Mark González
Personal information
Full name Mark Dennis González Hoffman
Date of birth July 10, 1984 (1984-07-10) (age 23)
Place of birth Durban, South Africa
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing position Left Winger
Club information
Current club Real Betis
Number 11
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2002–2004
2004–2005
2005-2007
2005
2006
2007- Universidad Católica
Albacete Balompié
Liverpool
→ Albacete Balompié (loan)
→ Real Sociedad (loan)
Real Betis 42 (8)
26 (5)
25 (2)
00 (0)
12 (5)
024 (6)
National team2
2003– Chile 22 (3)

Liverpool FC

On July 5, 2006, González was granted a work permit, and was allowed to start his Liverpool career, wearing the number 11 shirt. His manager, Rafael Benítez, said "This is very good news for us and I am absolutely delighted to welcome Mark González to Liverpool as he is a player the supporters will like to see," Mark González made his first appearance coming on as a sub at half time in a pre-season friendly against Crewe Alexandra.

González made an excellent first impression on his competitive debut on August 9, 2006 against Israeli side Maccabi Haifa, coming off the bench (in the 85th minute for Steven Gerrard) to score an 88th minute winner in Liverpool's Champion's League 3rd Round Qualifier to seal a 2-1 win. He scored his first Premiership goal in Liverpool's 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on his first Premiership start for the club.

González was injured inside the first ten minutes of the quarter finals of the Carling Cup against Arsenal F.C. on January 9, 2007. He was brought off on a stretcher for Luis Garcia, who was also subbed injured later in the match.

Real Betis

On May 24, 2007, Rafael Benitez confirmed that Liverpool had almost reached an agreement with Real Betis over the Chilean winger. [2] On June 12 Mark Gonzalez confirmed he has signed a contract for £4.5 million with Real Betis. Real Betis presented the player to the press and fans on July 17, 2007. He went on to score on his home debut with a penalty goal in the 1-0 victory over Champions League Winners AC Milan in the Centenary Match in front of 55,000 Beticos. Gonzalez scored in a famous 2-1 victory over high-flying Real Madrid to steer Real Betis out of the relegation zone in La Liga. Up to date Gonzalez has scored six goals in 22 first team appearances, Scoring all six of those goals in his past 10 appearances.

Philippe Mexès
Personal information
Full name Philippe Mexès
Date of birth March 30, 1982 (1982-03-30) (age 26)
Place of birth Toulouse, France
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Playing position Centre-back
Club information
Current club A.S. Roma
Number 5
Youth clubs

1997-1999 Toulouse FC
AJ Auxerre
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1999-2004
2004- AJ Auxerre
A.S. Roma 133 (7)
95 (7)
National team2
2002- France 8 (0)

A.S. Roma.

Philippe Mexès began his career with local club Toulouse FC, with his older sister regularly taking him to the training sessions. However, he left for AJ Auxerre's youth team when he was sixteen years old. He successfully participated in the Under-18 and Under-21 French national football teams, eventually winning a spot in the senior squad in August 2002. Since 2002 he has only been called up a few times, after he failed to make the French squad for the 2004 European Football Championship. He was recently called up for France's friendly match against Bosnia-Herzegovina in August 2006.

Mexès is currently one of the backbones of the A.S. Roma after completing the vastly hyped transfer which cost Roma €7 million in 2004. After a difficult first season with the capitoline club, Mexès began the 2005-06 campaign on the bench, leaving the central defender spot to Sammy Kuffour. However, as Kuffour was on national team duty for Ghana, Mexès slowly gained playing time.

As of the 2007-08 campaign, Mexes has established himself as an integral first team player for A.S. Roma and is now widely considered one of the best defenders in the world.

"You'll Never Walk Alone"

When you walk through a storm,
Hold your head up high,
And don't be afraid of the dark,
At the end of a storm, there's a golden sky,
And the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Though your dreams be tossed and blown...

Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart,
And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never walk alone...

Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart,
And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never walk alone...