Football and Christmas just go hand in hand, don’t they?
Let’s peel away door number five and see what memorable football facts revolve around this date.
Shirt Number: 5
When the number five is mentioned in footballing conversation, only one man enters our head.
Zinedine Zidane will forever be associated with the shirt, but the decision surprisingly wasn’t made by him.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez was a traditionalist and demanded that first-team players possessed a number between 1-10.
One of the greats of the game ✨
Happy Birthday, Zinédine Zidane 🎈#UCL pic.twitter.com/r70dDM5n2N
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) June 23, 2023
Manolo Sanchis, who wore the number five, had departed the same summer that Zizou arrived and the rest is history.
After signing for Los Blancos in the summer of 2023, Jude Bellingham followed in Zidane’s footsteps and inherited the number five.
If you look elsewhere, Samuel Eto’o also wore the number in his stint at Everton.
When the Cameroonian striker was asked why he chose a number traditionally associated with a defender, Eto’o replied: “The received wisdom is that as you get older the numbers change.”
But why five, Samuel?
Game on this day: Swansea 0-3 Leicester
Nine years ago to the day, Leicester City went top of the Premier League courtesy of a Riyad Mahrez hat-trick.
The Algerian, not known for his aerial prowess, managed to nod home from a corner to give Claudio Ranieri’s side the lead.
Mahrez then grabbed his second after the omnipresent N’golo Kante picked him out with a floated pass.
Remembering Riyad Mahrez’s hat-trick at Swansea City #OnThisDay in 2015 🙌 ⚽ pic.twitter.com/0S9Fo2Dxof
— Leicester City (@LCFC) December 5, 2022
This was the days before VAR and replays showed the winger had strayed offside, but the flag wasn’t raised and he slotted in his second.
His three-goal haul was complete after the interval as Jamie Vardy teed him up to fire past Lukasz Fabianski.
We wonder where the Foxes ended up finishing that season?
Footballer born on this day: Anthony Martial
Once upon a time, Anthony Martial was a teenage sensation at Manchester United but today marks his 29th birthday.
After bursting onto the scene at Monaco, United made him the most expensive teenager in football history at the time splurging £36 million (alongside a further £21.6 million in potential bonuses) on the Frenchman.
The 19-year-old was recognised on the continental stage with the Golden Boy Award for 2015.
In his debut season with the Red Devils he lifted the FA Cup and established himself as one of football’s hottest prospects.
His development stalled, however, before experiencing a renaissance under Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer, netting 23 times in the 2019/20 campaign.
But his career hit another roadblock and after being on the peripheries for a couple of years, he was loaned to Sevilla. An underwhelming spell in Spain saw him released last summer before joining Greek outfit AEK Athens.
Fact: Gazza gets the Sack
Paul Gascoigne was an enigmatic genius with the ball at his feet.
But did you know that he once tried his hand in management?
Believe it or not, in 2005 Gascoigne was appointed as manager of Conference North outfit Kettering Town.
But on this day 18 years ago, he was sacked after just six league games in charge.
In fairness his record wasn’t abysmal. Two wins , two draws and two losses but off-the-field antics saw him and the club part ways after just 39 days together.
The club owner accused Gazza of drinking too much, while Gazza accused the owner of interfering with team affairs.
Gascoigne later claimed that the owner had interfered incessantly due to harbouring ambitions of being a manager himself, despite knowing little about football.
The former Tottenham midfielder came close to returning to management in 2010 with Garforth Town.
But after weeks of talks between his agent and the club, he decided to politely turn down the offer, although he did reiterate his desire to return to football management.
There’s a book about his time at Kettering aptly titled 39 days.
Read – Iconic Performances: Luis Suarez humiliates Norwich with four-goal haul
See more – The Football Faithful’s Advent Calendar: December 4th
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