17th June – Jordan Henderson

Jordan Henderson will be hoping that England can recover from their defeat against Italy and qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup and he will be surely wishing for that on his birthday.

In their first game, England did not play too badly and Henderson showed a lot of energy and commitment but maybe could have got closer to Andrea Pirlo in the game. However, there were a lot of positives and the midfielder did play a big part in starting attacks. He has came a long way since making his professional debut as a halftime substitute in a 5-0 loss to Chelsea in 2008.

He started his first game for Sunderland soon after in a League Cup game against Blackburn Rovers but did not play for the club again that season. However, he did join Coventry City on loan in January 2009 making his debut in a 2-1 defeat to Derby County. After some impressive performances his loan was extended until the end of the season and soon after scored the first goal of his career against Norwich City. Unfortunately he fractured his fifth metatarsal in April and after 10 appearances he returned to Sunderland.

In the 2009-10 season Henderson broke into the first team and was a regular in the side and went on to score his first Premier League goal against Manchester City on the 19th December 2009. He played a lot of the season on the right hand side of the midfield but showed his versatility to cover for injuries and suspensions in the middle of the park. His form earned his a new five year deal at the club and was a very good start to his Premier League career as he finished the season with six assists.

At the start of the next season he was once again in great form and he caught the attention of England manager Fabio Capello who called him up for a friendly against France. But he had to wait until the 5th December to score his first goal of the season in a 1-0 win over West Ham. At the end of the season he won Sunderland’s Young Player of the Year award for the second season in a row. This turned out to be his last at the club and after 79 appearances he left to join Liverpool.

Henderson then made his Liverpool debut against his former club Sunderland in a 1-1 draw and then later in the month scored his first goal for the club against Bolton Wanderers. He had a few ups and downs in his first season but he did start in the final of the League Cup which they won and also played the full 90 minutes of the FA Cup final but this time he was on the losing side. Henderson ended the season with two goals in 44 appearances.

He almost left the club at the start of the next season and it wasn’t until November that he made his first league start but a month later he scored his first goal in Europe, helping the team beat Udinese in the Europa League. He had a much better second half to the season and ended it with five league goals. The 2013-14 season was probably the best of his career as he became a regular in the side and almost won the league title.

The final word can go to Brendan Rodgers. “Jordan is a terrific young talent. People forget his age. He came here with a big price tag and it was always going to take him time. The great thing about him is he works his socks off every single day.”

19th May – Diego Forlan

Diego Forlan has had a very interesting career that has had plenty of ups and downs but nobody can doubt that he is a special talent.

The Uruguayan international has played over 100 times for his country and at the last World Cup he was one of the best players and received the Golden Ball award as Uruguay reached the semi finals. This just shows how far he has come since once being branded a flop in European football with Manchester United.

He had already attempted to play football in Europe when he was 16 but after months on trial at French club AS Nancy they decided not to sign him and he ended up back in South America with Argentinean side Independiente. He proved his ability at the club and went on to score 36 goals in 77 league games before Middlesbrough had a £6.9 million deal accepted. Forlan travelled to England expecting to sign for them but at the last minute Manchester United matched their bid and he ended up at Old Trafford.

Alex Ferguson was very happy with his signing. “He is an exciting player. He has good potential, two good feet, he’s quick and a good header of the ball.” In his first half a season at the club though he struggled and in his 13 appearances he failed to score. He eventually broke his duck in a Champions League game in September in a 5-2 victory over Maccabi Haifa with an 89th minute penalty. He had to wait another month for his first Premier League goal when he scored the equaliser against Aston Villa and he followed this up with the winner against Southampton in the next game. His best moment for the club was to follow soon after as he scored twice against rivals Liverpool in a 2-1 win.

He ended the season with six goals in the league meaning he was only behind Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the club’s scoring charts and this was enough to get him a Premier League winners medal. Many hoped that this would be the start of good things for him but he started the next season by not scoring in his first seven games. He only scored four Premier League goals all season and although he played a few games at the start of the next season he was sold to Villarreal.

It did not take him long to adapt as he scored on his debut against Valencia which was just the start of things to come as he ended the season as the top scorer in La Liga. This includes a run of seven goals in just five games in which he scored twice in a 3-0 win over Barcelona and then went one better later in the season by scoring his first hatrick in Europe on the 22nd May as they drew 3-3 with the eventual champions. They qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history and they reached the semi finals in the competition, however it was a more difficult season personally for Forlan. But in his final season he recaptured his form and scored 19 goals in 36 games.

Forlan then joined Atletico Madrid and helped them qualify for the Champions League for the first time in over a decade by scoring 23 times. He improved on this record further in the next season by scoring 32 goals in 33 games including crucial goals against Barcelona, Villarreal and Valencia.

The start of the 2009-10 season was difficult for him and he was left out of the squad on several occasions and was being criticised by the supporters but he turned it round in the second half of the season and performed brilliantly in the later stages of the Europa League. Firstly he scored twice against Liverpool in the semi finals to put his team through on away goals and then scored both goals in the final against Fulham. Once again though the next season was slow for him as he went 12 games without scoring and his time was up in Spain.

Inter was his next destination and he scored on his debut for the club, however he never really settled in Italy and after just 21 more games and one goal his contract was cancelled. He ended up going back to South America and signed for Internacional where in his second season he helped them win the Campeonato Gaucho as he finished as the top scorer in the competition with nine goals.

After 22 goals in 49 appearances he left for Japanese side Cerezo Osaka and has so far scored eight times in 16 games.

The final word can go to Alex Ferguson who is happy to have seen his career grow. “He has just been fantastic and we’re all proud of him. The only criticism of ourselves was that we sold him too cheaply. He could have been a hero. He was a great lad and a magnificent professional.”

27th April – Walter Pandiani

Uruguayans have been hit and miss in the Premier League, there have been some like Luis Suarez and then others that had a lot of quality but did not quite cut it like Diego Forlan.

Unfortunately ‘El Rifle’ fits more into the second category. Walter Pandiani had two spells at Birmingham City while they were in the Premier League and it seemed like they had signed one of the best finishers in Europe at the time. After playing for Progreso, Basanez and Penarol in his home country he made the move to Spain to play for Deportivo La Coruna. Although he was never a regular starter he had a phenomenal record and scored a lot of goals off the bench. In between the years of 2000 and 2005 he played 86 league games for the club and scored 31 goals including 13 in the 2003-04 season. During his time at the club he went out on loan to Mallorca and scored 13 goals in 33 games for them and was getting a growing reputation of someone that knew where the back of the net was.

After several run ins with Deportivo coach Javier Irureta he made his move to Birmingham City initially on loan. It did not take him long to show off his talents as he scored on his debut in a 2-1 win over Southampton. Manager Steve Bruce said after the game: “Walter Pandiani arrived yesterday with no boots, and he doesn’t speak a word of English, but he’ll give us a lift.” In his next 13 appearances he managed three goals and this led to Birmingham signing him permanently for £3 million.

However he failed to show the form of his loan spell and only half a season later he was sold to Espanyol for £1 million. He played 31 times in the league for Birmingham scoring only six goals. His first full season at new club Espanyol was interesting as he only scored seven league goals but this included a first half hatrick away to Real Madrid. Although he struggled domestically everything he touched in the UEFA Cup seemed to go in as he ended the campaign as the top scorer in the competition with 11 goals. The club lost in the final on penalties against Spanish rivals Sevilla.

Pandiani then left the club for Osasuna where he was hardly used in his first season at the club but in his second season he ended it as their top scorer. He played a key role in a victory over Real Madrid in which he was involved in a verbal spat with Cristiano Ronaldo. Pandiani saying about the Portuguese player. “As a footballer he is a phenomenon but to do the things he does, maybe he has a screw loose.”

After leaving Osasuna he rejoined Espanyol but this was only for one season which he spent mostly on the bench but he did manage to grab late winner against Getafe and Real Betis. In 2012 he joined Villarreal and on his debut he scored the winning goal and followed this up the next week by scoring the winner again. However these were the only two goals he scored in the league.

At his next club Atletico Baleares he started in a game alongside his son with Pandiani Senior scoring in a 2-1 defeat. In October 2013 they both joined Uruguayan club Miramar Misiones where they still play.

The last word can go to former Birmingham City co owner David Sullivan just after selling the player: “Walter is not a bad player and he did well recently against Manchester United and Chelsea. You’ve got to take your hat off to his commitment towards the club, he scored important goals