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.
5. Edinho(61) represented Brazil at three successive FIFA World Cup™ tournaments, namely Argentina 1978, Spain 1982 and Mexico 1986, playing in a total of nine matches and notching one goal. In 1976, he competed for his country at the Olympic Football Tournament in Montreal. At club level, the respected defender started out at Fluminense, where he won three Rio de Janeiro State Championships, prior to starring for Udinese and Flamengo, where he claimed a Brazilian League title. He subsequently enjoyed a swansong with Gremio, with whom he secured a Campeonato Gaucho title and a Brazilian Cup. After hanging up his boots, Edinho coached numerous teams in Brazil and Portugal, picking up several national honours.
6. Wladyslaw Zmuda(62) is regarded as one of Poland’s greatest-ever footballers, having played in four consecutive World Cups: in 1974, when he and his team-mates finished third, 1978, 1982, when he again ended up third, and 1986. In total, the stalwart defender made 21 appearances on football’s biggest stage. In addition, he earned a silver medal at the 1976 Olympic Games. After turning out for Motor Lublin, Gwardia Warsaw, Slask Wroclaw, where he clinched the Polish League title, and Widzew Lodz, where he added two more league crowns to his CV, he exported his defensive skills abroad, first to Hellas Verona and then to New York Cosmos. Zmuda then saw out the remainder of his career at Italian outfit Cremonese. A move into coaching saw him take the reins of the Polish U-19 and U-20 national sides.
7. Antonio Alzamendi(60) took part in two World Cups with Uruguay, Mexico 1986 and Italy 1990, scoring once in six matches. The diminutive forward also appeared at three Copa America contests, emerging victorious twice and reaching the final once. He rose to prominence in his homeland with Sud America, before pulling on the jerseys of Argentinian sides Independiente and River Plate, landing a national league title with both clubs and a Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup with the latter outfit. He later won a Uruguayan Championship with Penarol and enjoyed a two-year spell with Spanish side Logrones. Post-retirement, the former South American Footballer of the Year coached a handful of teams, including Canberra Cosmos.
8. Javier Mascherano(32) participated in three World Cups in a row with Argentina and contributed fully to La Albiceleste’s run to the Final at Brazil 2014. The following year, the tough-tackling South American, who had previously obtained two Olympic gold medals (in 2004 and 2008) and taken part in the FIFA U-17 World Cup and its U-20 equivalent, was part of the team were defeated in the final of the Copa America. He made his name at River Plate and Corinthians, where he bagged an Argentinian Primera Division title and a Brazilian Serie A crown respectively. After spells at West Ham United and Liverpool, the midfielder-turned-defender joined Barcelona, with whom he has since won four Liga titles, three Spanish Cups, two Spanish Super Cups, two UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups.
9. Eric Wynalda(47) helped United States to return to the World Cup stage in 1990, and later played at USA 1994 and France 1998. The dynamic striker also showcased his skills at the first-ever FIFA Confederations Cup, in 1992, where he and his compatriots finished third, and at the 1995 Copa America, as well as at five CONCACAF Gold Cups, lifting the trophy once and coming away with a runners-up medal on two occasions. After experiencing football abroad with German sides Saarbrucken and Bochum, Wynalda returned to the USA to don the jerseys of San Jose Clash, Miami Fusion, New England Revolution and Chicago Fire. In 1996, the American attacker was named US Soccer Athlete of the Year.
10. Patience Avre(40) competed for Nigeria at three FIFA Women’s World Cup™ events, in 1995, 1999 and 2003. The forward played in ten matches altogether, and scored the goal that enabled the Nigerians to pick up their first-ever point in the prestigious competition. Avre also took part in Sydney 2000, which marked the first appearance of an African team at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament.
11. Ashley Lawrence(21) wore the colours of Canada at the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, and the senior Women’s World Cup in 2015, where she made five appearances and found the net once, prior to her country’s quarter-final elimination at the hands of England.