Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (January 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 2016, Zidane was appointed the manager of Real Madrid
On 4 January 2016, Real Madrid announced the dismissal of manager Rafael Benítez and on the same day Zidane was appointed the new manager of the club on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
His first match as the club's new manager took place five days later, when Real Madrid beat Deportivo de La Coruña 5–0 in a La Liga match. In his first El Clásico as a manager, held on 2 April at the Camp Nou, Zidane led his club to a 2–1 win over Barcelona to end Barça's 39-match unbeaten run.
On 31 May, five days after the Champions League Final, Zidane announced his resignation as Real Madrid manager, citing the club's "need for change" as his rationale for departing.
On this day in 2015, Torres rejoined Atletico Madrid
At the end of 2014, it was announced that Torres' move to Milan would be made permanent on 5 January 2015, but he agreed to rejoin La Liga club Atlético Madrid on loan until the end of the 2015–16 season. Torres' unveiling at the Vicente Calderón Stadium on 4 January 2015 drew a crowd of 45,000 persons.
On 5 July 2016, Torres signed for Atlético permanently on a one-year contract. On 4 July 2017, Torres signed a new one-year contract with the Rojiblancos to stay with his boyhood club for one more year after they were banned from signing new players.
After making 350 appearances and scoring 121 goals for Atletico Madrid in total, Torres left for J1 League club Sagan Tosu.
On this day in 1990, Toni Kroos was born
On 4 January 1990, Toni Kroos was born in the small German city of Greifswald. Kroos began his senior club career playing for Bayern Munich, where he made his debut at age 17 in 2007. He is known for his vision, creativity, passing, and set-piece ability, and is widely considered to be one of the best midfielders in the world.
On 17 July 2014, Real Madrid announced that they had reached an agreement for the transfer of Kroos, signing a six-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
Kroos made his international debut for Germany in 2010 after a successful youth career. In 2014 World Cup, Kroos helped Germany win the title.
On this day in 1986, Milner was born
On 4 January 1986, James Milner was born in Wortley, Leeds. In 1996, he joined the Leeds United youth academy. He made his debut for the first team in 2002 aged only 16.
In June 2015, Milner agreed to join Liverpool on a free transfer from Manchester City. Milner became just the 13th player (and the 2nd youngest after former Aston Villa, Man City and England teammate Gareth Barry) in Premier League history to reach 500 appearances, during a 4-0 win at Bournemouth in December 2018.
In August 2009, Milner made his debut for the England senior team, when he came on as a substitute in a friendly match against the Netherlands for the final 23 minutes. On 5 August 2016, Milner announced his retirement from international duty.
On this day in 2014, Cazorla and Rosicky helped Arsenal beat Spurs
Arsene Wenger has set his sights on an extended FA Cup run as his side stand top of the Premier League table - and they were never in serious danger as they dominated this north London derby to move into the next round.
Santi Cazorla's powerful finish put the hosts ahead in the first half and Danny Rose's dreadful error allowed Tomas Rosicky to race half the length of the field to score just after the hour.
Walcott signaled a '2-0' gesture with his hands, before donning an Arsenal scarf as he was carried on around the stadium.
On this day in 2005, Spurs goal was denied
On 4 January 2005, Tottenham were denied three points when a Pedro Mendes goal against Manchester United wasn't given, despite the ball being a full meter over the line. The match ended as a scoreless draw.
The two teams met at Old Trafford with Spurs having won six of their previous seven to rise from 15th in the league to 7th. United were on a similar streak, holding down 3rd place after winning eight of the last nine matches. The hosts controlled most of the match, enjoying the better of possession and taking a handful of decent shots, but were repeatedly denied by Spurs keeper Paul Robinson.
Ultimately, it had little impact on either club, as United finished in 3rd separated by several points on both sides and Spurs ended up in 9th, though the extra two points would have pushed them up to 8th.
On this day in 2013, Chelsea signed Demba Ba from Newcastle
On 4 January 2013, Ba joined Chelsea for an undisclosed fee. Ba signed a three-and-a-half-year contract, becoming the first ever Senegalese player to join the club.
Ba made his debut against Southampton in the third round of the FA Cup on 5 January. He marked his first appearance for the club by scoring two goals in a 5–1 victory for Chelsea.
With 51 appearances and 14 goals in Chelsea, Ba left for Beşiktaş of the Turkish Süper Lig in July of 2014.
On this day in 1909, Spanish football federation was founded
On 4 January 1909, representatives of several clubs met in Madrid to form the Spanish football federation. The meeting was held at the offices of Real Madrid, with club president Adolfo Meléndez serving as the federation's first secretary.
Originally named the Federación Española de Clubs de Football, the new organization followed the model of England's FA, with the express purpose of creating a Spanish national team. After 11 years, they finally accomplished that mission when Spain played their first full international, a 1-0 win over Denmark in the 1920 Summer Olympics, where they took the silver medal.
Now known as the Real Federación Española de Fútbol, or RFEF, the federation oversees the top four levels of the Spanish football pyramid, as well as both men's and women's national teams and the national futsal team.
On this day in 1866, The man who managed Man Utd to win first two titles was born
On 4 January 1866, Ernest Mangnall, who managed Manchester United to their first two titles, was born in Bolton. He also later managed Manchester City.
In October 1903, Mangnall left Burnley for Manchester United. They were in the Second Division at the time, but he guided them to a second-place finish in 1906 and promotion to the First Division. He led them to their first league title in 1908, the FA Cup in 1909, then to a second league title in 1911.
He moved to Manchester City in September 1912, after losing to them in his last match in charge of United, and remained there until his retirement in 1924.
