Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (January 12th) 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 2008 - Ronaldo scored his first Hat-trick
On 12 January 2008, an ecstatic, youthful Ronaldo put three past managerless Newcastle United at Old Trafford. Ronaldo scored his first ever hat-trick for Man United in a 6–0 win against Newcastle United, bringing United up to the top of the Premier League table at that time.
Ronaldo's free-kick broke the deadlock after 49 minutes and Carlos Tevez quickly tapped in a second. Ronaldo capped a stunning four-man move for the third and Rio Ferdinand volleyed in a fourth after 85 minutes.
He sealed his treble via a deflection, and Newcastle's Alan Smith saw red for dissent after Tevez's disputed sixth.
2008 would be an epic year for Ronaldo. As well as winning four trophies with United, he also lifted the Ballon d’Or, the Fifa World Player of the Year, Uefa Club Footballer of the Year, the European Golden Shoe, the Champions League best forward and top scorer accolades, the Premier League Golden Boot, the PFA Player of the Year, the FWA Player of the Year, the Manchester United Fans’ Player of the Year, the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year, plus the United Players' Player of the Year award.
And now, after 11 years, Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo has already scored 52 hat-tricks for Portugal, Man Utd and Real Madrid.
On This Day - Happy Birthday to You, You, You and You!
Happy Birthday to Ottmar Hitzfeld!
On 12 January 1949, two-time Club Coach of the Year Ottmar Hitzfeld was born in Lörrach, West Germany.
As a striker, he enjoyed a successful playing career, including a spell with Basel (1971-75) in which he won two league titles and was once the league's top scorer. After subsequent stints with Stuttgart (1975-78), Lugano (1978-80), and Luzern (1980-83), he moved into management, starting with SC Zug (1983-84) and Aarau (1984-88).
But he rose to prominence with Grasshopper Zürich, where, between 1988 and 1991, he guided the team to two league titles and two Swiss Cups. That earned him a move to the Bundesliga where he led Borussia Dortmund to the championship in 1995 and 1996, then lifted the Champions League trophy in 1997. The latter performance led the IFFHS to name him their Club Coach of the Year.
He then moved to Bayern Munich, where he won another four Bundesliga titles, including the 2001 title when he also claimed a second Champions League trophy. That year, IFFHS again made him their Club Coach of the Year.
Hitzfeld left Bayern in 2004, but returned for a second spell in 2007 and won yet another league title, then left in 2008 to manage Switzerland, where he stayed until his retirement in 2014.
Happy Birthday to Emre Can!
On 12 January in 1994, Juventus and Germany football star Emre Can was born.
Emre Can is a German professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian club Juventus and the Germany national team. A versatile player, Can has also played as a defensive midfielder, centre back and full back.
He began his senior career at Bayern, playing mostly in the club's reserve side before transferring to Leverkusen in 2013. A season later, he was signed by Liverpool for £9.75 million where he made over 150 appearances across all competitions before joining Juventus in 2018.
Happy Birthday to Axel Witsel!
On 12 January in 1989, Dortmund and Belgium star Axel Witsel was born.
Axel Laurent Angel Lambert Witsel is a Belgian professional footballer who plays for Dortmund. During his play for the Belgium national team, he came into the first team as a right-winger, and can also play attacking midfielder, though his natural position is as a central midfielder.
He began his career at hometown club Standard Liège, making 183 appearances and scoring 42 goals while winning five domestic trophies. He was awarded the Belgian Golden Shoe in 2008. After a season in Portugal with S.L. Benfica, he signed for Zenit Saint Petersburg for a €40 million fee in 2012. Witsel won four honours during his time in Russia, before leaving for Tianjin Quanjian in January 2017. He returned to Europe with Borussia Dortmund in August 2018.
Happy Birthday to Alessio Romagnoli!
On 12 January 1995, Alessio Romagnoli was born.
Alessio Romagnoli is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Serie A club Milan and the Italian national team.
He began his career with Roma in 2012, and later spent a season on loan with Sampdoria in 2014, before moving to Milan in 2015. At the start of the 2018–19 Serie A season, he was installed as club and team captain following Leonardo Bonucci's return to Juventus.
Happy Birthday to Salvatore Sirigu!
On 12 January 1987, Salvatore Sirigu was born.
Salvatore Sirigu is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Torino and the Italy national team.
He began his career with Venezia, and then Palermo. In 2011, he moved to PSG. Twice voted the Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year, his honours at the club include four consecutive league titles, and all four domestic competitions in both the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons. After spending the 2016–17 season on loan to Sevilla and Osasuna, he was signed by Torino in 2017.
Happy Birthday to Borja Valero!
On 12th January in 1985, Borja Valero was born.
Valero is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian club Inter Milan.
Best known for his technique and passing ability, he began his career with Real Madrid but did not have any impact with its first team, and played for Mallorca and in England for West Bromwich Albion before joining Villarreal in 2010. He also spent several years in Serie A, with Fiorentina.
12 January 2008 - Enough Clubs To Fill A Golf Bag
On 12 January 2008, Nicolas Anelka debuted for Chelsea, his eighth club in 14 years.
His appearance that day against Tottenham was a surprise, even to manager Avram Grant. The forward had signed for Chelsea just the day before and he had not even participated in a training session. But an injury to Claudio Pizarro forced Grant to bring Anelka on in the 58th minute with the Blues up 1-0. Although he didn't score, he quickly made an impact, hitting the bar once and forcing a difficult save from the Spurs keeper as Chelsea won 2-0.
Chelsea had paid £15 million to Bolton for the French forward. Combined with the fees paid for previous transfers, Anelka's various clubs had paid a total of £84.8 million for him, an amount that made him the world's most expensive footballer at the time. In addition to Bolton (2006-08), Anelka had played for PSG (1994-97, 2000-02), Arsenal (1997-99), Real Madrid (1999-2000), Liverpool (2002), Manchester City (2002-04), and Fenerbahçe (2004-06).
Anelka scored only 2 goals for Chelsea in that first season, but bagged a league-best 19 in his second season. He scored 59 across all competitions before leaving the club in 2012.
12 January 1980 - The Ayresome Park Collapse
On 12 January 1980, a portion of Middlesbrough's Ayresome Park collapsed, killing two people. It was the start of a terrible trend in football for the coming decade.
Boro season-ticket holders Irene and Norman Roxby were exiting the ground (pictured) by the South East corner after a 1-1 draw with Manchester United when a brick pillar crumbled, bringing two gates down with it. The Roxbys were crushed by the debris. Some witnesses to the event blamed it on a group of visiting Manchester United supporters, saying they rushed the gates after the match, triggering the collapse. In their defense, however, the United supporters claimed that the rush was sparked by efforts to get away from an over-excited police horse.
Subsequent reports revealed that Middlesborough's safety certificates for the stadium had not been kept up-to-date, though the club claimed that any violation was merely technical and that all safety requirements were either met or exceeded at the time of the incident.
The deaths of the Roxbys were soon dwarfed by larger football-related disasters, including massive losses of life at Moscow's Lenin Stadium in 1982, Bradford City's Valley Parade ground in 1985, Belgium's Heysel Stadium in 1985, and Hillsborough in 1989. The Taylor Report followed the latter in August 1989, recommending the elimination of standing areas in favor of all-seater grounds. That requirement ultimately doomed Ayresome Park, which made way in 1995 for Middlesbrough's new Riverside Stadium.
