On 4 December 2009, Adidas introduced their controversial new match ball for the 2010 World Cup, the Jabulani.
Named after the Zulu word for "celebrate," the ball was made from eight spherically molded panels and had a textured surface designed to improve its aerodynamics. The result was unpredictable flight behavior which drew heavy criticism from several players. Goalkeepers were particularly unhappy, including Brazil's Julio Cesar, who called it a "supermarket ball," Spain's Iker Casillas, who said it was "horrible," and Italy's Gianluigi Buffon, who said it was "absolutely inadequate."
Predictably, players contracted to Adidas provided more favorable reviews, including such high-profile stars as Kaká ("just great"), Michael Ballack ("fantastic"), and Frank Lampard ("very strong").
The overall effect appeared to be a reduction in goalscoring, as the tournament had only 145 goals, the fewest of any World Cup since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998.
On 3 December 1982, former Ligue 1 Player of the Year and BBC African Footballer of the Year Michael Essien was born in Accra, Ghana.
An energetic box-to-box midfielder and tenacious defender, Essien began his professional career in 2000 with French club Bastia. Initially used as a reserve back, he switched to midfield in 2001 and flourished. After only three seasons, he drew attention from bigger clubs and signed with Lyon in 2003.
In two seasons at Lyon, Essien won two Ligue 1 championship medals and, after his second season, was named the 2005 Ligue 1 Player of the Year. That success led to a move to Chelsea in the summer of 2005 after an extended negotiation, with the London club paying what was then a club record transfer fee of £26 million. He made 31 league appearances for Chelsea in his first season as the Blues won the 2006 league title. Essien followed that performance by leading Ghana through the group stage of the 2006 World Cup and claiming the 2006 BBC African Footballer of the Year award.
He later added another league title with Chelsea (2010), as well as four FA Cups (2007, 2009, 2010, 2012), one League Cup (2007), and the Champions League (2012). Essien currently plays for Panathinaikos after joining them in June 2015.
On 2 December 2003, midfielder Cesc Fabregas scored a late goal in Arsenal's 5-1 romp over Wolves in the League Cup. At 16 years and 212 days old, he became the youngest person to score for Arsenal in a first-team match.
Fabregas had signed with the Gunners the previous September. By October, he had already set a club record when he played against Rotherham United in a League Cup match, becoming the youngest player to make a first-team appearance for Arsenal.
The match against Wolves was only his second appearance for the club. Played at Highbury before a crowd of 28,161, the hosts went up 4-0 with goals from Jeremie Aliadiere (24', 71'), Nwankwo Kanu (68'), and Sylvain Wiltord (79') before Wolverhampton midfielder Alex Rae pulled one back with a powerful goal in the 80th minute. But the 88th-minute tap-in from Fabregas restored the cushion for the final score.
On 1 December 2009, Lionel Messi capped an amazing year by winning the Ballon d'Or as the world's best footballer. And he did by a record margin of votes.
A panel of sports journalists from around the world voted on the award, which had previously been limited to players from European clubs, but expanded in 2007 to include footballers from anywhere in the world.
The award came on the heels of Messi's incredible run with Barcelona in 2008-09 in which the Catalan club won a staggering total of six trophies--La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Supercopa de España, the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup, and the UEFA Champions League. Messi was one of four players from that team to finish in the voters' top five--the others were Xavi (3rd), Andrés Iniesta (4th), and Samuel Eto'o (5th), who had since moved to Inter in the summer of 2009.
The second-place finisher was Cristiano Ronaldo, who had won the award over Messi in 2008. In 2009, Messi finished with 473 out of a possible 480 first-place votes, more than doubling Ronaldo's total that year of 233 votes and setting a record separation of 240 votes between first and second place. The previous record was 167, set in 2007 when voting expanded to accommodate the award's new global scope. Cristiano Ronaldo had finished second that year to future Real Madrid teammate Kaká. In 2010, the Ballon d'Or merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year Award to create the FIFA Ballon d'Or. Messi won that award in 2010, 2011, and 2012, with Ronaldo winning it in 2013 and 2014.
On 30 November 1872, England and Scotland played the first ever official international, which ended in a scoreless draw.
The two countries had actually played five earlier matches, with England winning three of those and the other two ending in draws, but FIFA does not consider them full internationals, as the Scottish sides were mainly limited to players based in the area surrounding London, where the matches were played.
In October 1972, the FA decided to play a match against Scotland in Glasgow "to further the interests of the Association in Scotland." There was no Scottish FA at the time, so the Scotland's oldest club, Queen's Park FC, stood in for the national team, with all players coming from that club. Nine different clubs were represented in the English side, with Oxford University having the most players at three.
Played at Hamilton Crescent in Partick, the match started after a 20-minute delay for fog. 4,000 people were there to watch, paying a ticket price of one shilling each. Scotland had the best chances of the day, with two shots hitting the crossbar (actually, a strip of tape hung between the top of the posts), but neither side managed to find he back of the net and the match ended 0-0.
On 29 November 1978, England beat Czechoslovakia 1-0 in a friendly at Wembley. England's right back that day was Nottingham Forest's Viv Anderson, making the first start by a black player to appear for England in a full international match.
Born in Nottingham in 1956, Anderson began his professional career with Forest in 1974 and became a regular starter the following year. An attacking right back, he was an integral part of the team that won the League in 1978, then back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980. He also won two League Cups with Forest (1978, 1979) and the 1980 UEFA Super Cup.
His impressive form during that successful run led England manager Ron Greenwood to call him up for the friendly against the Czechs. Midway through the second half, with the match scoreless, Anderson surged forward to create a opening for Tony Currie, who then crossed the ball into the box where a waiting Steve Coppell knocked home the day's only goal.
Despite his excellent performance, Anderson had to wait until June 1979 for his second England appearance and didn't feature in a competitive match until November 1979. In all, he received 30 caps, the last coming in 1988. He eventually retired in 1995 and was elected to the English Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
On 28 November 1999, Vélez Sársfield defeated Ferro Carril Oeste 6-1 in an Argentina top flight match with a hat-trick from an unlikely source--their goalkeeper.
José Luis Chilavert had joined Vélez in 1991 and helped guide the club to their most successful period, winning 4 domestic titles and 5 international trophies between 1993 and 1998. Along the way, the Paraguayan international earned multiple individual honors, including Argentinian Player of the Year (1996) and South American Player of the Year (1996). He was also named the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper three times (1995, 1997, 1998).
In addition to being a strong goalkeeper, he was a skilled free kick marksman, often taking his side's penalty kicks. In the match against Ferro, in fact, all three of his goals came from the spot.
In all, Chilavert scored a total of 62 goals in club and international competitions during his career.
On 4 December 2009, Adidas introduced their controversial new match ball for the 2010 World Cup, the Jabulani.
