More football stars holiday in Seychelles |27 June 2007

Arjen Robben (Chelsea and Netherlands), Gianluca Zambrotta (Barcelona and Italy) and Simone Perrotta (AS Roma and Italy) are the three star players currently in Seychelles.

Both Zambrotta and Perrotta played for the Italy World Cup-winning side in 2006.

Dutch footballer Robben, who currently plays as a winger for Chelsea F.C. in the English Premier League and appeared for the Netherlands national team at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, married Bernadien Eilliert on June 9, 2007.

Forming an attacking partnership with Mateja Kežman, Robben helped PSV Eindhoven win their 17th Dutch title at the end of the 2002-2003 season and won the Talented Player of the Year award.

Robben’s Chelsea career was punctuated by dazzling displays as one of the few out-and-out wingers in the English game. The 23-year-old has won two Premier League titles (2004-2005 and 2005-2006), one FA Cup title (2007), two FA Community Shields (in 2005 and 2007) during his time with Chelsea.

With Real Madrid showing an interest to bring him to the Bernabeau in Spain, Robben, one of eight players to win the Man-of-the-Match award more than once in a World Cup edition - against Serbia and Montenegro and Côte d’Ivoire in 2006 – had this to say in a recent interview:
“I’ve always said I want to stay with Chelsea. I will be here (with Chelsea) next season, that’s for sure.”

Versatile Zambrotta

Italian World Cup-winning Gianluca Zambrotta of Spanish giants Barcelona is a quick player and plays either as a full-back or winger for both club and country.

Married to Valentina, Zambrotta played in Italy for Como Calcio (Serie B and Serie C1 from 1994 to 1997), Bari (Serie A from 1997 to 1999) and Juventus (Serie A from 1999 to 2006) before joining Barcelona for €14 millions in 2006 when Juventus were relegated to the Serie B following a match-fixing scandal.

During his spell will Juventus, he won four Scudettos (championship titles) in 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2004-2005 and 2005-2006, but the team were stripped of the last two for match fixing. He was Serie A runners-up with Juventus in 1999-2000 and 2000-2001, and won two Supercoppa Italianna in 2002 and 2003.
Nicknamed the Mermaid for spending a lot of time to groom his trademark goatee, played for the Italy under-21 team and made his debut for the Azzurri at the Euro 2000 and was suspended for the final which Italy lost 1-2 to France on a David Trezeguet golden goal.

After two disappointing major tournaments - the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004 – versatile Zambrotta scored with a left-footed long range shot against Ukraine in the quarterfinal as Italy went on to win the final 5-3 on penalties against France after the match had ended 1-1 after extra-time.

Zambrotta’s ability to play in different positions earned him a place in the 23-man 2006 World Cup All-Star squad.

England-born Perrotta

Born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England, Simone Perrotta moved to Italy at the age of six. He plays for AS Roma and was a member of the Italian team who won the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

A naturalized Italian, Perrotta debuted for Reggina Calcio in the Serie B in 1995 before joining Juventus in the Serie A in 1998. In 1999, he was loaned to AS Bari and joined AC Chievo Verona during the 2001-2002 season.

AS Roma picked him up in 2004 and he has been one of their best players over the years. Although used as an attacking, Perrotta can play as a winger, defensive midfielder or playmaker.

The 29-year-old, who made his debut for the Italy national team in 2002, recently signed a contract extension with AS Roma, keeping him in Rome until 2010.
At the end of last season, he won the Coppa Italia with AS Roma who are captained by Fancesco Totti.

G. G.