On This Day in Football: 19th September

19th September 1926

On this day, the iconic San Siro stadium in Milan hosted its inaugural match. Originally built as the home ground for AC Milan, the stadium saw its first action in a friendly match between AC Milan and their fierce rivals, Inter Milan. The match concluded with Inter Milan securing a victory with a high-scoring 6-3 result, a scoreline not typically associated with Italian football at the time. In 1947, Inter Milan began sharing the stadium with AC Milan. The venue was officially renamed the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in March 1980, in honour of a former player who represented both clubs. Despite the official name change, it is still commonly referred to as the San Siro. With a current capacity of 80,000, the stadium has been a significant venue for major football events, including matches during the 1934 and 1990 World Cup finals, as well as numerous European finals.

19th September 1999

Newcastle United experienced a remarkable turnaround under the management of Bobby Robson, who made his home debut as manager on this day. The Magpies had endured a challenging start to the Premier League season, having secured only one point from their first seven matches and failing to win at St James’ Park since February. However, the tide turned dramatically as Newcastle United triumphed over Sheffield Wednesday with an emphatic 8-0 victory. Alan Shearer was the star of the match, scoring five of the eight goals, marking a perfect start to Robson’s tenure at the club.

19th September 2007

The football world was taken by surprise when José Mourinho, known as the ‘Special One’, parted ways with Chelsea. The decision came amid escalating tensions between Mourinho and the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, following an underwhelming start to the season. Mourinho’s departure was announced as being ‘by mutual consent’, ending his first stint at Stamford Bridge. However, he would later return to manage the club again in 2013.

19th September 2015

While not directly related to football, the Community Stadium in Brighton was the centre of global sporting news on this day due to an extraordinary event in the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup finals. The stadium, home to Brighton & Hove Albion, hosted a match between Japan and South Africa. In what was described as one of the biggest shocks in rugby history, Japan defeated the formidable Springboks 34-32. Despite this historic victory, Japan made another unique mark in World Cup history by becoming the first team to win three out of their four group matches yet fail to advance to the knockout stages of the competition.