On This Day: Lahm made Germany debut; Gary Neville, Baggio & Makelele were born

Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (February 18th) in football history. If you have more stories and news that happened on this day in history, please post them in the comment area and share them with AFers!

On this day in 1967, Robert Baggio was born

Considered one of the best players of his generation, and one of Italy's greatest players; Baggio is regarded by many in the sport as the best Italian player of all-time. 

Baggio was a tactically versatile player, with a good understanding of the game, and was comfortable attacking on either flank or through the centre of the pitch; this allowed him to play anywhere along the front-line.

In 1990, he moved from Fiorentina to Juventus for a world record transfer fee. Baggio has won two Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia and a UEFA Cup, playing for seven different Italian clubs during his career: Vicenza, Fiorentina, Juventus, Milan, Bologna, Internazionale and Brescia.

In 2002, Baggio became the first Italian player in over 50 years to score more than 300 career goals; he is currently the fifth-highest scoring Italian in all competitions with 318 goals.

On this day in 1975, Gary Neville was born

An experienced and dedicated footballer, regarded as one of England's greatest right-backs, and as one of the best Premier League full-backs of his generation, Gary Neville was an aggressive, tenacious, and hard-tackling player, known for his work-rate, professionalism, determination, and consistency as a defender.

Although he was not the quickest, tallest, strongest, most talented or most technically gifted player, he was a reliable, traditional defensive-minded right-back, known in particular for his tactical intelligence and ability to read the game, as well as his stamina, work-ethic and leadership.

Neville spent his entire playing career at Old Trafford, making him a one-club man. At the time of his retirement in 2011, he was Manchester United's second longest serving player in the squad, behind long-time teammate Ryan Giggs, and had served as club captain for five years. He is one of the most decorated English and European footballers of all time, having won a total of 20 trophies, including eight Premier League titles and two Champions League titles.

On this day in 1987, Lineker grabbed FOUR in England's 4-2 victory over Spain

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On this day in 2004,  Lahm made his debut for Germany

Lahm started his international career in the U19 national team. Afterwards, he played a few U20 and U21 matches for Germany before impressing Rudi Völler enough to hand the youngster his debut on 18 February 2004, at 20 years of age. His first game was a 2–1 win over Croatia, where he played the full 90 minutes and was chosen as the man of the match by German football magazine Kicker.

On this day in 1973, Makelele was born

At Madrid, he was an integral member of the Galacticos side assembled by club president Florentino Pérez, including Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo, and Roberto Carlos. Although not regarded as highly (or paid as much) as some of the others, Makélélé drove the side by operating less like a traditional defensive midfielder and more like a deep-lying playmaker.

When he left for Chelsea in 2003, a bitter Pérez tried to minimize the loss, downplaying Makélélé's contribution to the team. But after winning two league titles (and the Champions League) with him, Real Madrid did not win La Liga again until 2007. Makélélé, meanwhile, flourished at Chelsea, winning two league titles and one FA Cup before moving back to France.

On this day in 1933, Sir Bobby Robson was born

Robson's professional playing career as an inside forward spanned nearly 20 years, After his playing career, he found success as both a club and international manager, winning league championships in both the Netherlands and Portugal, earning trophies in England and Spain, and taking England to the semi-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Robson was created a Knight Bachelor in 2002, was inducted as a member of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003. From 1991 onwards, he suffered recurrent medical problems with cancer, In August 2008, his lung cancer was confirmed to be terminal; he said, "My condition is described as static and has not altered since my last bout of chemotherapy... I am going to die sooner rather than later. But then everyone has to go sometime and I have enjoyed every minute." He died just under a year later.

On this day in 1995, Moratti became Inter president

Moratti took over as chairman of Inter from Ernesto Pellegrini in 1995, during a period where many considered Inter to be underachievers. During the 18 years of his leadership, Inter has clinched five Scudetti/Serie A in a row from 2006 to 2010 (equalling the all-time record), four Coppa Italia titles (2005, 2006, 2010, 2011), four Supercoppa Italiana titles (2005, 2006, 2008, 2010), one UEFA Champions League (2010), one FIFA Club World Cup (2010) and one UEFA Cup (1998). Inter won the Scudetto, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League in the 2009-2010 season, becoming the first Italian team that managed to achieve the Treble.

On this day in 1900, Ajax was formed in Amsterdam

Ajax has historically been one of the most successful clubs in the world. According to the IFFHS, Ajax were the seventh-most successful European club of the 20th century and The World's Club Team of the Year in 1992.

The club is one of the five teams that has earned the right to keep the European Cup and to wear a multiple-winner badge; they won consecutively in 1971–1973.

Ajax's last international trophies were the 1995 Intercontinental Cup, 1995 UEFA Super Cup and the 1995 Champions League, where they defeated Milan in the final.