On This Day: Messi & Eto'o settled Pep's 1st Clasico; Shevchenko won Ballon d'Or

Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (December 13rd) 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 2008, Guardiola first Clasico as manager ends in a 2-0 win

Since suffering a 3-0 loss to Barcelona on 19 November 2005, the Merengues rattled off a five-match unbeaten streak that included three wins and two draws, all in the league.

Guardiola duly took over the following month and immediately began to reshape the team by offloading a number of players, including Ronaldinho. After an opening day loss to Numancia, Guardiola's Barcelona went unbeaten in their next thirteen league matches, with eleven wins and two draws. They were at the top of the table on 13 December when they hosted Real Madrid for Guardiola's first Clásico as manager. It was close until the last few minutes, when goals from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi delivered a 2-0 victory.

On this day in 2004, Milan legend Shevchenko won Ballon d'Or

AC Milan frontman Shevchenko held off competition from Barcelona pair Deco and Ronaldinho, who took second and third places respectively, with Henry in fourth.

He was the third Ukrainian to win the award after Oleh Blokhin and Igor Belanov. He finished top goalscorer in the 2003–04 Serie A, scoring 24 goals in 32 matches, as his team won the league title. The best ranked goalkeeper on the list was Gianluigi Buffon with a 17th place.

On this day in 2017, City break Arsenal's record of consecutive wins

Manchester Cityhave set a new English football record of 15-consecutive wins after a 4-0 victory over Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.

The result means City have bettered the 14-straight victories Arsenal managed between February and August 2002.

They went on to record 18 in a row before being held to a goalless draw... by Crystal Palace.

On this day in 1984, Former Arsenal star Santi Cazorla born

On 7 August 2012, it was officially announced that Cazorla had signed a long-term deal with Premier League club Arsenal, worth £10 million.

Cazorla picked up the man of the match award on his debut for the club against Sunderland, and followed that with another accomplished display at Stoke City.

Cazorla was also integral in ending the club's nine-year trophy drought, scoring a crucial free-kick en route to winning the FA Cup in 2014. Injuries plagued his latter years in England, and his six-year association with Arsenal ended in 2018.

On this day in 1981, Flamengo beat Liverpool 3-0 in the Intercontinental Cup

The outcome of the match was never in doubt, as it became a showcase for the Brazilians' playmaker and captain, Zico, who created all three of Flamengo's goals. In the 12th minute, he sent a lob pass over the Liverpool defense to set up the goal by Nunes; in the 34th minute, he delivered a free kick that was slotted home by Adilio; and in the 41st minute, he sent a precision pass into the box for Nunes, who completed his brace.

The English side, meanwhile, was unable to penetrate Flamengo's stout defense and ended up on the wrong side of the 3-0 scoreline. For his efforts, Zico was named man of the match.