On This Day: Giggs made Man Utd debut; Liverpool & Man City both won EFL Cup

Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (March 2nd) in football history. If you have more stories and news that happened on this day in history, feel free to post them in the comment area and share them with AFers!

On this day in 1991 - Giggs made the first step in his record-long journey

On 2 March 1991, 17-year old midfielder Ryan Giggs made his first appearance for Manchester United in a 2-0 home league loss to Everton. Although he played in only one other match that season, the young Welsh left winger would later become United's appearances leader on his way to becoming the most decorated player in English football history.

Born in Cardiff, Wales, Giggs moved with his family to Salford, Greater Manchester, in 1980. He started his career as a youth player with Manchester City in 1985 before moving to United's youth program in 1987. He turned professional on his 17th birthday, 29 November 1990. For his first appearance against Everton, Giggs came on as a substitute, replacing fullback Denis Irwin. His other appearance that season was a 1-0 over Manchester City on 4 May, in which Giggs started and scored the matchwinner - his first goal for United.

He became a regular starter in the 1991-92 season, helping lead the club to a second-place League finish and the League Cup title, his first piece of silverware. Since then, he has added 11 League titles, four FA Cup trophies, two more League Cup trophies, seven Community Shields, and two UEFA Champions League trophies to his silverware cabinet, as well as one Super Cup title, one Intercontinental Cup trophy, and one Club World Cup trophy.

In 2008, Giggs memorably broke Bobby Charlton's previous record of 758 Manchester United appearances by coming on as an 87th-minute substitute in the Champions League Final against Chelsea and scoring the winning goal in the penalty shootout. Giggs is still playing for United and has made more than 820 total appearances.

On this day in 2003 - Liverpool beat Man Utd to win the League Cup

As both teams qualified for European football in 2002–03, they entered the competition in the third round. Liverpool's matches were generally close affairs, with only two victories secured by two goals or more. They beat Southampton 3–1 in the third round, while their match in the next round against Ipswich Town went to a penalty-shootout, which they won 5–4. Manchester United's matches were also close affairs, their biggest margin of victory of was by two goals. A 2–0 win over Burnley in the fourth round was followed by a 1–0 victory over Chelsea in the fifth round.

Watched by a crowd of 74,500, the first half was goalless until Liverpool took the lead in the 39th minute when midfielder Steven Gerrard scored. The score remained the same until the 86th minute when striker Michael Owen scored to make the score 2–0 to Liverpool. No further goals were scored and Liverpool won to secure their seventh League Cup victory.

Goals Gif

On this day in 2014 - Man City won their first League Cup

The match was contested by Premier League clubs Manchester City and Sunderland. Manchester City appeared in their fourth League Cup final, and made their sixth Wembley visit since 2011. Sunderland appeared in their second League Cup final, their first visit to Wembley since 1998 when they lost to Charlton Athletic in the First Division play-off final.

By winning the final, Manchester City would have qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2014–15 Europa League, but they qualified for the Champions League via their league position. Thus, the Europa League berth was given to Tottenham Hotspur, the team that finished sixth in the Premier League.

On this day in 2002 - Dennis Bergkamp scored a brilliant goal 

Some goals are pure. When you watch them again, you struggle to see how anybody could have stopped them. So it is with Dennis Bergkamp’s exquisite peel-and-swivel against Newcastle on March 2, 2002. It was not just a great goal, but an important goal: a decisive milepost in Arsenal’s Double-winning season.

Bergkamp, interestingly enough, did not regard this goal as “pure”. He claimed in his autobiography, Stillness and Speed, that if the defender Nikos Dabizas had anticipated his move and taken a step back, he would have intercepted. 

On this day in 1972 - Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino was born

Pochettino spent 17 years as a professional player, ten of which were in La Liga with Espanyol where he scored 13 goals in 275 games and won two Copa del Rey trophies. He also played in France for two clubs, Paris Saint-Germain and Bordeaux, having started his career with Newell's Old Boys. An Argentina international for three years, he represented the country at the 2002 World Cup and the 1999 Copa América.

Pochettino began his managerial career at Espanyol in January 2009, remaining in the post for nearly four years. He then managed in the Premier League, first with Southampton, followed by Tottenham Hotspur which he led to top-three finishes in three of his first four seasons.

Pochettino favours a very high-pressing, attacking style of football. He often employs a 4–2–3–1 formation at the clubs he manages. While doing so, he instructs his team to build from the back, intimidate and unsettle opponents with a quick-press system and work the ball into the box.

On this day in 1989 - Spurs defender Toby Alderweireld was born

Alderweireld began his professional career at Dutch club Ajax, where he won honours including three consecutive Eredivisie titles. In 2013, he moved to Atlético Madrid, where he won La Liga and reached the UEFA Champions League final in his first season. 

On 8 July 2015, Alderweireld joined Tottenham Hotspur on a five-year contract which runs until the summer of 2020 at White Hart Lane, despite Southampton threatening legal action over the transfer. The transfer fee was estimated to be £11.5 million. Alderweireld scored his first goal for Tottenham in a 4–1 win over Manchester City at White Hart Lane On 26 September. 

A full international since 2009, Alderweireld has earned over 80 caps for Belgium and represented the country at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2016, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.