On This Day: Real Madrid & Spain captain Sergio Ramos was born, Happy Birthday!

Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (March 30th) 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 1986 - Real Madrid & Spain captain Sergio Ramos was born

After emerging through Sevilla's youth academy, Ramos moved to Madrid in the summer of 2005. Since then, he has gone on to become a mainstay for Real Madrid where he has won 20 major honours and developed into one of La Liga's top scorers from a defensive position. Those honours include: four La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League titles. He played a crucial part in the build up to all four UEFA Champions League titles, being named to the UEFA Squad of the Season each time. He also notably scored the equalizer in the 93rd minute of the 2013–14 final.

Internationally, Ramos represented the Spanish national team at four World Cups and three European Championships. He won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro in 2008 and 2012, being named to the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2010, and the UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament in 2012. He made his first appearance at the age of 18 and, in 2013, he became the nation's youngest player to ever reach 100 caps. He is the nation's second-most capped player.

Ramos is regarded by many as one of the best defenders in the world and he has also received praise for his passing and goalscoring capabilities; alongside Lionel Messi, he is the only player to score in 15 consecutive La Liga seasons. He was named to the FIFPro World XI nine times, a record for a defender and the third-most all-time, and to the UEFA Team of the Year eight times, also a record for a defender and third-most all-time. Also, he has been named La Liga's Best Defender a record five times, and to the La Liga Team of the Season in 2015–16.

Ramos' header vs Atletico in UCL final

On this day in 2013 - Messi became the first player to score against all 19 La Liga teams consecutively

On this day in 2013, Lionel Messi achieved the incredible feat of scoring against all 19 La Liga teams consecutively by netting against Celta Vigo.

30 goals in 19 games, without any break for rest or injury. 

On this day in 1979 - Former Bayern player Tymoshchuk was born

Tymoshchuk began his professional career with his local Volyn Lutsk. He moved to play for Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk, which he captained and won the Ukrainian Premier League, Ukrainian Cup and Ukrainian Super Cup titles with. In 2008, Tymoshchuk won the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup as captain of Zenit Saint Petersburg. He also won a Russian Premier League and Russian Super Cup title. After joining German club Bayern Munich, Tymoshchuk won the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and the DFB-Supercup titles. With Bayern, he also won the UEFA Champions League in 2013 and finished as runners-up in 2010 and 2012.

Tymoshchuk is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit Saint Petersburg, captaining both sides to championship titles.

Tymoshchuk is the former captain of the Ukraine national team, and with 144 caps since his debut in 2000 he is the nation's all-time most capped player. He took part in Ukraine's first-ever FIFA World Cup in 2006 and their first European Championship in 2012. He won the Ukrainian Footballer of the Year on three occasions.

On this day in 1973 - Czech striker Jan Koller was born

On 30 March 1973, striker Jan Koller was born in the town of Smetanova Lhota, in what was then Czechoslovakia (and is now the Czech Republic). Koller is the all-time leading goalscorer for the Czech national team with 55 goals in 90 appearances. He retired from international football in 2008.

During his time with the national team, the Czechs made only one World Cup appearance, in 2006. Koller scored the first-ever World Cup goal for the Czech side when he netted in the 5th minute of their opening match against the United States, leading the way to a 3-0 victory. Those were the Czech side's only goals of the tournament, however, and they were eliminated in the group stage after losses to Ghana (0-2) and Italy (0-2).

Koller has a well-traveled career, having played club football in the Czech Republic (with Sparta Prague), Belgium (with Lokeren and Anderlecht), Germany (with Borussia Dortmund and Nuremberg), France (with Monaco), and Russia, where he currently plays for Krylia Sovetov Samara.

His longest club tenure to date was with Borussia Dortmund, where he played from 2001 to 2006, making 137 appearances and scoring 59 goals. He helped them claim the Bundesliga title in the 2001-2002 season.

An imposing physical presence at 2.02 meters, Koller has earned a number of honors throughout his career, including Belgian League top scorer in 1999 and Belgian League Player of the Year in 2000.

On this day in 1946 - A marathon match began

On 30 March 1946, Stockport County and Doncaster Rovers met in a Division Three North Cup replay at Stockport's Edgeley Park. The match lasted 3 hours and 23 minutes, setting a world record in the process.

The hosts struck first with a 5th minute penalty kick from Ken Shaw, but Rovers fought back to take a 2-1 lead into the break. In the second half, Shaw was again the hero for Stockport, scoring the equalizer. After 90 minutes, the teams were tied at 2-2 and neither side was able to score in 30 minutes of extra time.

Under the rules at the time, the match then went into a golden goal period, so that the first team to score would win the match. But neither team was able to find the back of the net. The match went on for so long that several spectators went home for tea, then returned to find the match still going. 

Eventually, the match was called off close to 7:00 pm because it was too dark to play (Edgeley Park would not get floodlights for another ten years). The players were so tired that many of them dropped to the pitch at the whistle and removed their shoes instantly. The match lasted 203 minutes, which remains a world record.