The following are the association football events of the year 1978 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 ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

: Won by

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 the A ...

after defeating

Deportivo Cali Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A. Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful footba ...

on an aggregate score of 4–0. *

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

win the

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

beating

Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (inclu ...

1–0 with the winning goal scored by

Roger Osborne Roger Charles Osborne (born 9 March 1950) is a former professional association football, footballer who is best known for scoring the winning goal in the 1978 FA Cup Final. Biography Born in Otley, Suffolk, Otley, East Suffolk (county), East S ...

Winners club national championship

Asia

* :

Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל מכבי תל אביב; ''Moadon Kaduregel Maccabi Tel Aviv'') is an Israeli football club from Tel Aviv and part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Sport Club. Founded in 1906 in Jaffa as ...

* :

Al-Rayyan SC Al-Rayyan Sports Club () is a Qatari multi-sports club fielding teams in a number of sports such as football, futsal, basketball, volleyball, handball, athletics, table tennis, and swimming. It is based at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Umm Al ...

Europe

* :

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

* :

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Fre ...

* :

Újpest FC Újpest Football Club () is a Hungarian professional association football, 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 Nemzeti ...

* :

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

* : **

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 c ...

–

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...

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 the ...

–

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...

* : Steaua București * :

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 ...

* : Rangers * : Fenerbahçe

North America

Tigres UANL Club de Fútbol Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, simply known as Tigres UANL or Tigres, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Nicolás de los Garza, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León. Foun ...

* / : **

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independe ...

( NASL)

Oceania

*: West Adelaide

South America

* **Metropolitano –

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Río de la Plata, Rio de la Plata, in the , on the south east of the Greater Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and it is the seat of the Quilmes Partido, eponymous county. With a population of 230 ...

**Nacional – Independiente * : Guarani * :

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 ...

International tournaments

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

(March 5 – 16 1978) *# *# *# * 1978 British Home Championship (May 13 – May 20, 1978) :: *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

(June 1 – 25 1978) *# *# *#

Births

January

* January 9 **

Gennaro Gattuso Gennaro Ivan Gattuso (; born 9 January 1978) is an Italian professional football coach and former player, who currently serves as manager of La Liga club Valencia. He was born in Corigliano (Calabria). As a player, he mainly played in the cent ...

, Italian football player **

Hamlet Barrientos Hamlet Israel Barrientos Ferrufino (born 9 January 1978 in La Paz) is a Bolivian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career He last played for Universitario de Sucre in the Bolivian First Division. International career Barrien ...

, Bolivian footballer * January 10 – Jeffrey Yishai, former Israeli footballer * January 20 –

Salvatore Aronica Salvatore Aronica (born 20 January 1978) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a defender, currently in charge as head coach of Eccellenza Sicily amateurs Don Carlo Misilmeri. Playing career Aronica spent his early ca ...

, Italian footballer and manager * January 28 **

Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...

, Italian international goalkeeper **

Jamie Carragher James Lee Duncan Carragher (; born 28 January 1978) is an English football pundit and former footballer who played as a defender for Premier League club Liverpool during a career which spanned 17 years. A one-club man, he was Liverpool's vic ...

, English football player defender **

Papa Bouba Diop Papa Bouba Diop (28 January 197829 November 2020) was a Senegalese professional footballer. His preferred position was defensive midfield but he could also play as a centre back, where he previously played at Lens. Diop was considered a strong ...

, Senegalese footballer (d.

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

)

February

* February 2 –

Barry Ferguson Barry Ferguson (born 2 February 1978) is a Scottish football coach, former player and pundit who was most recently the manager of Alloa Athletic. Ferguson spent most of his playing career at Rangers, in two spells either side of a £7.5 mil ...

, Scottish footballer and coach * February 5 –

Jairon Zamora Jairon Leonel Zamora Narváez (born 5 February 1978 in Guayaquil) is an Ecuadorian football midfielder. He obtained a total number of seven international caps for the Ecuador national football team, making his debut in 1999. Honors Nation * * ...

, Ecuadorian footballer * February 15 –

Alejandro Lembo Daniel Alejandro Lembo Betancor (born 15 February 1978) is a Uruguayan former professional footballer who played mainly as a central defender. Club career Born in the capital Montevideo, Lembo started his career with C.A. Bella Vista, playing ...

, Uruguayan footballer * February 24 –

Leon Constantine Leon Charles Constantine (born 24 February 1978) is an English former footballer who played as a striker. A journeyman of lower league English football, he had 21 separate spells at 19 different clubs within the space of just 12 years. A lateco ...

, English club footballer

March

* March 9 –

Lucas Neill Lucas Edward Neill (born 9 March 1978) is an Australian former soccer player. Neill played as a defender, often playing as a centre back as well as a full-back. Neill spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Austr ...

, Australian footballer * March 11 –

Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at ...

, Ivorian international * March 24 –

Tomáš Ujfaluši Tomáš Ujfaluši (, born 24 March 1978) is a Czech former professional footballer. He operated as either a central defender or a right back. Other than in his country he played professionally in Germany (four years), Italy (four), Spain (three ...

, Czech footballer * March 30 –

Mauricio Rojas Mauricio José Rojas Mullor (born June 28, 1950) is a Chilean-Swedish politician and political economist, member of the Riksdag between 2002 and 2006. He served as Minister of Cultures, Arts and Heritage of Chile for four days, since August ...

, Chilean footballer * March 31 **

Stephen Clemence Stephen Neal Clemence (born 31 March 1978) is an English football coach and former player, who made nearly 250 appearances in the Premier League and Football League playing as a midfielder. Clemence began his career with Tottenham Hotspur, wher ...

, English footballer and coach **

Jérôme Rothen Jérôme René Marcel Rothen (born 31 March 1978) is a French former professional footballer who played as a winger. Rothen won 13 caps for the France national football team. He represented his country at the 2004 European Football Champions ...

, French international

April

* April 1 –

Antonio de Nigris Antonio de Nigris Guajardo (; 1 April 1978 – 15 November 2009) was a Mexican professional footballer who played as a striker. During his career, which was cut short at 31 by a fatal heart attack, he played in six countries, also representin ...

, Mexican international striker (d.

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

) * April 30 –

Simone Barone Simone Barone (; born 30 April 1978) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a midfielder. He played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, before coming to prominence with Palermo. At international level, he ...

, Italian footballer

May

* May 16 – Edu, Brazilian football player and manager * May 30 –

Nicolás Olivera Andrés Nicolás "Nico" Olivera Olivera (born 30 May 1978) is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as a forward. He started and finished his 20-year professional career with Defensor, going on to collect 500 league appearances mainly in t ...

, Uruguayan footballer

June

* June 20 –

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...

, English football player midfielder * June 9 –

Miroslav Klose Miroslav Josef Klose (, pl, Mirosław Józef Klose; born 9 June 1978 as Mirosław Marian Klose) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of Austrian Footb ...

, German football player forward * June 21 –

Hatem Aqel Hatem Mohammad Yusuf Aqel ( ar, حاتم محمد يوسف عقل) is a Jordanian footballer of Palestinian descent. International goals Honors and Participation in International Tournaments In AFC Asian Cups *2004 Asian Cup *2011 Asian C ...

, Jordanian footballer

July

* July 22 –

Dennis Rommedahl Dennis Rommedahl (; born 22 July 1978) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a right winger. The second-most capped national player for Denmark, he appeared in 126 matches and scored 21 goals for his country, and was a member ...

, Danish footballer

September

* September 6 – Éric Kossingou, French former professional footballer * September 17 –

Arne Slot Arend Martijn Slot (; born 17 September 1978) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of Feyenoord. Playing career Slot played as midfielder for PEC Zwolle, NAC Breda and Sparta Rotterdam. Coaching care ...

, Dutch football player and manager * September 18 **

Ryan Lowe Ryan Thomas Lowe (born 18 September 1978) is an English football manager and former professional player, who is manager of Championship side Preston North End. His playing career, as a striker, began at Burscough in 1999 and he became a Footbal ...

, English club footballer **

Augustine Simo Augustine Simo (born 18 September 1978) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as midfielder. He played for several clubs in Europe, including AS Saint-Étienne in France and AC Lugano, Neuchâtel Xamax, FC Zürich, FC Aara ...

, Cameroonian footballer * September 22 –

Harry Kewell Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player. His most recent role as a club manager was at English National League side Barnet, and he is currently a first team coach at Celtic F.C ...

, Australian football player

November

* November 7 –

Rio Ferdinand Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for BT Sport. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and was ...

, English football player defender * November 7 –

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink Johannes Vennegoor of Hesselink (; born 7 November 1978) is a Dutch former professional footballer. He formerly played for the Netherlands national team as a striker. He played for clubs such as the Dutch Eredivisie's FC Twente and PSV, the ...

, Dutch footballer * November 8 –

Ali Karimi Mohammad Ali Karimi Pashaki ( fa, علی کریمی ; born 8 November 1978) is an Iranian football coach and former player. During his professional football career, he has played in the Iran Pro League, UAE Pro League, Qatar Stars League and B ...

, Iranian footballer * November 11 –

Erik Edman Erik Kenneth Edman (; born 11 November 1978) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Starting off his career with Helsingborgs IF in 1997, he went on to represent clubs in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, England, ...

, Swedish footballer

December

* December 5 –

Marcelo Zalayeta Marcelo Danubio Zalayeta (; born 5 December 1978) is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as a striker. Zalayeta began his club career with Danubio before moving to Peñarol for a season in 1997, where he won the Uruguayan Primera Divisi� ...

, Uruguayan footballer * December 17 – Patricia Pérez, Mexican female footballer * December 23 – Nicolás Suárez, Bolivian footballer * December 29 –

Victor Agali Victor Okechukwu Agali (born 29 December 1978) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Career In 1997, Agali joined French club Olympique de Marseille. Finding it hard to establish a first team place, he quickly m ...

, Nigerian footballer * December 29 –

Kieron Dyer Kieron Courtney Dyer (born 29 December 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was recently the U23s manager at Ipswich Town. Born in Ipswich, Dyer played youth football for his home club Ipswich Town ...

, English footballer

Deaths

January

* January 3 – Rubén Morán, Uruguayan striker, winner of the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

. (47)

May

* May 8 –

Juan Evaristo Juan Evaristo (20 June 1902 – 8 May 1978) was an Argentine football wing half-back who played for Argentina between 1923 and 1930. Along with his younger brother Mario, an outside left, they became the first siblings to appear in a World Cup f ...

, Argentine midfielder, 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 nation ...

, part of the first sibling to ever play a World Cup Final. (75)

June

* June 2 – Santiago Bernabéu (82), Spanish footballer, coach and president.

July

* July 13 –

George Reader George Reader (22 November 1896 – 13 July 1978) was the fourth man to referee a FIFA World Cup Final, the first Englishman (one of only 10 match officials from the United Kingdom) to do so, and the oldest match official at any World Cup in hi ...

(81), English football referee

August

* August 5 – Ernst Melchior, Austrian footballer * August 11 –

Mario Varglien Mario Varglien (; 26 December 1905 – 11 August 1978), also known as Varglien I, was an Italian football player and manager born in Fiume (today Rijeka), who played as a midfielder. Club career Varglien played club football with Juventus for mos ...

, Italian midfielder, 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 ...

. (72) * August 15 –

Leo Lemešić Leo Lemešić (8 June 1908 in Sinj – 15 August 1978 in Split) was a Croatian football striker and later a football manager. He became a referee in his later years. Club career He spent his entire club career with Hajduk Split. In total, Leme� ...

, Croatian football player and manager * August 31 – Ángel Bossio, Argentine Goalkeeper, runner-up of the

. (73)

September

* September 15 –

Ricardo Zamora Ricardo Zamora Martínez (; 14 February 1901 – 8 September 1978) was a Spanish footballer and manager. He played as a goalkeeper for, among others, RCD Espanyol, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. As an international he played for both the Catala ...

, Spanish footballer * September 25 –

Luigi Allemandi Luigi Allemandi (; 8 November 1903 – 25 September 1978) was an Italian footballer who played as a defender, usually as a left back. He was a member of the Italy national team which won the 1934 World Cup. Club career Born in San Damiano Mac ...

, Italian defender, winner of the

. (74)

November

* November 18 – Pablo Dorado, Uruguayan striker, winner of the

and first player ever to score in a World Cup Final. (70)

December

* December 5 –

Carlos Riolfo Juan Carlos Riolfo Seco (November 5, 1905 – December 5, 1978) was a Uruguayan footballer who played for the Uruguay national team. He played only 2 matches for national team, both in 1928 against Argentina, but was an unused member of the ...

, Uruguayan midfielder, winner of the

. (73)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1978 In Association Football Association football by year