On This Day: Chelsea signed Hazard; Real Madrid beat Castilla to win Copa

Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (June 4th) 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 2012 - Eden Hazard signed for Chelsea from Lille

The Belgium international, who was 21, agreed personal terms and passed a medical with the Blues. Chelsea reportedly paid £32m to sign the talented youngster, who added on French radio station RMC: "The [Chelsea] team is young and I have a better chance to play there.

On June 4th 2012 Hazard signed for English club Chelsea, where he went on to win the UEFA Europa League in his first season and the PFA Young Player of the Year in his second. In the 2014–15 season, he helped Chelsea win the League Cup and Premier League, earning him the FWA Footballer of the Year and the PFA Players' Player of the Year awards. Two years later he won his second English title as Chelsea secured the 2016–17 Premier League.

He won 6 trophies and scored 110 goals for Chelsea with 352 appearances, and now he is only one step away from joining Real Madrid!

On this day in 2015 - Liverpool signed James Milner from Manchester City

After five seasons with Manchester City, Milner signed for Liverpool on a free transfer in 2015, with whom he won the UEFA Champions League in 2019, after making an appearance as a substitute in the final against Tottenham.

On this day in 1961 - Juventus are crowned champions of Italy for the 12th time

The Bianconeri are crowned champions of Italy on June 4th 1961, their forward Omar Sivori was named European Footballer of the Year (also known as Ballon d'or) that year.

On this day in 1980 - Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey by beating their own reserve squad, 6-1.

Known at the time as Castilla CF, the reserve team started in 1930 as an independent amateur side, then became affiliated with Real Madrid in 1948, with the larger club providing financial support in exchange for the right of first refusal for Castilla's players. By 1952, they officially became Real Madrid's reserve side.

Despite playing in the Segunda División in 1979-80, where they finished in seventh place, they reached the Copa del Rey final by beating a succession of top-flight teams, including Hércules, Bilbao, Real Sociedad, and Sporting de Gijón. Sporting ended up third in the final La Liga table, while Sociedad finished as runners-up, just one point behind Real Madrid.

But when Castilla faced off against their parent club at the Bernabéu for the final, it was no contest. Real Madrid took a 1-0 lead with a goal from Juanito in the 20th minute and never looked back, going up 2-0 at the break, then stretching the lead to 4-0 just after the hour mark (with the fourth goal coming from Vicente del Bosque, who later went on to manage Real Madrid for a successful four-year stint from 1999 to 2003).

Castilla finally scored when Ricardo Álvarez found the back of the net in the 80th minute, but Real Madrid added two late goals to set the final margin at 6-1.

On this day in 1985 - Former Arsenal attacker and World Cup winner Lucas Podolski was born

He joined 1. FC Köln in 1995 where he made it into the first team in 2003 resulting in 81 appearances for the club before moving to Bayern Munich. With Bayern, Podolski won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in 2008. Podolski returned to 1. FC Köln in 2009. He later signed for Premier League club Arsenal in 2012, with whom he won the FA Cup in 2014. He then moved on loan to Serie A club Inter Milan in January 2015, before signing six months later for Galatasaray where he also won the Türkiye Kupası of 2016.

Podolski was eligible to play for Germany and Poland. Podolski originally wanted to play for the Polish team but was rejected by then Polish coach Paweł Janas in 2003. Podolski enjoyed great success with the German national team, ultimately becoming a national hero. He was first capped by Germany in 2004 and has been part of the squad in all major tournaments since then, winning the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He also won the Best Young Player of the 2006 World Cup. He is the third most-capped player in German history, with 130 caps, and the third-highest goalscorer in German history, having scored 49 times.

On this day in 1991 - Italy & Napoli ace Lorenzo Insigne was born

nsigne began his professional career with Napoli in 2009, making his Serie A debut in 2010, but was later sent on consecutive season loan spells to Cavese, Foggia and Pescara, before returning to Napoli in 2012. Insigne is capable of playing on either flank, or through the centre, but is usually deployed as left winger. He is known in particular for his creativity, speed and technical ability, as well as his accuracy from free-kicks.

Insigne has represented the Italy national under-21 team, with which he won a runner-up medal at the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He made his debut for the senior team in September 2012, and has represented Italy at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and at UEFA Euro 2016.