On This Day: CR7 hit 450th & final goal for Real Madrid; Chelsea won UCL title

Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (May 19th) 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 2018 - CR7 scored 450th and final goal for Madrid

On 19 May 2018, during the 38th La Liga game week Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo used to complete another remarkable achievement. Well taken header after fellow Marcello lovely cross led no less than his 450th goal for Los Blancos in 437 games. And that is also his final goal for Real Madrid as soon afterwards he moved to Juventus.

With Real Madrid, Ronaldo won 15 trophies, including two La Liga titles, two Copas del Rey and four UEFA Champions League titles. Real Madrid's all-time top goalscorer, Ronaldo scored a record 34 La Liga hat-tricks, including a record-tying eight hat-tricks in the 2014–15 season and is the only player to reach 30 goals in six consecutive La Liga seasons.

After joining Madrid, Ronaldo finished runner-up for the Ballon d'Or three times, behind Lionel Messi, before winning back-to-back Ballons d'Or in 2013 and 2014. After winning consecutive Champions League titles, Ronaldo secured back-to-back Ballons d'Or again in 2016 and 2017. A historic third consecutive Champions League followed, making Ronaldo the first player to win the trophy five times.

On this day in 2012 - Chelsea beat Bayern at Munich on penalties to 1st UCL

Chelsea stunned Bayern Munich in a dramatic penalty shoot-out at the Allianz Arena to win the Champions League for the first time. Thomas Mueller's late header put Bayern on the brink of victory on home territory but Didier Drogba levelled things up with a bullet header at the death before coolly converting the decisive spot-kick. The tournament which gave Chelsea their greatest agony when they lost on penalties to Manchester United four years ago in Moscow has now delivered the greatest glory in their 107-year history.

Juan Mata missed Chelsea's first penalty but David Luiz, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole were all successful. Philipp Lahm, Mario Gomez and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer were all on target for Bayern. The momentum shifted decisively when Cech denied Ivica Olic and Bastian Schweinsteiger hit the post to leave Chelsea on the brink and present Drogba with his moment of destiny.

He was calmness personified as he rolled the ball past Neuer to spark wild scenes of elation among Chelsea's players, staff and supporters.

On this day in 2013 - Sir Alex Ferguson took charge of his 1,500th and final game as Man Utd manager

Sir Alex Ferguson salutes Manchester United fans one last time after his 1500th and final match in charge finishes in an incredible 5-5 draw at West Brom. Ferguson's side were 3-0 and 5-2 up but a second-half hat-trick from Romelu Lukaku denied the Scot a farewell victory.

Alex Ferguson was appointed manager of Manchester United in November 1986. During his 26 years with Manchester United he won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, and two UEFA Champions League titles. The Red Devils have scored 2,769 goals in all competitions under Ferguson.

He was knighted in the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours list for his services to the game. Ferguson is the longest-serving manager of Manchester United, having overtaken Sir Matt Busby's record on 19 December 2010. He retired from management at the end of the 2012–13 season, having won the Premier League in his final season.

On this day in 2018 - Buffon played his final game for Juventus

On 19 May 2018, Gianluigi Buffon played his final game for Juventus. After 17 years and a hatful of trophies, Gianluigi Buffon said goodbye to Juventus on Saturday as the champions beat Verona 2-1.

Gianluigi Buffon bade an emotional farewell to Juventus as the veteran goalkeeper marked his 640th and last Serie A appearance with another victory.

Buffon, who won nine Serie A titles at Juve after joining from Parma in 2001, is not retiring but in search of a new challenge.

Juventus had already wrapped up a seventh straight title, so this game was an opportunity to pay tribute to their departing captain.

And he was already off the pitch by the time Verona got their consolation goal after efforts from Daniele Rugani and Miralem Pjanic had put the hosts in charge.

On this day in 1979 - Andrea Pirlo was born

Andrea Pirlo was usually deployed as a deep-lying playmaker in midfield for both his club and national teams and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever exponents of this position due to his vision, ball control, creativity and passing ability, as well as for being a free-kick specialist.

Pirlo began his club career with his hometown club Brescia and his promising performances led to a move to Inter in 1998, but he struggled to gain playing time and was sold to cross-city rivals Milan in 2001.

At Milan, Pirlo excelled in his new role and soon developed into a world-class midfielder, and won a plethora of trophies, including two UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups, two Serie A titles, a FIFA Club World Cup, a Supercoppa Italiana, and a Coppa Italia.

After joining Juventus on a free transfer in 2011, who had gone trophyless since 2003, he added four more Serie A titles, which he won consecutively, as well as two Supercoppa Italiana titles, and a Coppa Italia. After playing in Italy for over 20 seasons, Pirlo joined Major League Soccer franchise New York City in 2015, helping the team to reach the playoffs in his second and third seasons before retiring in 2017.

At international level, Pirlo is the fifth-most capped player in the history of the Italian national team with 116 caps between 2002 and 2015. He was instrumental in the senior team's victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was named Man of the Match three times, including the final, more than any other player in the tournament, and was elected to the Team of the Tournament.

He was also elected as part of the UEFA Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament after leading Italy to the final. He has also represented the Italian senior team at the 2004 and 2008 UEFA European Championships, the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups and the 2009 and 2013 FIFA Confederations Cups, where he was also elected to the Team of the Tournament.

On this day in 1979 - Diego Forlan

Diego Forlán is regarded as one of the greatest Uruguayan players of all time. At club level, Forlán is a two-time winner of both the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe. With Uruguay, he had huge individual success at the 2010 World Cup receiving the Golden Ball, the joint Top Scorer award, the Goal of the Tournament award and being named in the Dream Team.

Forlán signed for Manchester United in 2002 and his form was not as successful as at Independiente, although he won the Premier League in 2002–03 and the FA Cup in 2003–04. In the summer of 2004, he moved on to Spanish side Villarreal. In his first season in Spanish football with Villarreal, Forlán scored 25 league goals and won the Pichichi Trophy.

After two more successful seasons with Villarreal, Forlán joined Atlético Madrid, where he once again became the league's top scorer, and became the first player to win the Pichichi Trophy twice since Ronaldo achieved this feat in the 2003–04 season. Forlán scored in Atlético's 2010 Europa League final victory against Fulham.

Forlán also had a successful international career, scoring 36 times for his country since his 2002 debut to his retirement on 11 March 2015. He was the joint top scorer by scoring five times as Uruguay came fourth at the 2010 World Cup, being recognised with the Golden Ball award for the best player at the tournament. 

On 12 July 2011, at the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, which Uruguay won, Forlán earned his 79th international cap, against Mexico, breaking the record held by former goalkeeper Rodolfo Rodríguez since 1986. On 20 June 2013, in a match against Nigeria at the 2013 Confederations Cup, he became the first Uruguayan to win 100 caps. Forlán was Uruguay's all-time leading top scorer from 2011 until Luis Suárez overtook him two years later.

On this day in 2009 - RB Leipzig was founded

RasenBallsport Leipzig, commonly known as RB Leipzig, is a German association football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by initiative of the company Red Bull GmbH. RB Leipzig plays its home matches at the Red Bull Arena.

In its inaugural season in 2009–10, RB Leipzig dominated the NOFV-Oberliga Süd (V) and was promoted as champions to the Regionalliga Nord (IV). RB Leipzig won the 2012–13 Regionalliga Nordost season without a single defeat and was promoted to the 3. Liga (III), then finished the 2013–14 3. Liga season as runners-up and was promoted to the 2. Bundesliga (II) as the first team since the introduction of the 3. Liga to win promotion after only one season.

On 8 May 2016, RB Leipzig ensured promotion to the Bundesliga for the 2016–17 season with a 2–0 win over Karlsruher SC. One year later, RB Leipzig captured a place in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League by finishing as runners-up of the Bundesliga.

On this day in 1965 - West Ham became the second British team to claim a European trophy

On 19 May 1965, West Ham became the second British team to claim a European trophy, defeating 1860 Munich in the Cup Winners' Cup Final.

Played before a crowd of 98,000 at Wembley, the match was widely regarded at the time as one of the greatest European cup finals in history. With both teams adopting a fast-paced attacking style, only brilliant play from the two goalkeepers - West Ham's Jim Standen and 1860 Munich's Petar Radenković - kept the two sides scoreless in the first half.

Hammers midfielder Ron Boyce sparked the opening goal in the 70th minute when he intercepted a German pass on the edge of the center circle, dribbled up the pitch and played a through ball to midfielder Alan Sealey. Sealey beat Radenković at the near post by slamming the ball over his head into the top of the net. Two minutes later, Sealey scored again as Radenković failed to collect a cross from Bobby Moore, allowing Sealey to knock it over the line.