked up more than 270 appearances and 21 goals for the Ruhr club, a firm foothold in the Bundesliga.
He rounded off his journey with stints at Antalyaspor (45 appearances) and Werder Bremen (40 appearances, 1 goal). On the international stage, he wore the Turkey under-17 shirt on 21 occasions, scoring 5 goals: born in Germany, he chose to fight his battles under the Turkish flag.
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PlayThe medium player: Obafemi Martins
Born on 28 October 1984 in Lagos, Obafemi Martins is a Nigerian striker who made his name in Europe early on. At Inter Milan, he racked up 49 goals in 136 appearances, then kept the momentum going at Newcastle United with 35 goals in 104 games.
His career then turned into a genuine world tour: Russia with Rubin Kazan (5 goals in 35 matches), the United States with Seattle Sounders (43 goals in 84 matches) and China with Shanghai Shenhua (32 goals in 59 matches). A tireless globetrotter, he also earned 42 caps with Nigeria, scoring 18 goals.
The easy player: Éric Cantona
Born on 24 May 1966 in Marseille, Éric Cantona is a French striker whose career began on home soil. He passed through AJ Auxerre (94 appearances, 29 goals), Olympique de Marseille (43 appearances, 14 goals) and Montpellier HSC (39 appearances, 14 goals) before making the move across the Channel.
It was at Manchester United that he carved out his most iconic chapter: 185 appearances, 82 goals. He had already made his mark at Leeds United (34 appearances, 14 goals) before becoming the symbol of the Red Devils. With the French national team, he earned 45 caps and scored 20 goals.
