It's almost the end of 2019, here we bring you a brief summary in alphabetic order. And wish you a happy new year!
Ajax
Dutch giant have been unstoppable in the first half of 2019. In 2018/19 UCL knockout stage, they beat Madrid 4-1 in 2nd leg (1st leg 1-2) at Bernabeu to eliminate defending champions.
Then Ajax shut the door for Ronaldo's Juventus by 3-2 in aggregate as they stood at the semi-final stage after 22 years, despite being kicked out by runners up Tottenham afterward.
Ajax also won the domestic double last season, showing that sloppy European lion was waking up.
Back
Since March, we've seen many old faces back to their old clubs. As managers, Zidane back to Madrid, Solskjaer returned to Man Utd, Lampard reunited with Blues and Arteta tried to save Arsenal. As players, Buffon returned to Juventus, Hummels returned to Dortmund.
And most importantly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will re-wear Milan shirt on the very first day of new year, confirmed.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Another big year for Cristiano Ronaldo who became the first active player to score 700th career goal. He also lift his hat-trick record to 55 after 6-0 win over Lithuania.
As an international player, he has scored 99 goals for Portugal becoming the 2nd best in history. Ronaldo also netted against 40 different countries that renewed the world record.
As a Juventus player, he won his first Seria A title this year.
Dismissal
Year of 2019 is another one of sacking. From Solari to Ancelotti, from spring to winter.
Besides these nine world-class head coaches, there were many other ones like former Everton boss Marco Silva, Watford boss Javi Gracia & Flores, West Ham boss Pellegrini also being sacked this year.
Eden Hazard
On 29 May, Eden Hazard helped Chelsea win the Europa League title after 4-1 win over Arsenal in the final.
On 7 June 2019, Real Madrid announced that Hazard would be signing for them for the 2019–20 season. He signed a contract until 30 June 2024 for an initially reported fee of approximately €100 million, which may rise to €146.1 million due to additional fees and will be earning an expected £400,000 per week.
Flamengo
On the morning of February 8, 2019, a fire erupted at Flamengo's training center living quarters. The fire resulted in the deaths of ten academy players between the ages of 14 and 17 training with the club.
On November 23, Flamengo trailed 0–1 against River Plate in the Libertadores final before Gabriel scored twice in last minutes to secure the historic 2–1 victory. Less than 24 hours later, Flamengo became champions of the Campeonato Brasileiro for the first time since 2009 with four matches in hand after a loss by Palmeiras to Gremio in the 34th round.
Goodbye
After we list several players or coaches who return to their old home clubs, here we have to accept those legends, who have accompanied us a decade or two, to say goodbye. Maybe, they will come back one day, with smiles on faces, to let us always remember that departures are for better returns.
Players announced their retirement in 2019 (from left to right, top to bottom in pic):
David Villa, Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Petr Cech, Fernando Torres, Claudio Marchisio, Ashley Cole, Samuel Eto'o, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Diego Forlan, Andrea Barzagli.
Haaland
In January 2019, Red Bull Salzburg signed Haaland on a five-year contract. In the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, he became the first teenager to score in five consecutive UEFA Champions League matches.
On 30 May 2019, Haaland scored nine goals in Norway U20's 12–0 win against Honduras U20 at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. This set a new U-20 World Cup record for most goals scored by a single player in a match, and also the biggest win by any team in the history of the tournament.
On 29 Dec, Dortmund have completed the signing of Erling Braut Haaland from Red Bull Salzburg on a contract until the summer of 2024.
In That Order
Gareth Bale posed with a flag that read "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order" after he helped his home country secure its place at UEFA Euro 2020.
And 'in that order' has been a quite popular phrase for a while.
Jose Mourinho
On 20 November 2019, Mourinho was appointed as the manager of Tottenham Hotspur on a four-year contract, replacing the sacked Mauricio Pochettino.
So far Mourinho has taken Spurs playing 11 games, gotten a sheet of 6 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses. After another Boxing Day win, his reclaim has just begun.
KDB
As the most irreplaceable playmaker for Man City, Kevin De Bruyne has become one of the most valuable midfielders in the world (€150m).
Despite suffering injuries in spring, De Bruyne still can bounce back to help Man City win the domestic Quadruple. This season so far, he has scored 6 goals and sent 13 assists in 23 appearances for City.
Lewandowski
Lewandowski must be the most stunning player in 2019. He topped the scorers of top 5 leagues with 54 goals in 58 games. He has created & broke many records such as scoring in 9 consecutive Bundesliga games & netting 16 goals in 11 Bundesliga games. Now he has become the 3rd top scorer in Bundesliga history ever with 221 goals.
Messi
Lionel Messi still was one of the most shining stars in 2019, after... many years. He has scored 50 goals in 2019, which was his 9th year and 6th consecutive year to score 50+ goals. Messi has finished his 35th La Liga hat-trick, which was his 54th in total (1 less than CR7), to overtake Ronaldo for top. He also led Barca to make a whole year unbeaten record at Camp Nou.
The most shining moment was that Messi received his 6th Golden Foot Award & 6th Ballon d'Or Award in 2019. What a legend.
Neymar
Neymar has always been in the centre of storm, no exception in 2019. On 27 April, Neymar scored in the 2019 Coupe de France Final against Rennes, but Rennes made a comeback and won on penalties. After the match, Neymar was caught on video appearing to punch a spectator in the face.
In June, a seven-minute video on Instagram revealing that he had been accused of rape. Though this case dropped over lack of evidence afterward.
Ney's transfer saga with Barca began in June and ended nowhere. In July, Neymar was absent from training with PSG, with the club talking disciplinary action. Prior to the transfer deadline in late August, Neymar agreed to stay at PSG after talks broke down over a return to Barcelona.
But do not forget, his Brazil won the Copa America 2019. That is not bad news.
Ole at the Wheel?
After taking over Man Utd from Mourinho, Solskjaer gets 8 wins and 1 draw in his first 9 games in all competitions.
The UCL saw Solskjaer suffer his first loss as manager, as Utd were beaten 2–0 at home to PSG in the first leg of their round of 16 tie. However, In the second leg, Marcus Rashford's penalty in the 94th minute gave Manchester United a 3–1 win, sending them through to the quarter-finals on away goals.
Solskjaer chants: "Ole's at the wheel, tell me how does it feel."
Pochettino
On 8 May 2019, Pochettino led Tottenham into the 2019 UCL Final, the first Champions League/European Cup final in the club's history.
However, On 19 November 2019, Pochettino was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur with the side placed 14th in the Premier League table, with chairman Daniel Levy citing "extremely disappointing" domestic results as the reason behind the dismissal.
Quadruple
On Feb 25th, Man City had a nil-nil tie with Chelsea in EFL Cup final and won the cup by 4-3 in the penalty shoot-out.
On May 12th, Man City beat Brighton away in the last PL game 2018/19 season to defend the title with 98 points (Liverpool 97).
A week later, a 6-0 smash brought City another champion - FA cup. Plus the Community Shield, City won the Domestic Quadruple in 1 season.
Rest In Peace
Sala was killed on January 21 when the plane he was in crashed into the English Channel. He was on his way to join Cardiff after they agreed on a club record 17 million-euro transfer fee with Nantes.
On August 29, Luis Enrique confirmed his nine-year-old daughter Xana's death, saying she had fought osteosarcoma - or bone cancer - for "five intense months".
The former Spain international was killed in a car crash on June 1 on the main road from Sevilla to Utrera with age of 35. He was part of Arsenal's unbeaten 'Invincibles' who won the 2003-04 Premier League title. He later had spells at Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla.
Say no to racism
In the year of 2019, there have been many players who were assaulted by racists, especially in PL and Seria A games.
Here, All Football claim and advocate again, there should be no room for racism in any corner over the world.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur stadium opened with a ceremony on 3 April 2019 before its first competitive senior game, the Premier League match against Crystal Palace. The match was won by Tottenham 2–0, with Son Heung-min scoring the first ever official goal at the new stadium.
Unbeaten
Look at all those UNBEATEN records! How long will they keep them in 2020?
VAR
'VAR' (video assistant referee) has always been the most disputable word since it was born. No exceptions in 2019.
We all remeber that UCL quarter-finals when Man City took on Tottenham second leg, VAR overlooked Llorente's seeming handball and cancelled Sterling's last-gasp winner by an armpit offside.
In this season's PL, the newly utilised VAR system caused various conflicts.
"This is beyond a joke. That’s 30 goals VAR has ruled out this season - 20 of them for an armpit - a toe - or an oversized nose being offside. It’s killing our game."
Women World Cup
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, which contested by 24 women's national teams, took place between 7 June and 7 July 2019.
The United States entered the competition as defending champions after winning the 2015 edition in Canada and successfully defended their title with a 2–0 victory over Netherlands in the final. In doing so, they secured their record fourth title and became the second nation, after Germany, to have successfully retained the title.
Xhaka Outburst
Xhaka reacted angrily after his substitution during Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace was greeted by sarcastic cheers. He threw his arms up in the air and cupped his ears as the boos grew louder. He then mouthed 'f**k off' at the fans before removing his shirt and storming down the tunnel.
You'll Never Walk Alone
No more words needed for Liverpool this year. They're enjoying all the admirations and compliments on the planet.
If not Man City, Liverpool should've not been the last season's PL runners up with 97 points. But they reentered UCL finals and took the trophy after 14 years. Since then, they have been the team to beat all over Europe. They have suffered only 3 defeat this season so far in 32 games, and remained unbeaten in 19 PL games, can you believe it?
Zlatan
If 'Z' isn't for Zlatan, then there's no other word.
At age of 38, Zlatan still can score 31 goals in 31 games for LA Galaxy and give 8 assists. This 'phenomenon' has attracted Milan's attention.
On 27 December 2019, Ibrahimovic signed for Milan on a free transfer on a six-month contract until the end of the season, with an option to extend his contract until the end of the 2020–21 season subject to certain conditions. Welcome back, Zlatan!