On This Day: Messi scored 91st goal of a year; Zidane & Nedved won Ballon d'Or

Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (December 22nd) 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 2012 - Messi Scored His 91st Goal in a Wonderful Year

On this day in 2012, Barcelona's star Messi scored his 91st and final goal of a record-breaking year, just in his 69th game. Lionel Messi polished off his record year with his 91st and final goal of 2012 in Barcelona’s 3-1 win at Valladolid.

Messi scored in the 59th minute by dribbling between a defender’s legs before making it 2-0 after Xavi Hernandez had opened the scoring two minutes before halftime, in a victory the team dedicated to ailing coach Tito Vilanova.

On This Day in 1998 & 2003 - Zidane & Nedved Won Ballon d'Or

On this day in 1998 and 2003, Zinedine Zidane and then Pavel Nedved joined the Juventus Ballon d’Or club

1998 was the year of the Zidane; a suave, footballing behemoth that rightfully claimed his place on football's greatest throne.

The 2003 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to the former Juventus' Czech midfielder Pavel Nedvěd on 22 December 2003. Great choice!

On This Day in 2007 - Bendtner Rises To the Occasion

On 22 December 2007, Arsenal forward Nicklas Bendtner set an English record by scoring only 1.8 seconds after coming on as a late substitute against Tottenham Hotspur.

His moment finally came in the North London derby, as Arsenal hosted Tottenham. With Bendtner on the bench, Arsenal took a 1-0 lead with a goal from EAdebayor (48'), but Berbatov (66') drew Spurs level. 

With the match level at 1-1,  Wenger made an attacking change, sending Bendtner on for midfielder Eboue. The Danish striker immediately positioned himself near the far post for a Fabregas corner kick, then charged into the goalmouth to head the ball past goalkeeper Robinson. It was Bendtner's first touch of the ball, coming only 1.8 seconds after he entered the match, and proved to be the game winner. It is also the fastest goal scored by a substitute in English football history.

On This Day in 2004 - Racism Rears Its Ugly Heads

On 22 December 2004, FIFA fined the Spanish Football Federation €60,000 as punishment for racist chants during a friendly between Spain and England at the Bernabéu Stadium the previous month.

The abuse consisted of monkey chants directed against England's black players, including defenders Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand, as well as substitutes Jermaine Jenas, Shaun Wright-Phillips (pictured), and Jermain Defoe. While such chants have a regrettably long history in football, the chants at the Bernabéu were notable for the pervasive participation of the crowd--according to one spectator, 80% of the crowd were chanting.

The event came on the heels of an earlier incident in September, when Spain manager Luis Aragonés had been overheard calling Thierry Henry a "black shit" when trying to motivate Henry's Arsenal teammate, Spanish international José Antonio Reyes.

The incident drew wide condemnation from authorities and commentators in several countries, including Spain itself. Afterward, the Spanish Football Federation began work on an anti-racism campaign.