On This Day: Happy birthday to Aubameyang; WC hosts South Korea beat Italy 2-1

Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (June 18th) 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 1989 - Aubameyang was born

Born in Laval, Aubameyang is the son of former Gabon captain Pierre Aubameyang. He began his senior career at Serie A club Milan, eventually being promoted to the first team in 2008 after impressing as a member of the club's youth setup. 

However, he never featured for Milan, and instead, began a series of loan spells in France. He initially failed to impress, until he embarked on a loan move to Ligue 1 team Saint-Étienne, who eventually made the transfer permanent in 2011.

During his time at the club, Aubameyang developed into a regular goalscorer, becoming renowned for his prowess in front of goal, and for his creativity. 

Aubamyang finished as the league's fourth-top goalscorer in his first full campaign. In his second season, Aubameyang blossomed as the team's focal point, contributing a league second-best 19 goals, and helped the club win the Coupe de la Ligue. He was also honored in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year.

Aubameyang moved to Bundesliga club Dortmund in 2013, for €14m. In Germany, Aubameyang won DFL-Supercup title in his debut season. 

In the following seasons, he established himself as one of the best forwards in the world, finishing as the league's top goalscorer in the 2016–17 season. Aubameyang also won another DFL-Supercup, as well as a DFB-Pokal title, and became the club's sixth all-time top goalscorer.

In 2018, Aubemyang was the subject of a club-record transfer to English team Arsenal, when he moved from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth £56 million (€64 million). 

This made him, at the time, the most expensive African player ever, while he ranks as the most expensive Gabonese player of all time. 

In his first full season in England, Aubameyang finished as the league's joint top-goalscorer, and gained praise for his strike partnership with Alexandre Lacazette.

Aubameyang made his debut for the Gabon national team in 2009 at age 19, and ranks their all-time top goalscorer, having registered 24 goals in 59 games for his country. He has represented Gabon in three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, as well as the 2012 Summer Olympics. 

For his performances at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, Aubameyang was named CAF African Footballer of the Year, becoming the first Gabonese player to win the award and the second European born player after Frederic Kanoute.

On this day in 2002 - World Cup co-hosts South Korea beat Italy in 2-1

On 18 June 2002, World Cup co-hosts South Korea upset Italy 2-1 in a Round of 16 match before a crowd of 38,588 at South Korea's Daejeon World Cup Stadium.

With three minutes of regulation time remaining, Italy looked certain to advance, holding a 1-0 lead earned with an 18th minute goal from veteran striker Christian Vieri. In the 88th minute, however, Italian defender Christian Panucci mishandled a pass, opening the door for Korean winger Seol Ki-Hyeon, who scored the equalizer.

The late goal shocked the Azzurri and sent the match to extra time. The situation worsened for Italy in the first period of added time, as midfielder Francesco Totti received a second yellow card for an apparent dive and was sent off in the 105th minute.

As the match entered the final minutes of extra time and appeared to be headed for penalties, Korean midfielder Ahn Jung-Hwan scored a header in the 117th minute to give the Korean side the victory. The goal was redemptive for Ahn, whose penalty kick in the 5th minute was saved by Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon.

Ahn was also the only member of the Korean side to play his club football in Italy, at the time on loan with AC Perugia. 

The day after the match, Perugia canceled Ahn's contract, with Perugia owner Luciano Gaucci reportedly saying "I have no intention of paying a salary to someone who has ruined Italian football." The club quickly apologized and offered to purchase Ahn's contract, but he declined and moved to Japanese side Shimizu S-Pulse.

South Korea followed their epic win with an equally-historic victory over Spain on penalties. They then lost to Germany, but finished the tournament in fourth place.

On this day in 1946 - Fabio Capello was born

As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which lasted over 15 years. He won the Coppa Italia with Roma in 1969, though he was most successful with Juventus, winning three Serie A titles in 1972, 1973 and 1975. 

With Milan, he won the Coppa Italia again in 1977 and also won another Serie A in 1979. Capello also played internationally for Italy during his career, amassing 32 caps and scoring 8 goals.

In his first five seasons as a manager, Capello won four Serie A titles with Milan, where he also won the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League, defeating Barcelona 4–0 in a memorable final. He then spent a year at Real Madrid, where he won the La Liga title at his first attempt, and in 2001 led Roma to their first league title in 18 years.

Capello also won two titles at Juventus (which were later stripped after the Calciopoli scandal), and in 2006 returned to Real Madrid, where he won another La Liga title. Overall, he has won a major league championship in seven (or nine, counting the two revoked titles with Juventus) of his 16 seasons as a coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.

Capello was appointed as manager of the England national team in December 2007. During his time as manager, he was successful in tournament qualification, guiding the team to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where they were knocked out in the second round, and UEFA Euro 2012, where they were knocked out in the quarter-finals under new manager Roy Hodgson. 

In February 2012, he resigned as manager due to a dispute with The Football Association, before being appointed coach of the Russia national team in July 2012. On 14 July 2015, he was sacked by the Russian Football Union and replaced with Leonid Slutsky. In 2017, he was appointed as the coach of Chinese club Jiangsu Suning, but was sacked the following year, after which, he subsequently retired from coaching.

On this day in 1982 - Marco Borriello was born

Borriello has previously played for several Italian clubs, including Milan, Sampdoria, Genoa, Treviso, Reggina, Empoli, Triestina, Juventus, Roma, Carpi, Atalanta, Cagliari, SPAL as well as English side West Ham United. 

At international level, he has represented the Italy national team and took part at UEFA Euro 2008.

On this day in 1988 - Benni McCarthy scored South Africa's first World Cup goal

On 18 June 1998, striker Benni McCarthy scored South Africa's first-ever World Cup goal to earn a draw with Denmark.

The 1998 World Cup was the first one for which South Africa had qualified and they were placed in Group C with France, Denmark, and Saudi Arabia. They failed to score in their opening match, a 3-0 loss to France, though one of the goals was an own goal from South African defender Pierre Issa. 

Their second match of the tournament came against Denmark, played before a crowd of 33,300 at the Stade de Toulouse. It appeared to be headed the same way as the first match, as Denmark's Allan Nielsen scored a 13th-minute opener. But South Africa's defense tightened up and prevented any further goals. 

Then, in the 52nd minute, McCarthy struck. He split two Danish defenders, then fired the ball between the legs of goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel. It struck the inside of Schmeichel's left leg, then deflected into the net.

The match finished 1-1 to earn South Africa their first World Cup point. They earned another in their next match, a 2-2 draw with South Africa with both goals coming from striker Shaun Bartlett. But it wasn't enough to advance past the group stage.

McCarthy's goal was the 9th of his international career. He is currently their highest scorer, with a total of 32.