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09.30.2014
GOLDEN FOOT AWARD MONACO 2014 LEGENDS
Under the Patronage of H.S.H Prince Albert II of Monaco
Mr. Antonio Caliendo, President of World Champions Club Company, promoter of the Event, and Mr. Michele
Caliendo, President of the Golden Foot Award Monaco, in partnership with SPORTELMonaco, organizer of the
Press Conference with the Golden Foot Legends 2014 on Friday 10 Oct at the Grimaldi Forum, have the
pleasure to inform you that the Golden Foot Legends Awards have been attributed to the Football Legends:
Mia Hamm, first American woman who leaves her footprints on the prestigious Champions Promenade. Until
2013, Mia Hamm held the record for more international goals than any other player, male or female, in the
history of soccer. She is also the third most capped female player in soccer history, having appeared in 275
international matches. She was named the first FIFA Women’s world Player of the Year, retaining the title the
following season, and appears on FIFA’s list of the 125 best living players, chosen by Pelé. After seventeen
years, two World Cup victories, two Olympic Gold Medals, and virtually unparalleled success as a marketing
icon, Mia Hamm retired from professional soccer in 2004, not only the best women’s soccer player in history
but also one of the most important and recognizable female figures in the sport. Mia Hamm also created a
national non-profit organization, The MIA HAMM FOUNDATION, which is dedicated to raising funds and
awareness for families in need of a marrow or cord blood transplant and the development of greater
opportunities for young women in sports.
Hidetoshi Nakata, is considered one of the most famous Asian Footballers of his generation. Nakata began
his professional career in 1995 and was named Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year in 1997 and
1998. He also win the Scudetto with A.S. Roma in 2001, in addition to representing Japan in three FIFA World
Cup tournaments (1998, 2202 and 2006) and twice playing in the Olympics (1996 and 2000). In 2005, he was
made a Knight of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity, one of Italy’s highest honors, for improving the
country’s image overseas. on July 3, 2006, Nakata announced his retirement; he was 29 years old, after a tenyear career that included seven seasons in the Italian Seria A and a season in the English Premier League. In
March 2004, Pele included Nakata in his FIFA 100, a list of the 125 top living footballers. Since 2009, he has
been Representative Director of the Take Action Foundation. Hidetoshi Nakata will be the first Japanese player
to leave his footprints in the Champions Promenade.
Antonin Panenka, is a former footballer from Czech Republic. For most of his career, he played for
Bohemians CKD Praha. Panenka won the 1976 European Championship with Czechoslovakia’s National team.
The final against West Germany saw Panenka score the winning penalty with a ball that he softly chipped into
the middle of the goal as the goalkeeper dived away; this style of penalty is now known as the Panenka
Penalty. Many football commentators have expressed their astonishment at how Panenka was able to hold his
nerve to take the shot, especially given the risk of appearing humiliated had the goalkeeper not dived. Pelé said
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that such a penalty would be attempted by “either a genius or a madman”. Panenka said he never had any
doubt that he would score. Panenka was named Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year in 1980, when his team
also finished third in the European Championship.
Hakan Sükür, represented Turkey a total of 112 times, scoring 51 goals in the process, making him the
country’s top goal scorer and 19th in the world. One of the most prolific strikers of the modern era, he netted
383 goals during his club career, as well as scoring the fastest ever World Cup goal in 2002. He spent the
majority of his professional career with Galatasaray - a three-time Gol Krali (Goal King, a title given each year to
the top goal scorer of the Süper Lig), he represented the club over three separate periods and won a total of
fourteen major titles. He scored nineteen goals in thirty matches in his first year with the Galatasaray, helping
the team to secure both the league and cup titles, while a respective sixteen and nineteen goals in the
following seasons attracted the attention of Italy’s Torino FC. He moved to the club In 1995, becoming the
second ever Turkish to play in Serie A. Sükür’s second stint at Galatasaray ended with the 1999 – 2000 season,
when the team completed a domestic double for the second year in succession, as well as winning the UEFA
Cup, becoming the first Turkish side ever to win a European title. Sükür subsequently returned to Italy, this
time to Inter Milan, and in January 2002 signed with another Italian team, Parma F.C.
Roger Milla, was one of the first African Players to become a major international star. He played in three
World cups for Cameroon’s National team, achieving global stardom at 38 years old - an age at which most
forwards have already retired from football – when he scored four goals at the 1990 FIFA World Cup and
helped Cameroon to become the first African team to reach the World Cup quarterfinals. Four years later, at
the age of 42, he became the oldest goal scorer in the history of the World Cup with a goal against Russia. He is
also remembered for his trademark goal celebration of running to the corner flag and dancing. He has
established a reputation as a pioneer of the great many unconventional and imaginative goal celebrations we
have seen since. 2004 saw Pelé name him as one of the 125 greatest living football players, while in 2007, the
Confederation of African Football named him the best African player of the previous 50 years. He created the
“Coeur d’Afrique” Heart of Africa Foundation, to support and promote football sports in Cameroon, and help
disadvantaged children (street children, orphan, etc) of Cameroon to fulfill their dreams in different areas.
Jean-Marie Pfaff is a Belgian former football goalkeeper who spent most of his professional career with
Beveren and Bayern Munich. Pfaff was capped 64 times playing for Belgium, and participated at the 1982 FIFA
World Cup and 1986 FIFA World Cup tournaments.
At the age of 16, Pfaff joined K.S.K. Beveren with whom he won a Belgian champions title (1979) and a Belgian
Cup (1978). The same year, he received the Belgian Golden Shoe. In 1982, he entered the Bayern Munich
squad, getting three Bundesliga titles (from 1985 to 1987) and two German cups (1984 and 1986). Pfaff first
played with the Red Devils in 1976 against legendary rival the Netherlands. He was the goalkeeper during Euro
80 and Euro 84, and the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. Pfaff was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest
living footballers, in March 2004. In 1987 Belgium’s best-known custodian became the first player to receive
the accolade of best goalkeeper in the world, being awarded several times over the years of his football career,
as the best goalkeeper in Europe and in Germany.
They will be present in Monte Carlo from 10th to 13th October 2014 and they will leaves their footprints on the
Champions Promenade.The Footprints Ceremony will be held on Saturday 11 October in Monte Carlo Bay Hotel
& Resort, and the Gala dinner will take place on Monday 13th October at the "Salle des Etoiles", Monte Carlo
Sporting.
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