On This Day: Cristiano Ronaldo scored 2000th Man Utd goal under Sir Ferguson

Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (December 23rd) 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 2006 - Cristiano Ronaldo Scored 2000th goal under Ferguson

On 23 December 2006, Manchester United scored their 2000th goal under Sir Alex Ferguson, delivered by Cristiano Ronaldo in a 0-3 trouncing of Aston Villa.

United started the day at the top of the table, on 58 minutes, Ronaldo hurtled 40 yards with the ball at his feet and unleashed a shot in the direction of the Villa goal. The effort was snuffed out almost at source by defender Gary Cahill, but the ball bobbled straight back to Ronaldo who made no mistake with his second effort.

It was the 2,000th goal that United had scored under Sir Alex Ferguson, and it proved significant. United ran out 3-0 winners thanks to another goal from Ronaldo and one more from Paul Scholes.

The win meant the Reds topped the table at Christmas, something footballing sage Jose Mourinho had confidently predicted would not happen before the game.

United remained top for the rest of the season. Mourinho’s Chelsea remained second.

On This Day in 1997 - Ronaldo won the first of two Ballons d’Or

The 1997 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 Ronaldo on 23 December 1997.

Additionally, fourteen players were nominated but received no votes: Sonny Anderson, Enrico Chiesa, Hernán Crespo, Iván de la Peña, Robbie Fowler, Thomas Hässler, Thomas Helmer, Filippo Inzaghi, Gianluca Pagliuca, Robert Pires, Karl-Heinz Riedle, Sergi, Davor Šuker and Ian Wright.

On This Day in 2011 - Simeone appointed Atletico Madrid manager

As a manager, Simeone has coached Argentine sides Racing Club, Estudiantes de La Plata, River Plate, San Lorenzo and Italian club Catania before joining Spanish club Atlético Madrid in 2011. 

The Argentine coach has had his biggest managerial success with Atletico Madrid, winning the La Liga, the Copa del Rey, two UEFA Europa Leagues, two UEFA Super Cup's, and also being the runners-up of the UEFA Champions League twice.

On This Day in 2017 - Barcelona 3-0 Real Madrid

On 23rd December 2017, Barcelona produced a superb away performance to secure a victory over Real Madrid that all but eliminates their arch rivals from the Spanish title race.

A second-half Luis Suarez strike and Lionel Messi's penalty, after Dani Carvajal was sent off for handball, helped move Barca nine points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.

On This Day in 2000 - Liverpool Thrashed Arsenal 4-0

Liverpool completed a perfect week for boss Gerard Houllier - building on victory over Premiership pace-setters Manchester United by thrashing second-placed Arsenal at Anfield.

England and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, the game's outstanding performer, gave Liverpool an early lead, setting the tone for a comprehensive victory.

And despite long spells of Arsenal possession, Liverpool pushed home their advantage with second half goals from Michael Owen and Nick Barmby.

To complete Liverpool's joy, substitute Robbier Fowler got in on the act by adding a fourth in injury time.

On This Day in 2000 - Real Madrid Runs Away With The Vote

On 23 December 2000, FIFA recognized Real Madrid as the Club of the Century.

The award was part of a series of centennial honors organized by FIFA for the end of 2000, including both make and female Players of the Century. The latter two were selected by an international jury, readers of FIFA's website, and subscribers to the bi-monthly publication FIFA Magazine. Club of the Century, however, was chosen exclusively by the magazine subscribers.

When the results were revealed, Real Madrid were the overwhelming choice, receiving just over 42% of the vote while no other club crossed the 10% mark. The other vote recipients in the top five were Manchester United (9.69%), Bayern Munich (9.18%), and Barcelona (5.61%), while Santos and Ajax were tied at 5.10%.

The Player of the Century awards were split, with Pelé and Diego Maradona sharing one and Michelle Akers and Sun Wen sharing the other.

On This Day in 2002 - Sometimes, Past Performance Is Indicative Of Future Success

On 23 December 2002, having already beaten the Philippines by 12 goals to set a national team record, Indonesia did it again.

Indonesia had dominated the series since the teams' first meeting in 1958, including a crushing 12-0 victory in in 1972 that set the record for their biggest winning margin. Then, in 2002, they met in the group stage of the Tiger Cup. It was the last match of Group A, with the Philippines already eliminated and Indonesia needing a win to claim the last semifinal spot.

Playing at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, the hosts went ahead in just the first minute with a goal from striker Bambang Pamungkas (pictured). By halftime, both he and fellow striker Zaenal Arif had hat-tricks and Indonesia were up 7-0 (the other goal was scored by Budi Sudarsono).

The goals continued to pile up in the second half, with Bambang and Zaenal both extending their totals to four each, while Sugiantoro and Imran Nahumarury scored as well. The Philippines finally got a goal from striker Ali Go in the 78th minute, but gave one back with an own goal from Solomon Licuanan ten minutes later to set the final scoreline at 13-1.

Indonesia advanced and eventually reached the final where they lost to Thailand on penalties.