On This Day: Gerrard kickstarted Miracle of Istanbul, Barca played 1st-ever game

Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (December 8th) in football history. If you have more stories and news that happened on this day in history, please post them in the comment area and share them with AFers!

On this day in 2004, Gerrard kickstarted Miracle of Istanbul

Liverpool knew they had to win their return fixture against the Greeks side Olympiakos to make it through to the knockout stage with Monaco. A draw would be no good whatsoever! This was to be one of the biggest games at Anfield for years.

Mellor did the spadework by setting Gerrard 8 yards or so outside the area. Pulling back his right foot, the midfielder released a bullet, which flew past Nikopolidis and into the net to send the crowd into raptures.

Perhaps Liverpool were fortunate to win, but for Gerrard it was nothing less than he deserved. He was quite magnificent, better than Rivaldo!

On this day in 1994, Man City star Raheem Sterling born

In July 2015, following a lengthy dispute over a new contract, he was signed by Manchester City in a transfer potentially worth £49 million, the highest transfer fee ever paid for an English player. He then went on to help Manchester City win the Premier League in 2018.

Sterling plays as a winger, attacking midfielder or striker, though he is more comfortable as a natural winger. Sterling has been praised for his adaptability and ability to play wide, at the tip of a midfield diamond and centrally, offering flexibility. His use of pace with composure and his maturity. Despite his small stature, he also possesses considerable upper-body strength, which aids him in withstanding challenges, and retaining possession.

On this day in 1899, Barca played their first game

Barcelona Foot-Ball Club was officially formed by legendary Hans Gamper. Born near Zurich in Switzerland, Gamper was a sportsman who was involved in athletics, golf, cycling, etc. He arrived in the Catalan capital in 1898.

Gamper would later review this 'fixture' against the so-called 'English Colony' as he wrote an article for him native sports magazine Schweizer Sportblatt. A digital copy and translation currently belong to the FC Barcelona Archive. 

In this piece, Gamper claims Barcelona only had nine men and opted for an odd 2-3-3 formation. Even though the Englishmen emerged victorious with a 1-0 scoreline, they would later decide to join forces with Gamper and 'merge' into the newly formed FC Barcelona.

On this day in 1985, Juventus became the first team to win all of their possible major trophies

Juventus won the Intercontinental Cup on penalties over Argentinos Juniors.

Argentinos forward Ereros opened the scoring in the 55th minute. The sides then traded a pair of disallowed goals before Platini brought Juventus level with a 63rd-minute penalty kick. 

Argentinos took the lead in the 75th minute when José Antonio Castro scored from a tight angle into the far side of the net. Not to be outdone, Juventus forward Michael Laudrup scored from a equally narrow degree seven minutes later.

Locked at 2-2, the match went into a penalty shootout. After a miss from Laudrup and two from Argentinos, Platini converted the final kick to give Juventus the trophy. It marked a complete silverware collection for the team from Turin, who had already won all of the domestic and European competitions available to them.

On this day in 1941, The only man to score hat-trick in World Cup final born

Geoff Hurst is an English striker, he remains the only man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at the old Wembley Stadium in 1966.

On this day in 1966, Tottenham & Newcastle legend Les Ferdinand born

Les Ferdinand playing career included spells at Queens Park Rangers, Beşiktaş, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers, Reading and Watford during which period he earned 17 caps for England. Ferdinand is the eighth highest scorer in the Premier League with 149 goals.

On this day in 1996, Man Utd youngster McTominay born

McTominay was associated with the Manchester United academy from the age of five after attending the club's development centre. Having played as a centre forward in the earlier years of his youth career, McTominay converted to a central midfield role. He signed his first professional contract in July 2013.

He made his first Premier League appearance on 7 May 2017, coming on as a substitute against Arsenal.