29 October: Van der Sar, the goalkeeper of Moscow

Edwin van der Sar

Van Gaal's Ajax

He came through at Louis van Gaal's Ajax, a team that needed a goalkeeper who could play the ball out. In 1995, in Vienna, he won the Champions League against Milan with Kluivert's goal from Rijkaard's pass, the midfielder born on 30 September.

He played for Juventus and Fulham before Alex Ferguson signed him in 2005, aged thirty-four, to end years of doubts in the Manchester United goal.

Moscow, 21 May 2008

The 2008 Champions League final pitted United against Chelsea at the Luzhniki. It finished 1-1, and in the shoot-out John Terry missed the kick that would have won Chelsea the title. In sudden death, Van der Sar guessed right and saved Anelka's penalty. United were European champions.

Michael Ballack, born on 26 September, also took a kick in that shoot-out, and scored it.

1,311 minutes

In 2008-09, aged thirty-eight, he went 1,311 consecutive minutes without conceding in the Premier League, a competition record. He played his last game in the 2011 Champions League final at Wembley, against Barcelona. He retired at forty as, at the time, the most capped player in Dutch national team history.

Also born on 29 October

Robert Pires, from Arsenal's Invincibles to El Madrigal

🎂 turns 53

A French left winger, world champion in 1998 and European champion in 2000: in the Rotterdam final he put in the cross for the golden goal by Trezeguet, born on 15 October. With Wenger's Arsenal he won two Premier League titles, one of them the Invincibles' season.

In 2006 he joined Villarreal, where he spent four seasons and was part of the side that finished second in La Liga in 2007-08, the best finish in the club's history.

Born29 October 1973

CountryFrance

Positionmidfielder, left winger

Clubs

• Stade de Reims 1991-1992 · 2 goals
• Football Club de Metz 1993-1998 · 43 goals
• Olympique de Marsella 1998-2000 · 8 goals
• Arsenal Fútbol Club 2000-2006 · 84 goals
• Villarreal Club de Fútbol 2006-2010 · 13 goals
• Aston Villa Football Club 2010-2011

National teamselección de fútbol de Francia

Other awards

Caballero de la Orden Nacional de la Legión de Honor 1998

↻ Dates, clubs and individual awards come from Wikidata and update themselves

🔴⚪ 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.

Another 48 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.

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.