Here at The Football Faithful, we are having a Merry Christmas and there’s no better way to celebrate than Day Eight of our Advent Calendar.
Below are some more crazy and unbelievable facts surrounding this date from over the years.
The Football Faithful’s Advent Calendar: December 8th
Shirt Number: 8
Former England right-back Glen Johnson wore the number eight at Stoke City.
Johnson’s reasoning is simple. He had the choice between eight, fourteen or numbers in the late 20’s so he chose the former. Still weird though, Glen.
Embed from Getty Images
Dutch goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed was in between the sticks for the Netherlands as they finished runners-up in the 1974 and 1978 World Cup.
He came agonisingly close to getting his gloves on the Jules Rimet Trophy, all while having the number eight on his back.
This was during the era where player numbers were distributed alphabetically and Jongbloed came eighth in the starting eleven.
Game on this Day: Stirling Albion 20-0 Selkirk
It’s the 40th year anniversary since Stirling Albion achieved British senior football’s biggest win in the 20th century.
They welcomed Selkirk to Annfield Stadium in the Scottish Cup first round in 1984 and made history.
Willie Irvine netted five while Stirling’s record signing at the time, Davie Thompson, recorded seven on the day.
Andy Graham was desperate to keep a rare clean sheet in between the sticks for Stirling but his teammates tried to jeopardise that.
The already heavily beaten Selkirk were awarded a free-kick and Graham was trying to organise his wall. But to his dismay, his teammates just turned around and waved at him.
A match full of hilarious anecdotes, it was certainly a day that is cemented in the minds of Stirling players and fans alike.
Footballer(s) Born on this Day: Sterling, James and co.
You could make a pretty devastating 5-a-side team with players born on this day throughout the years.
Raheem Sterling MBE is celebrating three decades since he was born in Kingston, Jamaica.
The winger is part of the prestigious and exclusive club of netting a century of Premier League goals. Sterling has appeared for some of England’s biggest clubs such as Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City.
Chelsea club captain Reece James turns 25 today while he continues to recover from a muscular injury.
World Cup winner Geoff Hurst MBE is 82 years old today and is still a national hero.
Wishing Sir Geoff Hurst a very happy birthday 🎂 pic.twitter.com/D87MDliJpl
— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 8, 2024
The striker was the first player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, with a three-goal haul in England’s 4-2 win over West Germany on home soil in 1966.
We’d also like to extend our birthday wishes to Women’s Super League record appearance maker Jordan Nobbs, another member of the Premier League ‘100 goals club’ Les Ferdinand and former Manchester United and current Napoli midfielder Scott McTominay.
🎂 Happy Birthday, Scott McTominay! pic.twitter.com/6kvIlvlfqT
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) December 8, 2024
Stat: Norman Hunter’s unprecedented substitution
It’s the winter of 1985 and the England national team are playing Spain at the Santiago Bernabeu.
After Joe Baker suffered a pulled muscle in the first half, Leeds United’s Norman Hunter came on to replace him to make his debut for his country.
However, this unassuming substitution was the first of its kind. It was the inaugural time a Three Lions player had come off the bench to make his debut.
We have since seen hundreds of Englishmen make the same leap including England’s record goalscorer Harry Kane.
The Bayern Munich striker came off the bench to make his debut against Lithuania in 2015. He scored with his third touch after 79 seconds and the rest is history.
Norman Hunter walked so Harry Kane could run.
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