Events
*January 1 – Manager Leo Beenhakker is named technical director at Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem and replaced as a manager by Sparta Rotterdam head coach Henk ten Cate. *Roberto Carlos (footballer), Roberto Carlos goal by famous 'banana shot' in Direct free kick, free kick against France national football team, France in 1997 Tournoi de France *Copa Libertadores 1997: is won by Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, Cruzeiro after defeating Sporting Cristal on an aggregate score of 1–0. *1996–97 UEFA Champions League, UEFA Champions League: Borussia Dortmund won 3–1 in 1997 UEFA Champions League Final, final against Juventus F.C., Juventusin the Olympiastadion (Berlin), Olympiastadion. The goals for the Germans are scored by Karl-Heinz Riedle, Riedle in the 29th and 34th minute and Lars Ricken, Ricken in the 71st minute. *1997 Scottish Cup Final, Scottish Cup: Kilmarnock FC beats Falkirk 1–0. *February 25 – Manager Hans Westerhof is sacked by FC Groningen. *April 30 – Striker Boudewijn Zenden from PSV Eindhoven plays his first international match for the Netherlands national football team, when Holland defeats San Marino 6–0 in Serravalle (San Marino), Serravalle. *May 17 – Chelsea F.C., Chelsea wins the 1997 FA Cup Final, FA Cup by defeating Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesbrough 2–0. *May 18 – Eric Cantona, the famous and controversial French footballer in the FA Premier League, Premiership, announces his retirement from football. *June 29 – Brazil national football team, Brazil wins the 1997 Copa América by defeating home nation Bolivia national football team, Bolivia 3–1 in the final in the Estadio Hernando Siles in La Paz. *July 20 – Gudjon Thordarson makes his debut as the manager of Iceland national football team, Iceland with a 1–0 loss against Norway national football team, Norway. *August 17 – PSV Eindhoven wins the 1997 Johan Cruyff Shield, Johan Cruijff Schaal, the annual opening of the new season in the 1997–98 Eredivisie, Eredivisie, with a 3–1 win over Roda JC in the Amsterdam ArenA. *November 2 – Borussia Dortmund wins the 1997 Intercontinental Cup, Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo, Japan by defeating Brazil's Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, Cruzeiro 2–0. The goals for the Germans are scored by Michael Zorc and Heiko Herrlich.Winner national club championships
Asia
* - Júbilo Iwata * – Al-Ansar (Lebanon), Al-Ansar * – Al-Arabi SC (Qatar), Al-Arabi * - Pusan Daewoo Royals * - Bangkok Bank F.C., Bangkok Bank, Air Force United F.C., Royal Thai Air ForceEurope
* – PFC CSKA Sofia, CSKA Sofia * – GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia Zagreb * – Manchester United F.C., Manchester United * – AS Monaco FC, AS Monaco * – FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich * – Olympiacos F.C., Olympiacos * – Juventus F.C., Juventus * – PSV Eindhoven * – Rosenborg BK, Rosenborg * – Widzew Łódź * – F.C. Porto, Porto * – Real Madrid C.F., Real Madrid * – Galatasaray S.K. (football), Galatasaray * – FK Partizan, PartizanNorth America
* **Verano – C.D. Guadalajara, Chivas **Invierno – Cruz Azul * – D.C. United (1997 Major League Soccer season, MLS)South America
* **Clausura – Club Atlético River Plate, River Plate **Apertura – Club Atlético River Plate, River Plate * – Club Bolívar, Bolívar * – Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama, Vasco da Gama * **Apertura – Club Deportivo Universidad Católica, Universidad Católica **Clausura – Colo-Colo * – Olimpia Asunción * – Alianza LimaInternational tournaments
* UNCAF Nations Cup 1997, UNCAF Nations Cup in Guatemala City, Guatemala (April 16–27, 1997) *# *# *# * Copa América 1997, Copa América in Bolivia (June 11–29, 1997) *# *# *# * Baltic Cup 1997, Baltic Cup in Vilnius, Lithuania (July 9 – 11 1997) *# *# *# * 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, FIFA U-20 World Cup in Malaysia (June 16 – July 5, 1997) *# *# *# * 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship, FIFA U-17 World Championship in Egypt (September 5–21, 1997) *# *# *# * 1997 Tournoi de France, Tournoi de France in France (June 3–11, 1997) *# *# *#National team results
Europe
South America
Births
* January 1 – Quique Fornos, Spanish footballer * January 5 – Jesús Vallejo, Spanish footballer * January 7 – Izzy Brown, English footballer * January 8 – Fran Brodić, Croatian footballer * January 26 – Gedion Zelalem, American footballer * February 3 – Lewis Cook (footballer, born 1997), Lewis Cook, English footballer * February 10 – Adam Armstrong (footballer), Adam Armstrong, English footballer * February 26 – Malcom (footballer), Malcom, Brazilian footballer * March 3 ** Elia Alessandrini, Swiss footballer (d. 2022) ** Jaime Carreño, Chilean footballer * March 6 – Daniel De Silva, Australian youth international * March 12 ** Dean Henderson, English footballer ** Allan Saint-Maximin, French footballer * March 29 – Ezequiel Ponce, Argentine footballer * April 2 – Abdelhak Nouri, Dutch footballer * April 5 – Borja Mayoral, Spanish footballer * April 13 – Mateo Cassierra, Colombian footballer * April 17 – Jorge Meré, Spanish footballer * April 27 – Josh Onomah, English footballer * May 17 ** Andrea Favilli (footballer), Andrea Favilli, Italian footballer ** Ayron Verkindere, Belgian footballer * June 16 – Jean-Kévin Augustin, French footballer * June 22 – Gabriel Rojas (footballer, born 1997), Gabriel Rojas, Argentine footballer * July 3 – Filip Sachpekidis, Swedish footballer * July 11 – Rasmus Kristensen, Danish footballer * July 25 – Louis Reed, English footballer * August 2 – Ivan Šaponjić, Serbian footballer * August 3 ** Daniel Crowley (footballer), Daniel Crowley, English youth international ** Adrian Lillebekk Ovlien, Norwegian footballer (d. 2018) * August 4 – Cinzia Zehnder, Swiss footballer * August 6 – Sander Svendsen, Norwegian youth international * August 9 – Leon Bailey, Jamaican international * August 19 – Bartłomiej Drągowski, Polish footballer * August 29 – Ainsley Maitland-Niles, English footballer * September 15 – Jeisson Vargas, Chilean footballer * September 16 – Zsanett Kaján, Hungarian women's international * October 2 – Tammy Abraham, English international * October 6 – Kasper Dolberg, Danish international * October 17 – Václav Černý (footballer), Václav Černý, Czech footballer * November 1 – Nordi Mukiele, French footballer * November 14 – Christopher Nkunku, French footballer * November 18 – Olivier Boscagli, French footballer * November 26 – Aaron Wan-Bissaka, English footballer * December 7 – Abi Harrison, Scottish footballer * December 11 – Konstantinos Mavropanos, Greek footballerDeaths
January
* January 10 – Francisco Aramburu, Brazilian striker, runner-up at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. (75)February
* February 19 – Afonso Guimarães da Silva, Brazilian midfielder, semi-finalist at the 1938 FIFA World Cup. (82) * February 21 – Josef Posipal, West-German defender, winner of the 1954 FIFA World Cup. (69, heart failure)March
* March 25 – Baltazar (footballer, born 1926), Baltazar, Brazilian striker, runner-up at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. (71)April
*April 23 – Brian Alderson (46), Scottish footballerJune
*June 4 – Pedro Zaballa (58), Spanish footballer *June 18 – Héctor Yazalde (51), Argentinian footballerJuly
*July 8 – Dick van Dijk (51), Dutch footballer *July 10 – Ivor Allchurch (67), Welsh footballerSeptember
* September 21 – Juan Burgueño, Uruguayan forward, winner of the 1950 FIFA World Cup. (91) * September 29 – Dequinha, Brazilian midfielder, Brazilian squad member at the 1954 FIFA World Cup. (69)October
* October 18 – Ramiro Castillo (31), Bolivian footballer * October 31 – Bram Appel (76), Dutch footballer * October 31 – Hans Bauer (footballer), Hans Bauer, West-German defender, winner of the 1954 FIFA World Cup. (70)November
*November 1 – Roger Marche (73), French footballer *November 9 – Helenio Herrera (80), Argentine-French footballer and managerDecember
* December 7 – Billy Bremner (54), Scottish footballer * December 28 – William Martínez (footballer), William Martínez, Uruguayan midfielder, winner of the 1950 FIFA World Cup. (69)References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1997 In Association Football 1997 in association football, Association football by year