Hard-hitting Rory McIlroy was always destined to become a professional golfer, from the moment he recorded a 40-yard drive aged just two. His first hole-in-one came when he was nine, and he played in his first professional European tour event as a 16-year old in 2005. Despite high expectations, Rory[...]

Hard-hitting Rory McIlroy was always destined to become a professional golfer from the moment he recorded a 40-yard drive aged just two. His first hole in one came when he was nine and he played in his first professional European tour event as a 16-year-old in 2005. Despite high expectations, Rory [...]

Born in Serbia, Nemanja began playing football at the age of just seven and was quickly spotted by local clubs - by the age of 20 he had won the Yugoslav Cup with Red Star. The captain's armband soon followed and Nemanja led the team to a domestic double in 2004. After moving to the Russian Premier [...]

Born Ryan Joseph Wilson in 1973, Giggs first trained with Manchester City's School of Excellence before Sir Alex Ferguson spotted his prodigious talent, turning up at Giggs's home to sign him on his 14th birthday. By the time he made his Manchester United first team debut aged just 17, many consider[...]

Born in 1989, Bale first attracted the attention of Southampton FC at the age of just nine. At secondary school, he was such a prodigious talent that his PE teacher, Gwyn Morris, had to impose special restrictions on him to make it fair for the other pupils. After completing his GCSE exams, Bale bec[...]

Mario Balotelli is already a footballing legend - and he's only 22. Incredibly talented, yet frequently controversial both on and off the pitch, Balotelli lit up the Premier League from the moment he signed for Manchester City in 2010.[...]