14 October: Le Tissier, the genius who would not leave
Matt Le Tissier
«Le God»
- Southampton Football Club 1986-2002 · 161 goals
- Eastleigh F.C. 2002-2003 · 3 goals
- Guernsey F.C. 2013
From Guernsey to The Dell
He was born in Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, and at seventeen went to Southampton. He never moved again. He had offers from clubs like Tottenham and Chelsea and said no: he was happy at a small club, playing near the sea and adored by the fans.
Out-of-this-world goals
He was not quick and did not run himself into the ground, but he had a technique and an imagination that barely existed in nineties English football. His goals were long-range lobs, impossible free kicks and dribbles in a phone box. The one against Blackburn in 1994, flicking the ball up and volleying it in from thirty metres, is still among the most voted in Premier League history.
And he was a penalty specialist like no other: he scored 47 of the 48 he took in official matches. The only one he missed was saved by Mark Crossley, Nottingham Forest's goalkeeper, in 1993.
The last goal at The Dell
He won only eight England caps: his style did not suit the managers of the time. In 2001, in the last ever official match at the old Dell stadium before the club moved, he came off the bench and scored the winner against Arsenal. It could not have been any other way.
Also born on 14 October
Jorge Costa, o Bicho
A centre-back from Porto, a product of the club and captain of José Mourinho's side that won the 2003 UEFA Cup and the 2004 Champions League, in Gelsenkirchen against Monaco. He was the one who lifted the trophy. He later became a coach and an executive at the club.
- Fútbol Club Oporto 1990-2005 · 15 goals
- Futebol Clube Penafiel 1990-1991 · 3 goals
- Club Sport Marítimo 1991-1992 · 1 goals
- Charlton Athletic Football Club 2001-2002
- Standard Lieja 2005-2006 · 2 goals
Another 41 internationally known footballers were born on this day. We do not list them for the sake of it: only those with a story to tell make it here.
📅 The almanac: pick any date
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Football almanac · Elopi23
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July
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August
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September14 ★
- 11 September: Ruud Gullit
- 1111 September: Franz Beckenbauer
- 1818 September: Ronaldo
- 2020 September: Henrik Larsson
- 2121 September: Sándor Kocsis
- 2222 September: Thiago Silva
- 2323 September: Quini
- 2424 September: Marco Tardelli
- 2525 September: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
- 2626 September: Michael Ballack
- 2727 September: Francesco Totti
- 2828 September: Javi Poves
- 2929 September: Andriy Shevchenko
- 3030 September: Frank Rijkaard
October14 ★
- 11 October: George Weah
- 22 October: Alisson Becker · Roberto Firmino
- 33 October: Zlatan Ibrahimović
- 44 October: Jorge Valdano
- 55 October: Kopa, Rial, Di Stéfano, Puskás and Gento
- 66 October: Bruce Grobbelaar
- 77 October: Diego Costa
- 88 October: Zvonimir Boban
- 99 October: Gheorghe Popescu
- 1010 October: Tony Adams
- 1111 October: Bobby Charlton
- 1212 October: Cristhian Stuani
- 1313 October: Raymond Kopa
- 1414 October: Matt Le Tissier
November
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December
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★ published · ✎ written, waiting for their day · the red circle is today
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Dates, clubs, individual awards and photos come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, under free licences, and update themselves. Ages are not written anywhere: they are calculated the moment you open the page, so this page always shows the right age, this year and twenty years from now. If any of these players signs for another club or wins an award, their profile picks it up on its own. What is written by hand is the story and the judgement: who the day belongs to, and why.