The following are the association football events of the year 1979 throughout the world.

Events

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

: Won by

Olimpia Asunción Club Olimpia is a Paraguayan sports club based in the city of Asunción. The club promotes the practice of various sports with most importance given to the football, rugby and basketball sides, the former being the highest priority and most su ...

after defeating

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in th ...

on an aggregate score of 2–0. *

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

: Won by Nottingham Forest after defeating

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly known as Malmö FF, Malmö, or MFF, is a professional football club and the most successful football club in Sweden in terms of trophies won. Formed in 1910 and affiliated with the Scania Football Associatio ...

1–0 in the Final. * Intercontinental Cup

: Won by

after defeating

by an aggregate score of 3–1. This was the last time the Intercontinental Cup was played in two legs (South America and Europe). *May 22 –

Ruud Krol Rudolf ("Ruud" or "Rudi") Jozef Krol (; born 24 March 1949) is a Dutch former professional footballer who was capped 83 times for the Netherlands national team. Most of his career he played for his home town club, Ajax, and he became a coach ...

becomes Holland's most capped player in history when he plays his 65th match for the

Netherlands national football team The Netherlands national football team ( nl, Nederlands voetbalelftal or simply ''Het Nederlands elftal'') has represented the Netherlands in international men's football matches since 1905. The men's national team is controlled by the Royal ...

against Argentina.

Winners club national championship

Asia

Al-Sadd SC Al Sadd Sports Club ( ar, نادي السد الرياضي, lit=Dam Sports Club) is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the city of Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in the ...

Europe

K.S.K. Beveren Koninklijke Sportkring Beveren (''Royal Sporting Club of Beveren'') is a Belgian association football club from the town of Beveren in East Flanders. KSK Beveren was particularly successful during the late 1970s and early 1980s in which it won ...

*: PFC Levski Sofia *:

Omonia Nicosia Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia ( el, Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Oμόνοιας Λευκωσίας, ΑΣΟΛ; ''Athlitikos Sillogos Omonias Lefkosias'', ''ASOL''), commonly known as Omonia Nicosia, or simply Omonia ("Harmony"; also trans ...

*: Esbjerg fB *:

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has ...

RC Strasbourg Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace (commonly known as RC Strasbourg, Racing Straßburg, RCSA, RCS, or simply Strasbourg; Alsatian: ''Füeßbàllmànnschàft Vu Stroßburri'') is a French association football club founded in 1906, based in the c ...

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

Újpest FC Újpest Football Club () is a Hungarian professional football club, based in Újpest, Budapest, that competes in Nemzeti Bajnokság I. Formed in 1885, Újpest reached the first division of the Hungarian League in 1905 and has been relegat ...

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

*: **

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

–

Ajax Amsterdam Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the le ...

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as t ...

–

Excelsior Rotterdam Excelsior Rotterdam, commonly known as Excelsior, is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football from the 2022–23 season following promotion. The club was found ...

Ruch Chorzów Ruch Chorzów () is a Polish association football club based in Chorzów, Upper Silesia. It is one of the most successful football teams in Poland: fourteen-time national champions, and three-time winners of the Polish Cup. Currently the team play ...

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Port ...

*: Dundalk F.C. *:

Celtic F.C. The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigran ...

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

FC Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow (russian: Футбольный клуб «Спартак» Москва, Futbolʹnyy klub «Spartak» Moskva, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships (second only to Dyn ...

North and Central America

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...

* / : **

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

( NASL)

Oceania

Marconi Fairfield Marconi Stallions Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Fairfield, Sydney, New South Wales. The club has been crowned Australian champion four times. The Stallions are the soccer team of Club Marconi, a social ...

South America

* **Metropolitano – River Plate **Nacional – River Plate *:

Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the Brazilian league, as well as in Campeonato ...

América de Cali América de Cali S. A., best known as América de Cali or América, is a Colombian professional football club based in Cali. It competes in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight league of Colombian football. The team plays its home games at ...

International tournaments

* 1979 British Home Championship (May 19 – May 26, 1979) :: *

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is hel ...

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the ...

(July 2 – July 14, 1979) *# *# *# *

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

(July 10 – December 12, 1979) *# *# *# and * World Youth Championship (August 26 – September 7, 1979) *# *# *#

Births

* January 2 –

Jonathan Greening Jonathan Greening (born 2 January 1979) is an English professional football coach and former player who is currently the manager of Scarborough Athletic of the Northern Premier League. As a player, Greening played as a midfielder. He began hi ...

, English footballer and coach * January 4 – Shergo Biran, German footballer * January 12 –

Grzegorz Rasiak Grzegorz Rasiak (; born 12 January 1979) is a Polish former professional footballer. After starting his career in his native Poland, Rasiak moved to England with Derby County in 2004. He subsequently had a spell with Tottenham Hotspur before j ...

, Polish footballer * January 15 –

Martin Petrov Martin Petyov Petrov ( bg, Мартин Петьов Петров; born 15 January 1979) is a Bulgarian former footballer who played as a winger. Club career Petrov began his career for Botev Vratsa. After a few good seasons, he signed with C ...

, Bulgarian footballer * January 26 – Maksym Kalynychenko, Ukrainian footballer * February 2 –

Daniel Bierofka Daniel Bierofka (; born 7 February 1979) is a German football coach and a former player. A former left winger, his playing career had been plagued by injuries which limited his chances of playing more matches for Germany national squad and force ...

, German footballer * February 13 –

Rafael Márquez Rafael Márquez Álvarez (; born 13 February 1979) is a Mexican former professional footballer and current head coach of Spanish team Barcelona Atlètic. Nicknamed '' El Káiser'', he is regarded as the best defender in Mexico's history and o ...

, Mexican footballer * February 19 –

Steve Cherundolo Steven Emil Cherundolo (born February 19, 1979) is an American soccer coach and former player who serves as head coach of Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC. A right-back, he was the captain of Hannover 96 of the German Bundesliga, where h ...

, American footballer * February 20 – Denis Fladung, former Russian professional footballer * March 2 –

Damien Duff Damien Anthony Duff (born 2 March 1979) is an Irish professional football manager and former player who played predominantly as a winger. He has been the manager of League of Ireland club Shelbourne F.C. since November 2021. He began his prof ...

, Irish footballer * March 4 –

Vyacheslav Malafeev Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich Malafeev ( rus, Вячесла́в Алекса́ндрович Малафе́ев, p=vʲɪtɕɪˈslaf ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ məlɐˈfʲe(j)ɪf; born 4 March 1979) is a Russian football official and a former player ...

, Russian footballer * March 22 –

Aldo Duscher Álvaro 'Aldo' Pedro Duscher (born 22 March 1979) is an Argentine retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Renowned for his physical presence on the pitch, he also held an Austrian passport, and spent most of his professional ca ...

, Argentine footballer * April 5 –

Timo Hildebrand Timo Hildebrand (born 5 April 1979) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Hildebrand holds a Bundesliga record for keeping a clean sheet for the most consecutive minutes (884 minutes), which he set during the 2 ...

, German footballer * April 12 –

Tobias Linderoth Tobias Jan Håkan Linderoth (; born 21 April 1979) is a professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Swedish club Skövde AIK. He played as a midfielder, and played professionally in Sweden, Norway, England, Denm ...

, Swedish footballer * April 20 –

Ludovic Magnin Ludovic Magnin (; born 20 April 1979) is a Swiss football manager and a former player. He is the manager of Lausanne-Sport. He played as a left-back for the Switzerland national team, Yverdon Sport, FC Lugano, Werder Bremen, VfB Stuttgart, a ...

, Swiss footballer * April 26 – Fereydoon Zandi, Iranian-German footballer * May 19 ** Diego Forlán, Uruguayan footballer **

Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who is head coach of Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. Considered one of the best deep-lying playmakers ever, Pirlo was renowned for his vision, ...

, Italian footballer * May 29 –

Arne Friedrich Arne Friedrich (born 29 May 1979) is a German football executive and former player who played as a defender. He formerly was the sporting director of Hertha BSC. He played 82 times for the Germany national team. Friedrich was a very versatil ...

, German footballer * May 30 – Fabian Ernst, German footballer * June 4 –

Naohiro Takahara is a Japanese football player and manager. He played for Japan's national football team. Currently, he is the manager for Okinawa SV. Club career Takahara was born in Mishima on 4 June 1979. After graduating from high school, he joined Júbil ...

, Japanese footballer * June 7 –

Kevin Hofland Kevin Hofland (born 7 June 1979) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player, and was last the head coach of Eerste Divisie club Willem II. A centre back during his career, Hofland played 15 active seasons in which he amassed Er ...

, Dutch footballer * June 19 – José Kleberson, Brazilian footballer * July 14 –

Sergei Ignashevich Sergei Nikolayevich Ignashevich ( rus, link=no, Сергей Николаевич Игнашевич, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ɪɡnɐˈʂɛvʲɪtɕ; born 14 July 1979) is a Russian professional football coach and a former play ...

, Russian footballer * July 26 –

Paul Freier Slawomir Paul Freier (Polish: Sławomir Paweł Freier; born 26 July 1979) is a German football coach and former player who was usually employed as a midfielder. He is currently the assistant manager of VfL Bochum U19. Biography Childhood and ...

, German footballer * August 7 –

Pablo Salinas Pablo Antonio Salinas Menchaca (born 7 August 1979 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra) is a Bolivian football forward who currently plays for Club Destroyers. Career Salinas played for Categoría Primera A side Deportes Quindío, where he became the ...

, Bolivian footballer * August 12 –

Júnior Izaguirre Junior Gustavo Izaguirre Puerto (born 12 August 1979) is a Honduran retired football defender, who most recently played for F.C. Motagua in the Honduran Liga Nacional. Club career Izaguirre started his professional career at Honduran giants ...

, Honduran footballer * September 11 **

Eric Abidal Eric Sylvain Abidal (; born 11 September 1979) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left-back or centre-back. In his career, he played mainly for Lyon and Barcelona, winning 18 trophies with both teams combined, including t ...

, French footballer **

Leon Cort Leon Terence Anthony Cort (born 11 September 1979) is a former footballer who played as a defender. He is the younger brother of Carl Cort and the older half-brother of Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Cort began his career as at non-league side Dulwich ...

, English footballer **

David Pizarro David Marcelo Pizarro Cortés (born 11 September 1979) is a Chilean former professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Chilean Primera División club Universidad de Chile. He is usually deployed as a central midfielder, althou ...

, Chilean footballer * September 13 – Julio de León, Honduran footballer * September 15 – Dadash Kazikhanov, former Russian professional footballer * September 25 – Richard Bangwe, Botswana footballer * October 8 –

Doyle Vaca Juan Doyle Vaca Mendoza (born 8 October 1979 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra) is a Bolivian retired football defender. National team Vaca made his debut for the Bolivia national team on October 7, 2001 in a World Cup qualifying match against Ecua ...

, Bolivian footballer * October 9 –

Gonzalo Sorondo Gonzalo Sorondo Amaro (born October 9, 1979) is a Uruguayan former footballer who last played for Defensor. He has earned 27 caps for his country, and played for them at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He acquired Brazilian citizenship on September ...

, Uruguayan footballer * October 15 – Paul Robinson, English footballer * October 18 –

Jaroslav Drobny Jaroslav (also written as Yaroslav or Jarosław in other Slavic languages) is a Czech and Slovak first name, pagan in origin. There are several possible origins of the name Jaroslav. It is very likely that originally the two elements of the nam ...

, Czech footballer * October 23 – Simon Davies, Welsh footballer * October 30 –

Simone Berardi Simone Berardi (born 30 October 1979 in Rome) is an Italian former footballer who played as a midfielder. He appeared in the third and fourth tiers of football in Italy. See also *List of football clubs in Italy This is a list of footbal ...

, Italian former footballer * November 2 –

Marián Čišovský Marián Čišovský (2 November 1979 – 28 June 2020) was a Slovak football defender, player of Czech side Viktoria Plzeň.2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

) * November 5 ** Patrick Owomoyela, German footballer **

David Suazo Óscar David Suazo Velázquez (born 5 November 1979) is a Honduran retired professional footballer turned coach who played as a striker. Suazo played more than 300 league games and scored over 980 league goals in Italy during a span of 7 years ...

, Honduran footballer * November 15 – Rowan Hendricks, South African footballer * November 20 –

Dmitri Bulykin Dmitri Olegovich Bulykin (russian: Дмитрий Олегович Булыкин; born 20 November 1979) is a retired Russian footballer. Between 2003 and 2005, he played regularly for the Russian national team. Club career Lokomotiv Moscow ...

, Russian footballer * November 21 – Vincenzo Iaquinta, Italian footballer * December 7 – Diego Bengolea, Bolivian footballer * December 14 ** Jean-Alain Boumsong, French footballer **

Michael Owen Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. Since r ...

, English footballer * December 20 –

Ashley Cole Ashley Cole (born 20 December 1980) is an English football coach and former player who is currently a first-team coach at Premier League club Everton. As a player, he played as a left-back, most notably for Arsenal and Chelsea. Cole is cons ...

, English footballer * December 30 – Hernán Boyero, Argentine footballer

Deaths

February

* February 16 -

Henk Steeman Hermanus Hendrikus "Henk" Steeman (15 January 1894 in Rotterdam – 16 February 1979 in the Hague) was a football (soccer) player from the Netherlands, who represented his home country at the 1920 Summer Olympics. There he won the bronze medal wi ...

, Dutch midfielder, bronze medalist at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

. (85)

April

* April 18 – Pedro Arico Suárez, Argentine defender, runner up of the

1930 FIFA World Cup The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930. FIFA, football's international governing body, selected Uruguay as host nati ...

. (70) * April 19 - August Sackenheim, German forward, capped 4 times for the

Germany national football team The Germany national football team (german: link=no, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association (''Deuts ...

. (73) * April 22 –

Amedeo Biavati Amedeo Biavati (; 4 April 1915 – 22 April 1979) was an Italian footballer, who was born in Bologna. He was usually deployed as forward or as a midfielder on the wing. A very fast and creative player, with an eye for goal, precise crossing, an ...

, Italian midfielder, winner of the

1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, be ...

. (64) * April 30 -

Jaap Bulder Jacob "Jaap" Eisse Bulder (27 September 1896 in Groningen – 30 April 1979 in Leiderdorp) was a football (soccer) player from the Netherlands, who represented his home country at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. There he won the bro ...

, Dutch forward, bronze medalist at the

. (82)

July

* July 14 –

Santos Urdinarán Santos "Vasquito" Urdinarán Barrena (30 March 1900 – 14 July 1979), known as ''El Vasquito'', was a footballer from Uruguay. He played for Nacional from 1919 to 1933 (318 matches and 124 goals), playing the position of right winger. He was ...

, Uruguayan striker, winner of the

. (79) * July 31 – José Della Torre, Argentine defender, runner up of the

. (73)

August

* August 21 –

Giuseppe Meazza Giuseppe "Peppino" Meazza (; 23 August 1910 – 21 August 1979), also known as il Balilla, was an Italian football manager and player. Throughout his career, he played mainly for Inter Milan in the 1930s, scoring 242 goals in 365 games for the ...

, Italian striker, winner of the

1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in w ...

and

, often seen as the best player of his era, and one of the greatest of all time. (68)

December

* December 12 - Hans Rohde, German defender, 25 times capped for the

. (65)

Movies

Yesterday's Hero ''Yesterday's Hero'' is a 1979 British drama film directed by Neil Leifer and starring Ian McShane, Suzanne Somers, Adam Faith, Paul Nicholas and Cary Elwes (in his film debut). It also features Glynis Barber and Emma Samms in their early per ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1979 In Association Football Association football by year