Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (December 4th) 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 1997 - World XI vs Europe XI! Ronaldo, Zidane, Batistuta and more!
Ahead of the 1998 World Cup draw a Rest of the World XI played a European XI in a brilliant game of football featuring Ronaldo and Zidane.
The game took place at the Stade Velodrome, with the draw following immediately after.
One player from each nation competing at the tournament was selected for a Europe v Rest of the World exhibition match.
Romania’s Lacatus put Europe ahead. The Rest of the World hit back as Colombia’s Antony de Avila snuck onto a Ronaldo through ball and slotted past Germany’s Kopke.
Then the party really got going. Ronaldo took Hierro for a quick samba dancing lesson before hammering a shot into the bottom corner. 2-1.
He then set Batistuta up twice to make it 4-1. The first was a typical ruthlessly placed shot from outside the box.
The second a hammer blow from close range after a sublime through ball from R9.
Batigol returned the compliment with a raking pass to put Ronaldo through on goal. The Brazilian did the rest to make it 5-1 at half-time.
Time for Zizou to make Europe great again. He made Paraguayan keeper Ruben Martin Ruiz Diaz scramble on his hands and knees before somehow finding a way past two Rest of the World defenders on the line. Highlights below:
On This Day in 2001 - Bergkamp Greatest Assist Against Juve
On 4, December 2001, a moment in Bergkamp’s career that deserves honorary mention – even today – is his assist against Juventus in the Champions League all the way back in 2001.
If anyone requires evidence of just how farcically brilliant Bergkamp was, simply point them in the direction of this goal. Arsenal were leading the Bianconeri 2-1 with only a couple of minutes to spare, back when the Champions League hopelessly squeezed in two bloated group stage periods before Christmas. Bergkamp started on the bench but replaced Nwankwo Kanu in an effort to spread his calmness to his teammates and see the lead through.
On This Day in 2011 - Socrates Passes Away
On 4 December 2011, former Brazil captain Socrates passed away from complications related to food poisoning. He was 57.
One of the most inventive and dynamic players of his generation, the towering midfielder started his career with Botafogo in 1974. But spent the majority of it with Corinthians, for whom he made 297 league appearances and scored 172 goals between 1978 and 1984 and won three league titles (1979, 1982, 1984).
He earned his first cap from Brazil in 1979 and went on to make a total of 60 appearances, including a spell as captain for the 1982 World Cup. Unfortunately for him, Brazil were eliminated in the second group stage of that tournament and never won a major title during Socrates' tenure, with their best finish being runners-up in the 1982 Copa America.
Socrates won individual awards, though, and was named the 1983 South American Footballer of the Year over Argentina's Ubaldo Fillol and Brazil's Éder.
After leaving Corinthians in 1984, he spent a season in Italy with Fiorentina, then returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo, Santos, and Botafogo before retiring in 1989. Having earned a medical degree during his playing days, he became a practising physician upon retiring from football and also wrote prolific columns on sports and politics.
At the beginning of December 2011, he went into the hospital for food poisoning and died from related complications.
4 December 2009 - Maybe The Goalkeepers Spoke A Bit Too Soon
On 4 December 2009, Adidas introduced their controversial new match ball for the 2010 World Cup, the Jabulani.
Named after the Zulu word for "celebrate," the ball was made from eight spherically moulded panels and had a textured surface designed to improve its aerodynamics. The result was unpredictable flight behaviour which drew heavy criticism from several players. Goalkeepers were particularly unhappy, including Brazil's Julio Cesar, who called it a "supermarket ball," Spain's Iker Casillas, who said it was "horrible," and Italy's Gianluigi Buffon, who said it was "absolutely inadequate."
Predictably, players contracted to Adidas provided more favourable reviews, including such high-profile stars as Kaká ("just great"), Michael Ballack ("fantastic"), and Frank Lampard ("very strong").
The overall effect appeared to be a reduction in goalscoring, as the tournament had only 145 goals, the fewest of any World Cup since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998.
On This Day in 1994 - Del Piero Delivers
On 4 December 1994, after going down 0-2, Alessandro Del Piero scored a wonder goal to complete Juventus' comeback over Fiorentina.
The 20-year forward had joined Juventus the previous year after spending his first two seasons at Padova. He impressed on his debut, scoring a hat-trick against Parma that spring. But even that performance didn't prepare the club for what was to come.
Hosting Fiorentina at the Stadio Delle Alpi in December, Juventus conceded first-half goals to Francesco Baiano (24') and Angelo Carbone (35') to go into the break down 0-2. But in the second half, Gianluca Vialli scored twice in a four-minute span (73', 76') to bring the hosts level.
Then, in the 87th minute, as it appeared that the teams would share the points, Del Piero struck. With a long ball coming in from just inside the midfield stripe, Del Piero raced down the left side of the pitch and into the box, connecting with a right-footed volley that put the ball into the top corner. It was an incredible display of skill that secured a 3-2 victory and established Del Piero as a rising star.
Juventus went on to win the league that season, their first Scudetto in eight years. Del Piero stayed with the club until 2012, making a total of 705 appearances and scoring 290 goals while winning five more league titles (not counting the two stripped from the club as a result of the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal).
On This Day in 1933 - Arsenal Takes Down The Wunderteam
On 4 December 1933, Arsenal faced off against the Austrian Wunderteam and won, 4-2.
Guided by manager Hugo Meisl and captain Matthias Sidelar (pictured), Austria were one of Europe's most dominant teams of the 1930s, earning the nickname "Wunderteam." They rattled off a 14-game unbeaten streak in 1931-32, including routes of Scotland (5-0), Germany (6-0, 5-0), and Hungary (8-2). They also won the 1932 Central European International Cup with a 4-2 victory over Italy in the final.
Arsenal, meanwhile, were enjoying a successful period of their own, having recently won the 1930 FA Cup and the 1931 and 1933 league titles under manager Herbert Chapman.
Chapman was friends with Meisl, prompting the friendly. But FA rules prohibited English clubs from playing international sides, so Austria arrived at Highbury for the match thinly disguised as FC Vienna. The Times called it a "thrilling match," with Arsenal taking a 3-1 lead before the teams swapped late goals to finish the day 4-2.
Austria went on to finish fourth in the 1934 World Cup, then went into decline after the death of Meisl in 1937. Arsenal proceeded to win the league title in 1934, but manager Herbert Chapman was not there to see it, as he died on 6 January 1934, just over a month after the win over Austria.
