Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (May 11th) in football history. If you have more stories and news that happened on this day in history, feel free to post them in the comment area and share them with AFers.
On this day in 2003 - David Beckham's last ever Man Utd appearance
On 11 May 2003, David Beckham made his final appearance for Manchester United and signed off with a goal in a 2-1 win over Everton on the final day of the 2002/03 Premier League season.
Having signed for Manchester United as a trainee on 8 July 1991, Beckham was part of a group of young players who were coached by Eric Harrison and helped the club win the FA Youth Cup in May 1992. Beckham's impact led to a first-team debut on 23 September 1992.
With United, Beckham won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999.
On this day in 1984 - Andres Iniesta was born
Andrés Iniesta now plays as a central midfielder for Japanese club Vissel Kobe and he spent most of his career at Barcelona, where he served as the captain for three seasons.
Iniesta came through La Masia and he made his first-team debut aged 18 in 2002 and he began playing regularly during the 2004–05 season and remained in the team until 2018.
Iniesta was an integral part of the Barcelona sides that won two historic trebles in 2009 and 2015, and his 34 trophies, which includes nine La Ligas and four UEFA Champions League titles, make him the most decorated Spanish footballer of all time.
Iniesta made his international debut in 2006. He helped Spain win Euro 2008, playing every game and being selected in the Team of the Tournament.
Iniesta was also a key member of the victorious Spanish team at the 2010 World Cup; he scored the winning goal in the final against the Netherlands, for which he was named the Man of the Match, and was selected to the tournament's All-Star Team.
At Euro 2012, Iniesta led Spain to their second consecutive continental crown, again being chosen as the Man of the Match of the final against Italy, and was named the Player of the Tournament.
Iniesta is widely considered to be one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest midfielders of all time. Since 2009, he has been named in the FIFA World XI nine times and was chosen in the UEFA Team of the Year on six occasions. Iniesta won the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award in 2012 and was named the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker in 2012 and 2013. He was runner-up to Lionel Messi for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or and achieved third place in 2012.
On this day in 1992 - Thibaut Courtois was born
In July 2011 Courtois joined Chelsea for a reported £8m, and was immediately loaned to Atlético Madrid. In three seasons there, he won the Europa League in 2012, the Copa del Rey in 2013 and the La Liga title in 2014. He also won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for best goalkeeper in La Liga, for his performances in his two latter seasons.
Courtois returned to Chelsea in July 2014, and in his first season he helped them win the League Cup and the Premier League title. Two years later, he won the Premier League Golden Glove as Chelsea again won the league. Later, Real Madrid signed him for £35m, becoming La Liga's most expensive goalkeeper, surpassing the record set by Jan Oblak.
Courtois made his senior international debut in October 2011, becoming the youngest goalkeeper to represent Belgium. He has since earned over 70 caps and appeared at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup where he was awarded the Golden Glove as best goalkeeper of the tournament as the Belgians came third.
On this day in 1985 - The Valley Parade Fire
On 11 May 1985, Bradford City's Valley Parade stadium caught fire during their last match of the season, killing 56 spectators and injuring 265 others.
The day started triumphantly for Bradford City. They had secured the Division Three title five days earlier with a 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers, so the League presented the trophy to the club before their match, played against Lincoln City. The presentation brought 11,076 people out to see the match, almost double the season average of 6,610.
People in the crowd noticed the first signs of fire under the main stand about five minutes before the break. Later reports described it as a "glowing light," possibly from a dropped match or cigarette that landed on trash and debris that had collected under the stand. The fire spread quickly across the wooden stand and roof, so that, within four minutes, the entire stand was engulfed in flame.
The roof dropped burning timbers and other material onto the crowd, some of whom tried to escape through the back of the stand, while other rushed onto the pitch, helped by police officers and Bradford City striker John Hawley, who climbed into the burning stand to help rescue a stranded supporter. Of the 56 people who died, several succumbed to smoke inhalation, while others were crushed in the panic or were burned. One of the fatalities was 86-year old Sam Firth, a former chairman of the club.
Sadly, prior to the fire, several people had warned the club about the need to replace the wooden stand and roof and to clear the debris from under the stand, but Bradford City had been slow to implement renovations. But having secured promotion, they had just ordered a new steel roof and concrete terracing that would have minimized any damage.
The stadium re-opened in December 1986 and remains home to Bradford City.
On this day in 2001 - Milan 6-0 Inter to win the derby
On May 11, 2001, Milan thrashed city rivals Inter 6-0 at San Siro in what could possibly be the most infamous Derby della Madonnina.
It only took two minutes for Milan to take the lead through a good finish from Gianni Comandini. He scored again when he powered home a header from the edge of the six-yard box and that really set the tone for the rest of the evening. It didn't get much better in the second half when Federico Giunti's free kick evaded everyone in the box and managed to sneak past Sebastien Frey. Further goals from Serginho and a brace from Ukrainian Andriy Shevchenko further humiliated Inter.
This result remains one of the most embarrassing for Inter, with the Curva Sud at Milan still singing about it to this very day, and the 0-6 remains the biggest margin of defeat in the Derby della Madonnina.
On this day in 1994 - Inter won their 2nd UEFA Cup
On 11 May 1994, Inter beat Salzburg to win the 2nd leg of UEFA Cup final with a 1–0 to record a 2–0 aggregate victory. Jonk scored for Inter at 62' to seal the title.
That was the second time that Inter won the UEFA Cup while they won the first one in 1991.
On this day in 2006 - Alan Shearer's last Newcastle Utd game
Alan Shearer played in a black and white shirt for the final time during a spectacular testimonial against CelticFC at St. James' Park.
Shearer is Newcastle's and the Premier League's record goalscorer. He scored 283 league goals in his career (all in the first tier of English football), including a record 260 in the Premier League with a joint record 11 Premier League hat-tricks, and a total of 422 in all competitions including international at all levels.
On this day in 1983 - Aberdeen beat Real Madrid to the European Cup Winners' Cup
On 11 May 1983, Aberdeen won the European Cup Winners' Cup, beating Real Madrid 2-1 on a rain-soaked day before a crowd of approximately 18,000 at the Ullevi in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Aberdeen fielded an all-Scottish side, including Alex Ferguson. Definite underdogs, they took a shock lead when forward Eric Black scored in the 7th minute. But the lead was short-lived, as Real Madrid drew level with a 15th-minute penalty kick from forward Juanito.
Despite the early exchange, the teams were unable to score for the remainder of regulation, forcing the match into overtime. There, the winning goal was headed in by supersub John Hewitt, who had come on in place of Black.
On this day in 1966 - Real Madrid won their 6th European Cup
On 11th May 1966, Real Madrid won their sixth European Cup title at Heysel Stadium, Brussels. The Whites beat Partizan Belgrade in the showpiece in a game in which they made a stellar comeback to take the crown in the final 20 minutes.
Madrid's first goal came from Galician genius Amancio, who turned his defender inside out, before drilling the ball past the Partizan goalkeeper. The Whites' second was scored by Serena, who fired in a long distance shot to burst the back of the net.
On this day in 1986 - Abou Diaby was born
Abou Diaby, who retired from football in February 2019, played primarily in a box to box role, capable to be adept in both attacking and defending. Described as a player who was "languid, elusive, and athletic" that could either "dribble past opponents or slip passes to team-mates". His physical appearance and positional preference evoked comparisons to Arsenal legend and compatriot Patrick Vieira.
Diaby began his football career in 1998 and in January 2006, Diaby signed with English club Arsenal. He made his debut with the club that same month and scored his first goal three months later against Aston Villa. After being released from Arsenal in 2015, Diaby signed for French Ligue 1 side Marseille. Diaby's career was hampered by numerous repetitive injuries, a problem that existed from his time in France.
Diaby made his senior international debut in March 2007 in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Lithuania. He has represented France at one major international tournament; the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Diaby participated in all three group stage matches the team played as a starter.
