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

Events

* Copa Libertadores 1978: Won by Boca Juniors after defeating Deportivo Cali 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. 1–0 with the winning goal scored by Roger Osborne

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 Frenc ...

* :

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 ...

* : Juventus * : **

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, w ...

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 ...

–

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 * : 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. Found ...

* / : **

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 Independ ...

( NASL)

Oceania

*: West Adelaide

South America

* **Metropolitano –

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the 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 eponymous county. With a population of 230,810, it is located south of the ...

**Nacional – Independiente * : Guarani * : Olimpia Asunción

International tournaments

* African Cup of Nations in

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, 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 v ...

, 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 and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

)

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 mill ...

, Scottish footballer and coach * February 5 – Jairon Zamora, Ecuadorian footballer * February 15 – Alejandro Lembo, Uruguayan footballer * February 24 – Leon Constantine, 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, 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, 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) * April 30 – Simone Barone, Italian footballer

May

* May 16 – Edu, Brazilian football player and manager * May 30 – Nicolás Olivera, 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 football manager and former player who is the head coach of Austrian Bundesliga club Rheindorf Altach. A striker, Klose ...

, 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 ...

, 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 Association football, 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 Rotter ...

, 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, 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 ...

, 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 w ...

, 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, 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 ...

, Argentine midfielder, runner up of the 1930 FIFA World Cup, 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, Lem ...

, Croatian football player and manager * August 31 – Ángel Bossio, Argentine Goalkeeper, runner-up of the 1930 FIFA World Cup. (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 Cata ...

, 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 ...

, Italian defender, winner of the

. (74)

November

* November 18 – Pablo Dorado, Uruguayan striker, winner of the 1930 FIFA World Cup and first player ever to score in a World Cup Final. (70)

December

* December 5 – Carlos Riolfo, Uruguayan midfielder, winner of the 1930 FIFA World Cup. (73)

References

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