7th January – Footballing Birthdays
Former Lille, Chelsea and Real Madrid winger Eden Hazard turns 34 today. The Belgian won 126 caps for his national team and scored 33 goals, appearing at five major tournaments where he captained Belgium on three occasions.
Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak is 32 today. The Athletico Madrid goalkeeper has well over 600 career appearances, with 74 of those coming for his national team.
Oblak started his career in his native Slovenia for Olympija Ljubljana before moving to Portugal to join Benfica in 2010. He also spent time on loan at three smaller Portuguese clubs before securing a move across the border to Athletico Madrid in 2014.
Former midfielder Grant Leadbitter celebrates his 39th birthday today. He started and ended his career at Sunderland, with spells at Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough as well as a short loan spell at Rotherham United. Leadbitter won three caps for the England Under-21s.
Wayne Routledge is 40 today. The former winger made 595 appearances during his career, playing for nine different clubs over the course of 20 years. A career highlight of his was scoring in the first game at the new Wembley Stadium, when he scored his his only goal for the England Under-21s against Italy Under-21s on 24th March 2007.
Former Argentine left back Emiliano Insua is 35 today. Insua spent three years at Liverpool, initially on a loan deal from Boca Juniors, before leaving the Merseyside club to join Sporting Lisbon.
During his career, Insua played in seven different countries and also won five caps for Argentina.
Australian Joe Marston would have celebrated his 99th birthday. He passed away in 2015 at the age of 89. In 1954, Marston became the first Australian to ever play in an FA Cup Final. His Preston North End side lost 3-2 to West Bromwich Albion.
Two years later, Marston returned to his home country and later managed the Australian national team.
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