20 October: Ranieri, from Valencia to the Leicester miracle
Claudio Ranieri
«the Tinkerman»
- A.S. Roma 1973-1974
- Unione Sportiva Catanzaro 1974-1982 · 8 goals
- Catania Football Club 1982-1984 · 1 goals
- Palermo FC 1984-1986
Valencia
He came to Spain in 1997 to coach Valencia, with whom he won the 1999 Copa del Rey, thrashing Atlético in the final in Seville with Claudio López and Mendieta, and left the core of the side that would later reach two Champions League finals.
He then had a spell at Atlético Madrid and, after years at Chelsea, returned to Mestalla in 2004, where he won the UEFA Super Cup. In England they called him the Tinkerman, the man who could not stop changing his line-up.
Leicester 2015-16
In the summer of 2015 Leicester, who had avoided relegation by a miracle, appointed him to general indifference. With Vardy, Mahrez, Kanté and a team without stars, they went top in the winter and never let go. They won the Premier League ten points clear of second place.
The bookmakers had priced the title at 5,000 to 1 at the start of the season. It is probably the biggest surprise in the history of Europe's major leagues.
That the Welsh striker, after his year at Juventus, summed up the experience with that line.
That he has always denied saying it. According to Rush, a Liverpool team-mate made it up as a joke and it became so famous that everyone ended up attributing it to him. What is true is that his 1987-88 season in Turin did not go well and that the following year he went back to Anfield, where he kept on scoring.
Also born on 20 October
Ian Rush, the goalscorer of Anfield
Welsh striker and Liverpool's all-time top scorer, with 346 goals. He won five league titles and the 1984 European Cup, and was the European Golden Boot winner that same season. After his year at Juventus he returned to Liverpool and scored twice in the 1989 FA Cup final against Everton.
- Chester City Football Club 1978-1980 · 14 goals
- Liverpool Fútbol Club 1980-1986 · 109 goals
- Liverpool Fútbol Club 1986-1987 · 30 goals
- Juventus 1986-1988 · 7 goals
- Liverpool Fútbol Club 1988-1996 · 90 goals
- Leeds United Association Football Club 1996-1997 · 3 goals
🔴⚪ Sporting Gijón players born this day
They played for Sporting Gijón and were born on this same day. There is only their data here: we would rather name them than leave them out, and rather give the bare facts than invent a story.
Rafel Sastre 🔴⚪
- Real Club Deportivo Mallorca "B" 1995-1999 · 6 goals
- Cádiz Club de Fútbol 1999-2001 · 3 goals
- Real Sporting de Gijón 2001-2011 · 4 goals
- Sociedad Deportiva Huesca 2011-2012
- Club Deportivo Atlético Baleares 2012-2013
- Real Club Deportivo Mallorca
Esteban Gutiérrez Fernández 🔴⚪
- Real Sporting de Gijón 1982-1988 · 8 goals
- Real Madrid Club de Fútbol 1988-1990
- Real Zaragoza 1990-1994
- Racing Club de Ferrol 1994-1995
- Caudal Deportivo 1996-1998
Another 51 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
Every day of the year has its story. Highlighted days are already out: click to see who was born or what happened on that date. The faded ones go live on their day, at midnight (Spain time). 34 published.
Football almanac · Elopi23
January
Nothing from this month is out yet. One goes live each day, on its own date.
February
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March
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April
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May
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June
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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
October20 ★
- 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
- 1515 October: Didier Deschamps
- 1616 October: Paulo Roberto Falcão
- 1717 October: Sergio Goycochea
- 1818 October: Julio Olarticoechea
- 1919 October: Gunnar Nordahl
- 2020 October: Claudio Ranieri
November
Nothing from this month is out yet. One goes live each day, on its own date.
December
Nothing from this month is out yet. One goes live each day, on its own date.
★ 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.