A photo portfolio of some of soccer’s top stars by Finlay MacKay
Gianluigi Buffon, Italian Goalkeeper
Buffon, 32, will want to banish memories of an injury-plagued season with Juventus. If he can repeat his heroics from 2006, when he went 453 minutes without conceding a goal, he will have reclaimed the title of world's best keeper.Finlay Mackay for TIME
Lionel Messi, Argentinian Striker
Argentinian World Cup legend Diego Maradona dubbed Messi his "successor" and, so far, this soccer phenom is living up to his high expectations. In 2009, at the age of 22, Messi won both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards, the two highest honors annually bestowed upon soccer players. With a gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics already under his belt, there's not much left for the young striker to do than to win a World Cup title or two.Finlay Mackay
Tim Howard, American Goalkeeper
After spending the 2006 World Cup on the bench, Howard, 31, inherited the gloves from Kasey Keller. South Africa is the Everton goalie's chance to make his mark on the biggest stage of them all.Finlay Mackay for TIME
David Villa, Spanish Striker
Liverpool's Fernando Torres gets more press, but Villa is Spain's main goal threat, scoring at better than a goal every two games. At 29, he's in his prime and was on the shopping lists of most of Europe's big clubs last month before FC Barcelona paid Valencia more than $48 million for his lethal services.Finlay Mackay for TIME
Steven Pienaar, South African Forward
Pienaar, 28, arrives at the World Cup in red-hot form: he was voted player of the season at his English club, Everton. Not a prolific scorer himself, he excels at serving up goal opportunities for strikers.Finlay Mackay for TIME
