15th DECEMBER ANNIVERSARIES

I shall choose 1951 as a starter for this December 15th (10 days to go) edition: It's 70 years ago and it was my birth year. I know, it is hard to come to terms with, but Peter Pan was one of my favourite pantomimes.

1951: Joe Jordan: Scottish soccer forward (52 caps; Leeds, Manchester United) and manager (Bristol City, Hearts, Stoke City), born in Cleland, Scotland. here's Joe, the villain?

1952: Allan Simonsen: Danish soccer forward (55 caps; Borussia Mönchengladbach, FC Barcelona, Vejle BK) and manager (Vejle BK, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg), born in Vejle, Denmark. Peter Pan?

1959: Ballon d'Or winner: Real Madrid forward Alfredo di Stefano (the wizard) won his second award as Best Player in Europe, with his crown jewels.

ahead of team mate Raymond Kopa, drinks from the magic cups...

and the Welsh "Giant" John Charles.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoyoBLtT17M worth a watch if link works.

1976: Baichung Bhutia: Indian soccer striker (80 caps; SC East Bengal, AC Mohun Bagan), born in Tinkitam, India. Lays the "golden egg"...

1981: Roman Pavlyuchenko: Russian soccer striker (51 caps; Spartak Moscow, Tottenham Hotspur, Lokomotiv Moscow), born in Mostovskoy, is on the left; didn't he do well?

1992: Jesse Lingard: English soccer midfielder (32 caps 2021; Manchester United), born in Warrington, England. In many costumes....

2021:Argentina and Barcelona star Sergio Aguero has announced his retirement from football just over a month after the 33-year-old was diagnosed with a heart condition. The former Manchester City player signed a two-year deal with Barcelona this year but made just five appearances, scoring one goal against Real Madrid, before being taken to hospital with “chest pains” after a match at home to Alaves in October. Aguero’s retirement means he will miss out on the chance to represent Argentina at next year’s World Cup in Qatar. However, he did help his country win the Copa America in Brazil earlier this year, collecting his 100th cap during that tournament. For Argentina, Aguero scored 41 times in 101 games, putting him third on the national team’s all-time scoring list – after making his senior team debut in 2006. The King!