SOCCER AID ON ITV

15 May, 2006 by The_Boss

The celebrities and World Cup legends who have made it into Robbie Williams’ England team and Gordon Ramsay’s Rest of The World squad can today (Monday May 15th) exclusively be revealed as:


ENGLAND

TERRY VENABLES (Manager)

ROBBIE WILLIAMS (Captain)

JAMIE THEAKSTON

DAVID GRAY

BRADLEY WALSH

DAMIAN LEWIS

ANGUS DEAYTON

RONNIE O’SULLIVAN

BEN SHEPHARD

JONATHAN WILKES

DEAN LENNOX KELLY

DAVID SEAMAN

TONY ADAMS

PAUL GASCOIGNE

JAMIE REDKNAPP

LES FERDINARD

JOHN BARNES


REST OF THE WORLD

RUUD GULLIT (Manager)

GORDON RAMSAY (Captain)

DAVID CAMPESE

ALASTAIR CAMPBELL

LESSANDRO NIVOLA

BEN JOHNSON

PATRICK KIELTY

BRIAN McFADDEN

SERGEI FEDOROV

CRAIG DOYLE

EDDIE IRVINE

GIANFRANCO ZOLA

MARCEL DESAILLY

DAVID GINOLA

DUNGA

LOTHAR MATTHAUS

PETER SCHMEICHEL


The squads will train together for one week with daily shows starting May 22nd at 9.00pm on ITV1. Presented by Ant and Dec, these programmes will follow all the players as they look to prove they’ve got what it takes to be in the starting line-up for the big match, live from Old Trafford on May 27th.

Proceeds from Soccer Aid go towards UNICEF, for which England Captain Robbie Williams is a passionate ambassador. Robbie said: "When I was in South Africa last month, I saw how UNICEF is helping children. I met four kids who live just outside Durban. They live alone because their Mum and Dad have both died of AIDS. They lost their Mum last year and were found by neighbours wandering around the neighbourhood in search of food. UNICEF and its partners help these children by sending a child care worker to see them every day to help them with the every day things that parents do, like homework, cooking, washing, playing games and talking about their day. This means that this family can stay together in the place they know as home and grow up with the love and support every child should have. Their situation is devastating – but it is the reality of how AIDS is affecting children. There are 15 million children orphaned by AIDS in the world. Money raised by Soccer Aid will help make life easier for children like the ones I met."


During the training week both squads will also take part in practise matches. On Tuesday May 23rd, Terry Venables’ England Soccer Aid team take on a team of former England legends and on Wednesday, May 24th, Ruud Gullit’s Rest of the World team go up against a squad of former Scotland legends. On each occasion ITV Sport’s Gabby Logan will present a special highlights show featuring the best of the action, with analysis from Andy Townsend and – when he is not playing for the Scottish legends – Ally McCoist.

In addition to the daily shows with Ant and Dec, Sara Cox presents Soccer Aid: Extra Time on ITV2 with even more behind-the-scenes gossip. Sara said: “All those men are going to need a strong woman to keep them in check; with players like Robbie and Gordon Ramsay I’m sure I’ll have my work cut out!”


For tickets to the game at Old Trafford, please contact Ticket Master on 0870 1626 883 or go to http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk

A GUIDE TO THE SOCCER AID STARS


ENGLAND TEAM

Robbie Williams

In a career spanning over two decades, Robbie has dominated the UK charts. He achieved worldwide fame in boy band Take That, whilst his solo successes include six number one singles, eight number one albums and an £80million record deal.

Jonathan Wilkes

Singer, actor and presenter, Jonathan Wilkes’ television accolades include You’ve Been Framed and Love On A Saturday Night. Recently he has gone back to the theatre in shows such as ‘Grease’ and ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’.

Ben Shephard

GMTV’s Ben Shephard will be a familiar face for morning television viewers. His other credits include ITV’s The Xtra Factor and Soapstar Superstar.

Jamie Theakston

DJ, presenter and actor, Jamie Theakston is currently hosting Heart FM Breakfast Show. Known for his presenting partnership with Zoe Ball he has also moved into acting and has appeared on both TV and in the West End.

Ronnie O’Sullivan

Famed snooker player, Ronnie ‘The Rocket’ O’Sullivan has won 18 major championships in his career.

David Gray

Twice Ivor Novello award winning singer / songwriter, David Gray’s most famous album White Ladder reached number 1 in 2001.

Bradley Walsh

Bradley Wash has shown his skills as a presenter, a children’s author and an actor. He is currently a resident of Weatherfield where he plays Danny Baldwin in ITV1’s Coronation Street.

Damian Lewis

Damian Lewis is one of Britain’s best Actors, earning international acclaim as Major Richard Winters in Steven Spielberg’s Band of Brothers.

Angus Deayton

Comedian, actor, and presenter, Angus Dayton has fronted the satire TV quiz show Have I Got News For You and Bognor or Bust as well as acting in the popular One Foot In The Grave, and Nighty Night.

Dean Lennox Kelly

Actor Dean Lennox Kelly is best known for his role as Kev in C4’s Shameless. Other acting credits include Tipping The Velvet.

England Legends:

David Seaman

David ‘safe hands’ Seaman is one of England’s most loved goalkeepers. He spent the majority of his career at Arsenal and earned 75 England caps. Since his retirement he has also shown his skill on the ice in ITV’s Dancing On Ice.

Tony Adams

Legendary defender Tony Adams captained Arsenal for 14 years and achieved 668 caps for his club. His 66 caps for England included captaining them to the semi-finals of Euro 96.

Paul Gascoigne

Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne is one of Britain’s greatest footballers and someone who holds a unique place in the affection of the British public. Playing for clubs including Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, and Rangers, he won the first of his 57 England caps in 1988 but it was at the 1990 World Cup Finals in Italy that he established his reputation as one of the most gifted players of a generation.

Jamie Redknapp

Jamie played for club sides Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton. The son of football manager Harry Redknapp, he also earned 17 England caps.

Les Ferdinand

Capped 17 times for England, Les Ferdinand’s phenomenal goal-scoring record at clubs including QPR, Newcastle, Spurs, West Ham, and Bolton earned him the nickname ‘Sir Les’. He also scored the 10,000th goal in the Premiership.

John Barnes

John Barnes was one of the most famous English footballers of the late 1980s and 1990s with a club career that peaked with Liverpool where he won two league titles. Twice in his career he was voted Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year and also won the PFA Player’s Player of the Year award. His England career encompassed 79 caps and 12 goals.

England Manager

Terry Venables has managed football teams for over 25 years. His management career included stints at Crystal Palace, QPR and Barcelona, before he took over at Tottenham Hotspur in 1987 where he led them to an FA Cup victory in 1991. In 1993 he became the England coach, guiding them to some fantastic performances in the European Championships in 1996.


REST OF THE WORLD TEAM

Gordon Ramsay

Famously out spoken Scottish celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has won countless awards at his restaurant and caused plenty of upset on his TV shows, including Hell’s Kitchen and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.

Eddie Irvine

Eddie Irvine, the ex Formula 1 driver who drove for Jordan, Ferrari and Jaguar and a man who - according to the Sunday Times Rich list - is also the 5th richest person in Northern Ireland.

Patrick Kielty

Patrick Kielty started his career as a stand up comedian in Northern Ireland. He is most famous for his presenting roles, which include Celebrity Fame Academy and Love Island on ITV1.

Ben Johnson

Infamous Canadian athlete, famed for his appearance at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. After achieving a world record of 9.79secs for the 100m he was disqualified after testing positive for steroids.

David Campese

Australia’s David Campese is regarded as one of the greatest ever rugby players. He hit the headlines after walking naked down Oxford Street with a sign saying, “I admit the best team won,” after wrongly claiming that England had no chance of winning the Rugby World Cup.

Sergi Fedorov

Russian born ice hockey champion Sergi Fedorov defected to the West in 1990. He now plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the USA.

Alastair Campbell

Alastair Campbell is famous for being Tony Blair’s Chief Press Secretary. Born in England he chose to play for the Rest of The World due to his strong Scottish ancestry.

Brian McFadden

Brian McFadden first hit the charts in Irish boy band Westlife. In 2004 he embarked on a solo singing career.

Craig Doyle

Ireland’s Craig Doyle is best known for presenting BBC 1’s Holiday show. In 2004, he began hosting The Craig Doyle Show, an Irish travel/celebrity programme.

Alessandro Nivola

American born Hollywood actor Alessandro Nivola has starred in films including Jurassic park 3, Face/Off and Goal. He is married to British actress Emily Mortimer.

Rest of the World Legends:

Gianfranco Zola

Italian Gianfranco Zola played the majority of his career in Italy, before moving to Chelsea in 1996. He quickly became a club legend, helping them win domestic and European silverware. He won 35 international caps for Italy.

Marcel Desailly

Born in Ghana, Marcel Desailly emigrated to France with his mother. He played in the French and Italian leagues before moving to Chelsea in 1998. At Chelsea he played in 222 games, captaining 94 of them. An integral part of the French national team that won the 1998 World Cup, he played 116 games for the national side.

David Ginola

David Ginola has an extensive playing career that took in several clubs in his French homeland before he joined Newcastle United in 1995. He became known for his creative attacking football and enjoyed spells at Spurs, Aston Villa and Everton. He was capped 17 times for France.

Dunga

Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri, aka Dunga, was one of the world’s greatest football players. He achieved 91 international caps for Brazil and captained the 1994 World Cup wining side. Incredibly Brazil only lost 3 times when he was in the team.

Lothar Matthaus

Lothar Matthaus, the legendary German player, is the one of the most capped international players in football history with 150 appearances. As well as captaining the winning German World Cup side of 1990 he also holds the record for the most World Cup games played - 25 in all.

Rest of the World Manager

Dutchman Ruud Gullit has a phenomenal football record, both as a player – twice winning World Footballer of the Year - and as manager. As a player he won 16 major tournaments whilst playing in the Dutch, Italian and English leagues. He also captained the Dutch national side that won the 1988 European Championships. As manager at Chelsea he won club’s first major trophy in 26 years with the FA Cup in 1997 and also managed Newcastle.