In our regular Sunday feature, FIFA.com presents you with some of the biggest names in football who will be celebrating their birthdays over the coming week.
15. Carl Medjani(31) participated at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ with Algeria, where he and his team-mates reached the knockout stages. The defensive midfielder had previously been selected for South Africa 2010, but saw no playing time. In addition, he also competed in the 2013 and 2015 CAF Africa Cup of Nations with Les Fennecs. After enjoying spells at Lorient, Metz and Ajaccio, Medjani joined Monaco, where he earned a Ligue 2 winners’ medal and was subsequently loaned out to Olympiacos and Valenciennes. Medjani later pulled on the jerseys of Trabzonspor and Levante, his present club.
16. Antonio Maceda(59) represented Spain at two World Cups, in 1982 and 1986, and at UEFA EURO 1984, where he scored the winning goal against West Germany in the group stage and the equaliser versus Denmark in the semi-finals. La Roja eventually advanced to face France in the final, but lost 2-0 in the showpiece match. At club level, the confident defender spent the majority of his career with Sporting Gijon, prior to moving to Real Madrid, where he won three successive La Liga titles and a UEFA Cup. Maceda later turned his hand to coaching, taking charge of Badajoz, Sporting Gijon and Compostela.
17. Igor Denisov(32) helped Russia to qualify for Brazil 2014, where he played in two matches but could not prevent his country from suffering a premature exit. The combative midfield man also starred at EURO 2012. He made his name at Zenit St. Petersburg, with whom he bagged three Russian League titles, a Russian Cup, two Russian Super Cups, a UEFA Cup and a UEFA Super Cup over the course of 11 seasons. Following a brief stint at Anzhi Makhachkala, Denisov signed for Dynamo Moscow in August 2013.
18. Diego Perez(36)was a key player for Uruguay for well over a decade, appearing in a total of 32 World Cup qualifying matches. At South Africa 2010, the tough-tackling holding midfielder appeared in all of his team’s encounters, propelling them to the semi-finals, while at Brazil 2014, he remained on the bench throughout. He also took part in the 1999 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, and four Copa America tournaments in a row, finishing third in 2004 and lifting the continental trophy in 2011. During his club career, Perez defended the colours of Defensor Sporting, Penarol, where he landed a Uruguayan League title, Monaco and Bologna.
19. Daniel Kome(36) gained a gold medal with Cameroon at the 2000 Men’s Olympic Football Tournament in Sydney, and appeared at the 2002 World Cup two years later. The midfielder also participated in three consecutive CAF Africa Cup of Nations contests, holding aloft the prestigious trophy in 2002. As a younger man, he showcased his skills at the 1999 U-20 World Cup. After learning his trade in Atletico Madrid’s reserve team, Kome turned out for Levante, Numancia, Getafe, Mallorca, Real Valladolid – where he clinched the Spanish second division title – and Tenerife.
20. Oscar Cardozo(33) played for Paraguay at the 2010 World Cup and the 2007 Copa America. The lofty striker started out with Club Atletico 3 de Febrero, where he claimed a Paraguayan second division title, before moving to Asuncion-based Club Nacional, Argentinian side Newell’s Old Boys and Benfica. In Lisbon, the two-time Paraguayan Footballer of the Year racked up two Primeira Liga crowns, a Portuguese Cup and five Portuguese League Cups, and topped the Portuguese and UEFA Europa League scoring charts. Seven seasons later, Cardozo committed himself to current club Trabzonspor.
21. Mario Mandzukic(30) just secured his first Serie A winners’ medal with Juventus, and has a good chance of brandishing the Coppa Italia in a few days’ time. The Croatian front man began his career in his homeland with Marsonia, NK Zagreb and Dinamo Zagreb, where he amassed three league titles and two national cups. He subsequently packed his bags for Wolfsburg, before putting pen to paper with Bayern Munich, where he added two Bundesliga crowns, two German Cups, a German Super Cup, a UEFA Champions League title, a UEFA Super Cup, a FIFA Club World Cup and two Croatian Footballer of the Year awards to his CV. The clinical striker was transferred to Atletico Madrid, with whom he hoisted the Spanish Super Cup, but he then decided to try his luck with Juventus, where he captured the Italian Super Cup, in addition to the aforementioned league title. On the international stage, Mandzukic made two appearances and scored two goals for Croatia at Brazil 2014, having previously finished joint top scorer at EURO 2012.