The following are the association football events of the year 1981 throughout the world.

Events

* 1981 Copa Libertadores: Won by

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...

after defeating

Cobreloa Club de Deportes Cobreloa S.A.D.P. (), commonly referred to as Cobreloa, is a Chilean football professional club based in Calama, Región de Antofagasta, Chile. That competes in the Primera B. The club's home ground is the Estadio Zorros del ...

on the playoff match 2–0. *

1980–81 European Cup The 1980–81 European Cup was the 26th season of the European Cup football club tournament, and was won for a third time by Liverpool, who beat six-time champions Real Madrid in the final. In the 11 seasons up to and including this one, there wer ...

: Won by

Liverpool FC Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

after defeating Real Madrid in

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

match 1–0. * World Club Championship: Won by

after defeating

on a single match 3–0. *March 25 –

Kees Rijvers Cornelus Bernardus Rijvers (born 27 May 1926) is a Dutch former footballer who was active as a midfielder and later as coach for PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national team. He was born in Breda. Playing career Rijvers made his debut at N ...

makes his debut as the manager of Dutch national team with a 1–0 win in the World Cup Qualifier against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. One player makes his debut for the Dutch: defender Edo Ophof from Ajax Amsterdam. *September 1 – Dutch striker

Wim Kieft Willem Cornelis Nicolaas "Wim" Kieft (born 12 November 1962) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Kieft went into punditry in 2001, occasionally appearing on football talk show ''Voetbal Inside'' A prolific ...

makes his debut for the

Netherlands national football team The Netherlands national football team ( nl, Nederlands voetbalelftal or simply ''Het Nederlands elftal'') has represented the Netherlands in international men's football matches since 1905. The men's national team is controlled by the Royal ...

in the friendly against Switzerland. It's the 400th game in the history of the Dutch national team.

Winners club national championship

Asia

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

–

Al-Sadd SC Al Sadd Sports Club ( ar, نادي السد الرياضي, lit=Dam Sports Club) is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the city of Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in the ...

Europe

* –

KF Partizani Tirana Futboll Klub Partizani, or FK Partizani for short, is an Albanian professional football club (association football), football club based in Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore. Founded in 1946, the club was historically affiliated to ...

* – Austria Wien * –

R.S.C. Anderlecht ; french: Les Mauves et Blancs) , short name = R.S.C.A. , founded = , ground = Constant Vanden Stock Stadium , capacity = 22,500 , owntitle = Chairman , owner = Wouter Vandenhaute , manager = Brian Riemer , ...

* –

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...

* – AC Omonoia * –

Baník Ostrava ''Baník'' is a Slovak word meaning "miner". Since the 1950s it has been part of the name of various sports clubs in Czechoslovakia associated mostly with coal mining regions. In Poland, the same practice was conducted with the name ''górnik''. ...

* –

Hvidovre IF Hvidovre Idrætsforening, more commonly known as Hvidovre IF () is a Denmark, Danish professional association football, football club based in Hvidovre. The club competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of Danish football league syste ...

* – Dynamo Berlin * – Aston Villa * –

HB Torshavn HB or Hb may refer to: Academia * H-b index, an extension of the h-index used in determining academic impact * H-B Woodlawn, a secondary education program in Arlington, Virginia, US * Hathaway Brown School, an all-girls private school in Shaker He ...

* –

HJK Helsinki Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki, or simply as HJK, is a professional football club based in Helsinki, Finland. The club competes in the Finnish Veikkausliiga. Founded in 1907, the club has spent most of its history i ...

* – AS Saint-Étienne * –

Olympiacos F.C. Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σ.Φ.Π. ), known simply as Olympiacos or Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional football club based in Piraeus, Attica. Part of the major multi-sport club Olympiacos CFP ('' ...

* –

Ferencváros Ferencváros () is the 9th district of Budapest ( hu, Budapest IX. kerülete), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The development of Fe ...

* – Vikingur * – Athlone Town A.F.C. * – Juventus * – Progrès Niedercorn * –

Hibernians F.C. Hibernians Football Club is a Maltese professional football club based in the town of Paola. History The club played one season in 1922 as Constitutionals FC, representing the pro-British Constitutional Party. They started up again in the 19 ...

* **

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 ...

–

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and host ...

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 ...

– HFC Haarlem * – Glentoran F.C. * – Vålerenga IF * –

Widzew Łódź RTS Widzew Łódź () is a Polish football club based in Łódź. The club was founded in 1910. Its official colours are red and white, hence their nicknames ''Czerwona Armia'' (Red Army) and ''Czerwono-biało-czerwoni'' (Red-white-reds). Histor ...

* – Benfica * – Universitatea Craiova * –

Celtic F.C. The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigran ...

* – Real Sociedad * –

Östers IF Östers Idrottsförening, commonly known as Östers IF or simply Öster, is a Swedish sports club located in Växjö, specializing in football, and playing in the second tier of Swedish football, Superettan. The club has previously also compet ...

* –

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a Swiss football club based in Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup 10 times. The most recent titles a ...

* –

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

* –

FC Dynamo Kiev Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was offic ...

* – Bayern Munich * –

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

North America

* –

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigge ...

* / – **

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from ...

( NASL)

Oceania

* – Sydney Slickers

South America

* **Metropolitano – Boca Juniors **Nacional – River Plate * – Jorge Wilstermann * – Grêmio * –

Colo-Colo Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo () is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano they play in the Chilean Primera División, from which they have never been relegated. The team has pla ...

* –

Atlético Nacional Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the oth ...

* –

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

– Olimpia Asunción * –

FBC Melgar Foot Ball Club Melgar, known simply as FBC Melgar or Melgar, is a Peruvian football club based in Arequipa, Peru. It is one of Peru's oldest football teams, founded on 25 March 1915 by a group of football enthusiasts from Arequipa. The team fir ...

* –

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

* –

Deportivo Táchira ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable), an aerial lift station in Ecatepec, Mexico * Deport ...

International tournaments

* Mundialito in

Montevideo, Uruguay Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern c ...

(December 30, 1980 – January 10, 1981) *# *# * 1981 British Home Championship (May 16–23, 1981) ::Abandoned following severe civil unrest in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

National teams

Movies

*''

Escape to Victory ''Escape to Victory'' (stylized as ''Victory'') is a 1981 American-British-Italian sports war film directed by John Huston and starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow and Pelé. The film is about Allied prisoners of wa ...

Births

* January 1 –

Mladen Petrić Mladen Petrić (; born 1 January 1981) is a retired Croatian professional footballer who played as a forward or striker. During his career, he played for Grasshopper, Basel, Borussia Dortmund, Hamburger SV, Fulham, West Ham United and Pana ...

, Croatian international * January 2 ** Hanno Balitsch, German footballer **

Maxi Rodríguez Maximiliano "Maxi" Rubén Rodríguez (; born 2 January 1981) is an Argentine former footballer. Nicknamed ''La Fiera'' (''The Beast'' in English), he was commonly used as a winger on both flanks but could also operate as an attacking midfielde ...

, Argentine footballer * January 9 –

Euzebiusz Smolarek Euzebiusz "Ebi" Smolarek (; born 9 January 1981) is a Polish former professional footballer who is youth manager at Dutch club Feyenoord. He played primarily as a striker or winger, representing clubs in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Engla ...

, Polish international * January 10 –

James Coppinger James Coppinger (born 18 January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He began his career at Newcastle United, making one appearance in the Premier League, and later spent two years at Exeter ...

, English club footballer * January 15 –

El Hadji Diouf El Hadji Ousseynou Diouf (; born 15 January 1981) is a Senegalese former professional footballer. Throughout his career, Diouf played as a winger or a forward. Having started his professional football career in France with Sochaux, Rennes ...

, Senegalese international * January 19 –

Lucho González Luis Óscar "Lucho" González (; born 19 January 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer, currently a manager. A versatile midfielder who was able to play in different positions but mainly in the centre, he was well known for his f ...

, Argentine international * January 20 –

Owen Hargreaves Owen Lee Hargreaves (born 20 January 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was known as a hard-working and "solid defensive midfielder who worked tirelessly to win the ball" and provide his teammates with posses ...

, English footballer * January 21 **

Ivan Ergić Ivan Ergić ( sr-Cyrl, Иван Ергић, ; born 21 January 1981) is a retired Serbian footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in modern-day Croatia and raised in Australia, he began his career at Perth Glory and was briefly with Juventus ...

, Serbian footballer **

Roberto Guana Roberto Guana (born 21 January 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Roberto started his career at Brescia Calcio. He played his first Serie A match on 4 February 2001 against A.S. Bari. In M ...

Italian footballer **

Mohd Amri Yahyah Mohd. Amri bin Yahyah , nicknamed "Wak Am" is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays for Manchester City. He has also represented the Malaysian national team. Amri plays mainly as a forward but can also play as an attacking midfiel ...

, Malaysian international * January 25 – Dmitry Izvekov, former Russian professional footballer * January 30 **

Dimitar Berbatov Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov ( bg, Димитър Иванов Бербатов; born 30 January 1981) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer. A striker, he captained the Bulgaria national team from 2006 to 2010, and is the country's all-ti ...

, Bulgarian footballer **

Afonso Alves Afonso Alves Martins Júnior (born 30 January 1981), better known as Afonso Alves, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He represented Atlético Mineiro, Örgryte, Malmö FF, Heerenveen, Middlesbrough, Al-Sad ...

, Brazilian footballer **

Peter Crouch Peter James Crouch (born 30 January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was capped 42 times by the England national team between 2005 and 2010, scoring 22 goals for his country during that time, and ...

, English footballer * February 13 ** Durahim Jamaluddin, Malaysian international (d.

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

) **

Liam Miller Liam William Peter Miller (13 February 1981 – 9 February 2018) was an Irish professional footballer. Miller began his career with Celtic and was later loaned to Aarhus in 2001. He returned to Celtic Park and broke into the first-team squa ...

, Irish international (d.

) * February 18 –

Ivan Sproule Ivan Sproule (born 18 February 1981) is a Northern Irish retired professional footballer who was most recently manager of NIFL Championship side Dergview. Early in his career, Sproule played in Northern Ireland for Omagh Town and Institute. H ...

, Northern Ireland international * February 23 –

Gareth Barry Gareth Barry (born 23 February 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He made 653 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton and West Bromwich Albion, the highest number of ap ...

, English footballer * February 24 **

Felipe Baloy Felipe Abdiel Baloy Ramírez (born 24 February 1981) is a Panamanian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He scored Panama’s first ever goal in a FIFA World Cup, against England at the 2018 edition. Early life He was the ...

, Panamanian international **

Mauro Rosales Mauro Damián Rosales (born 24 February 1981) is an Argentine former association football, footballer who last played in Alumni de Villa María, Alumni. A Midfielder#Winger, winger/Forward (association football), forward best known for his pace ...

, Argentinian footballer * February 25 – Park Ji Sung, South Korea footballer * March 10 –

Samuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils (; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian football administrator and former player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation from 11 December 2021. In his prime, Eto'o was regarded by pundits as one of ...

, Cameroonian international * March 16 –

Johannes Aigner Hannes Aigner (born 16 March 1981) is an Austrian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Career Aigner made his Austrian Bundesliga debut with FC Wacker Tirol in the 2002–03 season and moved to Austria Wien after four se ...

, Austrian footballer * March 27 –

Terry McFlynn Terence Martin "Terry" McFlynn (born 27 March 1981) is a retired footballer from Northern Ireland who is most well known for playing for the A-League club Sydney FC. He is currently serving as the W-League and Academy manager for Perth Glory FC. ...

, British footballer * March 29 –

Jlloyd Samuel Jlloyd Tafari Samuel ( , 29 March 1981 – 15 May 2018) was a professional footballer who played as a defender and midfielder. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, he was raised in England and played for England up to under-21 level. He played two ful ...

, Trinidadian footballer (d.

) * April 9 –

Ireneusz Jeleń Ireneusz Jeleń (; born 9 April 1981) is a retired Polish footballer who played as a right-winger or striker for the Poland national football team. Club career Jeleń was born in Cieszyn. From 2002 to 2006 he played for Wisła Płock in th ...

, Polish international * April 12 – Nicolás Burdisso, Argentinian footballer * April 29 –

George McCartney George McCartney (born 29 April 1981) is a Northern Irish former footballer who is currently a coach at Linfield. He began his career at Sunderland in 1998 before having two spells each with West Ham United and Leeds United. He won the 2004–0 ...

, Northern Ireland international * May 8 **

Andrea Barzagli Andrea Barzagli (; born 8 May 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. A four-time member of the Serie A Team of the Year, Barzagli is regarded as one of the best and most consistent defenders in Italian fo ...

, Italian footballer ** Sam Ketsekile, Mosotho footballer ** Shimane Kgope Ntshweu, Botswana footballer * May 15 –

Patrice Evra Patrice Latyr Evra (; born 15 May 1981) is a French football coach and former professional player. Originally a forward, he primarily played as a left-back. Evra served as captain for both Manchester United and the France national team. His ...

, Senegalese-born French international * May 27 –

Johan Elmander Johan Erik Calvin Elmander (; born 27 May 1981) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Beginning his career with Holmalunds IF in the late 1990s, he went on to play professionally in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmar ...

, Swedish footballer * May 31 –

Neddy Rose Neddy Rose (born 31 May 1981) is a Seychelles, Seychellois association football, football player. He is a central back defender (football), defender on the Seychelles national football team. See also *Football in Seychelles *List of football clubs ...

, Seychellois footballer * June 4 –

Giourkas Seitaridis Georgios "Giourkas" Seitaridis ( ; born 4 June 1981) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a right-back and occasionally as a centre-back. He has last played in 2013 for Greek Superleague side Panathinaikos, having played pr ...

, Greek international * June 10 –

Burton O'Brien Burton O'Brien (born 10 June 1981) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a central midfielder. After playing for Scotland at under-21 level, O'Brien tried unsuccessfully to switch nationality to represent South Africa, t ...

, Scottish footballer * June 21 – İbrahim Öztürk, Turkish club footballer * June 22 ** Mathias Abel, German footballer ** Péter Bajzát, Hungarian footballer * June 23 – Björn Schlicke, German youth international * June 27 ** Cléber Santana, Brazilian footballer (d.

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

) ** Jennifer Molina, Mexican female footballer * July 10 –

Aleksandar Tunchev Aleksandar Blagov Tunchev ( bg, Александър Тунчев; born 10 July 1981) is a Bulgarian former footballer who played as a defender. He is currently head coach at Arda Kardzhali. Club career Bulgaria Tunchev started his career in h ...

, Bulgarian international * July 14 – Khaled Aziz, Saudi Arabian midfielder * July 19 – Anderson Luiz de Carvalho, Brazilian club footballer * July 20 – Damien Delaney, Irish footballer * July 28 –

Michael Carrick Michael Carrick (born 28 July 1981) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently head coach of Middlesbrough. He is one of the most decorated English footballers of all time and is best known for his 12-year p ...

, English footballer * August 4 – Hadson da Silva Nery, Brazilian midfielder * August 10 –

Malek Mouath Malek Ali Mouath Al-Hawsawi ( ar, مالك علي معاذ الهوساوي) (also named Malek Maaz officially by FIFA ) (born 10 August 1981) is a former Saudi Arabian professional footballer. Mouath originally played as an attacking midfiel ...

, Saudi Arabian footballer * September 1 – Maksim Rybalko, former Russian professional football player * September 11 – Victor Kros, Dutch footballer * September 22 – Alma Martinéz, Mexican female footballer * October 3 –

Zlatan Ibrahimović Zlatan Ibrahimović (, ; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for club AC Milan and the Sweden national team. Ibrahimović is renowned for his acrobatic strikes and volleys, powerful long-range sho ...

, Swedish footballer * October 3 –

Andreas Isaksson Jan Andreas Isaksson (; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Isaksson began his career at local Trelleborgs FF, before briefly representing Juventus. He would later return to Sweden, where ...

, Swedish football goalkeeper * October 6 –

Mikael Dorsin Mikael Frank Dorsin (born 6 October 1981) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He is the current Sporting Director of Rosenborg. Starting his career with Djurgårdens IF in the late 1990s, he went on to represe ...

, Swedish footballer * October 8 –

Chris Killen Christopher John Killen (born 8 October 1981) is a former New Zealand international footballer. Killen grew up in Wellington and played his club football for Miramar Rangers. After a trial with Manchester City, he joined City's youth academy. ...

, New Zealand international * October 9 –

Ryoichi Maeda is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is the currently assistant coach of Japan national team. Club career Maeda was born in Kobe, Japan but spent his childhood in the United States. He was educated at and ...

, Japanese international * October 12 -

Shola Ameobi Foluwashola Ameobi (born 12 October 1981) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent 14 years at Newcastle United, making 397 official appearances and scoring 79 goals, and received a winner's medal when the ...

, Nigerian international * October 23 – Olivier Occéan, Canadian international * October 28 –

Milan Baroš Milan Baroš (; born 28 October 1981) is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for FK Vigantice at amateur level. In 2005, he was part of the Liverpool team which won the UEFA Champions League. He went on to win Ligue ...

, Czech footballer * November 8 –

Joe Cole Joseph John Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger in the Premier League, Ligue 1, League One and United Soccer League. He is regarded as on ...

, English footballer * November 20 **

Espen Hoff Espen Hoff (born 20 November 1981) is a retired Norwegian professional footballer, born in Larvik. He is primarily a winger, but may also play as an attacking midfielder, whilst at Lyn he occasionally featured on the left wing. With 406 top divi ...

, Norwegian footballer ** İbrahim Toraman, Turkish international footballer * November 21 – Martin van Leeuwen, Dutch footballer * November 22 –

Seweryn Gancarczyk Seweryn Daniel Gancarczyk (; born 22 November 1981) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He currently serves as an assistant coach for Górnik Łęczna. Career Gancarczyk started to play football in his early t ...

, Polish international * November 25 –

Xabi Alonso Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish football coach and former professional player who is currently the head coach of Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his h ...

, Spanish international * December 3 –

David Villa David Villa Sánchez (; born 3 December 1981) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a striker. Villa is regarded by pundits as one of the best forwards of his generation, and one of the best Spanish strikers of all time. ...

, Spanish footballer * December 3 – Ioannis Amanatidis, Greek footballer * December 20 –

Leo Bertos Leonida Christos Bertos (born 20 December 1981) is a New Zealand professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Hamilton Olympic in the National Premier Leagues. Leo Bertos is currently the head coach of Northern NSW NPL side West ...

, New Zealand international * December 21 –

Cristian Zaccardo Cristian Zaccardo (; born 21 December 1981) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender. He mainly played as a centre back, although he was also capable of playing as a full-back or in midfield. He began his club career with Ital ...

, Italian international defender * December 28 –

Khalid Boulahrouz Khalid Boulahrouz (born 28 December 1981) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defender. His nickname is "The Cannibal" for his ability to "eat up" the opposition. He was noted for his tackling and versatility at the back. ...

, Dutch footballer * December 30 – Umar Karsanov, former Russian professional footballer

Deaths

January

* January 29 – Lajos Korányi, Hungarian international (b.

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco ...

)

May

* May 9 –

Ralph Allen Ralph Allen (1693 – 29 June 1764) was an entrepreneur and philanthropist, who was notable for his reforms to the British postal system. Allen was born in Cornwall but moved to Bath to work in the post office, becoming the postmaster at ...

, English club footballer (b.

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

) * May 14 –

Michele Andreolo Miguel Ángel Andreolo Frodella (6 September 1912 – 14 May 1981), known as Michele Andreolo (), was a Uruguayan Italian footballer who played as a midfielder. He was born in Dolores, Uruguay but his family was from Valle dell'Angelo in the pro ...

, Italian midfielder, winner of the

1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, bea ...

. (68)

June

* June 21 – Alberto Suppici, Uruguayan midfielder, winner of the 1930 FIFA World Cup as manager. (82)

September

* September 22 – Néstor Carballo, Uruguayan international footballer (born 1929)

October

* October 9 –

František Fadrhonc František Fadrhonc (18 December 1914 – 9 October 1981) was a Czech football manager, who was born in Nymburk, Austria-Hungary, present day Czech Republic. He coached many teams in Europe, mostly in the Netherlands. After winning the Dutch cham ...

(66), Czech football manager (born 1914)

November

* November 3 –

Eraldo Monzeglio Eraldo Monzeglio (; 5 June 1906 – 3 November 1981) was an Italian association football coach and player, who played as a defender, in the position of full-back. Monzeglio had a highly successful career as a footballer, although he also later ...

, Italian defender, 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 ...

and

. (75)

December

* December 4 – Zoilo Saldombide, Uruguayan striker, winner of the 1930 FIFA World Cup. (76)

References

External links

Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

VoetbalStats
{{commons category, 1981 in association football Association football by year