On This Day: Eusebio died; Van Dijk's Reds debut & 1st goal; Vidic joined Utd

Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (January 5th) 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 2014, Eusebio died of heart failure, aged 71

Eusébio is considered by many as one of the greatest footballers of all time. During his professional career, he scored 733 goals in 745 matches (41 goals in 64 matches for Portugal).

Nicknamed the Black Panther, the Black Pearl, or o Rei (the King), he was known for his speed, technique, athleticism and his ferocious right-footed shot, making him a prolific goalscorer. He is considered S.L. Benfica's and the Portugal national team's most renowned player and one of the first world-class African-born players.

Eusébio died at his home on 5 January 2014 of heart failure, aged 71. Many well-known people from the football world expressed their condolences and praise. Following Eusébio's death, the Portuguese government declared three days of national mourning.

On this day in 2018, Van Dijk scored his first goal in debut for Liverpool

It was a debut to remember for the world's most expensive defender as Virgil van Dijk netted the winner for Liverpool against Everton. Virgil van Dijk immediately began repaying his £75million transfer fee as he scored Liverpool's winner in a 2-1 FA Cup third-round triumph over Merseyside rivals Everton.

'It is still one of the best moments of my career,' said van Dijk. 'I made my debut for such a big club. It was a massive week for me anyway so to make my debut and score the winner was fantastic.

On this day in 2006, Nemanja Vidic joined Man Utd

After playing two seasons for Spartak Moscow, Vidić signed for Manchester United for a fee of around £7 million on 25 December 2005 and joined the club on 5 January 2006 after his work permit was granted.

He was assigned the number 15 shirt and on 25 January 2006, he made his debut for United as a substitute for Ruud van Nistelrooy in the dying minutes of a 2–1 win in the League Cup semi-final second leg against Blackburn Rovers.

After making 300 appearances and winning 5 EPL titles, UCL champions in 2008 and 10 major honors in total, Vidic left for Inter in July 2014.

On this day in 2018, England Midfielder Ross Barkley joined Chelsea

On 5 January 2018, Barkley joined Premier League club Chelsea for a fee of £15 million, signing a five-and-a-half-year contract. He was assigned shirt number 8 by the club, the same number he wore at Everton.

On 7 October, Barkley scored his first goal for Chelsea in a 3–0 win away to Southampton in the Premier League after a strong start to the season under new manager Maurizio Sarri. He followed that up with a last minute equaliser against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on 20 October. Barkley came off the bench to help Chelsea snatch a 2-2 draw. On 28 October, he scored for the third game running against Burnley at Turf Moor, netting in a 4–0 win.

On this day in 2013, Demba Ba blazes for the Blues

On 5 January 2013, after signing with Chelsea the previous day, striker Demba Ba made his debut, scoring twice in a 5-1 FA Cup win over Southampton.

The club acquired the Senegal international from Newcastle, signing him to a 3.5-year deal. At the time, he was on pace for his best scoring year ever, with 13 goals in 20 Premier League appearances for Newcastle in the first half of the 2012-13 season.

Ba drew rave reviews for his performance, especially in comparison to the struggling Torres, but he was unable to maintain that form. He finished the season with only six goals for Chelsea in all competitions, then fell out of favor after Jose Mourinho replaced Benítez for the 2013-14 season.

On this day in 1952, Bayern legend Hoeness was born

Hoeness is the president of German football club Bayern Munich and a retired footballer for West Germany who played as a forward for club and country.

During his eight-and-a-half-year stint with Bayern, Hoeneß enjoyed great success, winning a total of eight major titles, including three league titles and as many European Cups.

Hoeness played 35 times for West Germany. His debut came on 29 March 1972, he scored the final goal in a 2–0 friendly win in Hungary. As one of six Bayern players in the German squad, Hoeneß won both UEFA Euro 1972 and the 1974 FIFA World Cup.

On this day in 1998, Barca starlet Carles Alena was born

Born in Mataró, Barcelona, Catalonia, Alena moved to FC Barcelona's youth system, La Masia, in 2005 at the age of 7, after a successful trial.

Alena was first included in Barcelona's main squad on 10 February 2016, remaining an unused substitute in their 1–1 away draw against Valencia CF in the second leg of Copa del Rey semi-finals. He made his first team debut on 30 November of that year, starting and scoring the equalizer in an away draw against Hércules CF for the same scoreline, in the same competition.

On this day in 1988, Croatian striker Nikola Kalinic was born

Born in the town of Solin near Split, Kalinic began his playing career at Hajduk Split. In August 2015, Kalinic signed a contract with Fiorentina. And he joined Milan on loan with an obligation to purchase for a reported fee of about €25 million in August of 2017.

On 9 August 2018, Atletico Madrid signed Kalinic on a three-year contract. Six days later, he was an unused substitute as they defeated rivals Real Madrid to win the 2018 UEFA Super Cup in Tallinn.

On the fifth day of 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, he was sent home after refusing to come on as a late substitute during Croatia's first game of the competition against Nigeria, claiming to have a back injury. Following the conclusion of the tournament, Kalinic was awarded a silver medal for being part of the Croatian team, but refused to accept it.

On this day in 1965, former footballer and film star Vinnie Jones was born

Jones started his footballing career in 1984 with non-league Wealdstone and spent a season in Sweden before moving to Wimbledon in 1986. There, he was part of the rambunctious "Crazy Gang" that won the 1988 FA Cup, the club's highest achievement. 

He earned a reputation as one of the game's great hard men, getting sent off 12 times in his career. His most notorious incident occurred in a match against Newcastle when Jones unnerved Paul Gascoigne by squeezing his testicles.

In 1998 Vinnie Jones made his film debut in Guy Ritchie's crime comedy Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, in which he played a mob enforcer, Big Chris.

He is a supporter of the football team Tottenham Hotspur.