Within the world of football, there are days that have marked forever the story of a player, a club and even a whole country. But there is a day that has marked the history of this sport, a day in which the universe along with the gods of football conspired to bring on that date some of the best footballers who have stepped on a pitch. Today, February 5, is the birthday of football.
This could be a common day, which is nothing special compared to the rest of the days of the year. But then we went back to February 5, 1991 and we noticed something wonderful. That day, in the small neighborhood of Mogi das Cruzes in Sao Paulo, was born Neymar, a little Brazilian boy who dreamed of being a soccer player. In spite of growing up in a family of scarce resources and in the middle of an area marked by violence and drugs; little Neymar concentrated on his passion for football, showing signs of his undeniable talent for this sport. Neymar grew to become the hope of a whole country and one of the best players in the world. Today, on his 27th birthday, we see that he has an enviable crop of titles and a number of goals that are available to few players his age.
Until now it is only the birthday of a talented football player, but let's go back a bit to notice this particular coincidence. On February 5, 1985, an unwanted child was born in Madeira. That child who came from poverty and which others mocked because he could not buy soccer shoes, grew to become Cristiano Ronaldo, the best scorer in the history of the sport and the top scorer in the history of Real Madrid. Today, on his 34th birthday, Cristiano boasts 667 goals and his legend as one of the best players in history.
We could still talk about a coincidence that two of the best players of our time were born on the same date, but then we arrived on February 5, 1985. In the small and forgotten neighborhood of Fuerte Apache (Argentina) was born a small boy named Carlitos Tevez, who from an early age had to overcome various tests that gave him life. But the small Tevez knew overcome all those situations and then grow to become one of the biggest idols of Boca Juniors, in addition to being one of the most successful Argentines in Europe.
We can already say that a pattern is marked around this date, it is not mere chance. And these are just players from the recent era. If we go back to February 5, 1965 we find that in the extinct Soviet Union was born a child of strange surname named George Hagi, who thanks to his qualities with the ball was named as the "Maradona of the Carpathians", and then move to History as the best Romanian player of all time and one of the best the world has ever seen.
But not only big strikers are born on February 5, they are also true defenders of legend. We must move more specifically to February 5, 1932, the date on which the great Cesare Maldini was born. Many will only remember him for Paolo's father, one of the best defenders in history, but the truth is that Cesare also marked a time in this sport. 4 Scudettos, 1 European Champions Cup and many years as captain of AC Milan endorse him as one of the best Italian defenders in history.
As we can see, February 5 is not just any day and these are not the only examples. If we go to 1975 we see that Gio van Bronckhosrt was born, one of the best side players in Holland's history. In 1982 Rodrigo Palacio was born, who scored 229 goals in his career for some of the best clubs in the world. Or that in 1948 Sven-Göran Eriksson was born, one of the most outstanding coaches of the last decades.
It is no coincidence that many talented and successful footballers have been born on this day. There is no doubt that the stars lined up so that every 5th of February a child had the opportunity to be born and fulfill his dreams of being a footballer of the highest level. Whatever the case, if there is a day for a child to be born to be a soccer player, it is this.
It comforts me to know that this beautiful sport called soccer will never be free of great players who dazzle us with their talent; because I know that right now, somewhere in the world, a child is born that in 17 or 18 years will grow to amaze us and be one of the best footballers in the world.
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