On this day 22 December 1995 (Exactly 24 years ago today)Former IBF welterweight champion Joshua Clottey defeated compatriot Marciano Commey to win Ghana Super Lightweight title(his first title as a professional boxer) .
Clottey claimed the belt by securing a twelve-round decision over Commey at the Kaneshie Sports Complex (now Azumah Nelson Sports Complex) in Accra.
On this day 22 December 2011(Exactly 8 years ago today) Ivory Coast’s Yaya Toure won the African Player of the Year Award for the first time , pipping Seydou Keita and Andre Ayew to the 2011 award.
Toure, then 28, came out top in the annual award for the year under review.
“This award is not important for me alone. It’s for my country and for my club,” he said.
“This is a big step in my career, I’m very thrilled. To be the winner is fantastic.”
He was followed by Keita and Ayew. The three players received the Golden, Silver and Bronze trophies respectively.
On this day 22 December 1964 (Exactly 55 years ago today) Former Manchester United striker Denis Law won the Ballon d’Or award for best European football player; he beat Inter midfielder Luis Suárez and Real Madrid winger Amancio Amaro to become first Scotsman to win the award
On this day 22 December 1992(Exactly 27 years ago today) Former Milan and Dutch striker Marco van Basten won his 3rd Ballon d’Or title as best football player in Europe ahead of Barcelona forward Hristo Stoichkov and Ajax forward Dennis Bergkamp
On this day 22 December 1998(Exactly 21 years ago today) Former Juventus & French midfielder Zinedine Zidane was named the winner of the Ballon d’Or as best football player in Europe ahead of Real Madrid striker Davor Šuker and Inter forward Ronaldo
On this day 22 December 2003 (Exactly 16 years ago today) Former Juventus & Czech midfielder Pavel Nedvěd was named best football player in Europe ahead of Arsenal forward Thierry Henry and Milan defender Paolo Maldini
On this day 22 December 2018 (Exactly a year ago today) Real Madrid capped off another memorable year by claiming a third successive FIFA Club World Cup title, defeating host team Al Ain 4-1 at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Sports City Stadium.
The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2018 Luka Modric opened the scoring on 14 minutes for the UEFA Champions League winners, before Marcos Llorente doubled the advantage on the hour-mark.
Skipper Sergio Ramos then made it three on 79 minutes as Los Blancos secured their fourth Club World Cup crown, with an own goal – after strong work from Vinicius Jr. – reaffirming Real’s three-goal lead after a superb header from Tsukasa Shiotani.
Los Blancos applied early pressure but they nearly went a goal down when Hussein Elshahat latched onto the end of Marcelo’s misplaced header and cut into the area before getting his shot off – only to be denied by a stunning block from skipper Sergio Ramos.
Just one minute later, though, the holders were in front when Karim Benzema played the ball back to Luka Modric on the edge of the ‘D’ and the Croatia star curled the ball into the bottom corner. Moments after Real were celebrating their opener, Al Ain had the ball in the back of the net but Caio’s effort was flagged for offside.
Santiago Solari’s side doubled their lead on the hour mark when the ball fell to Marcos Llorente after a corner, and goalkeeper Khalid Eisa was powerless to stop the midfielder’s stunning strike from finding the bottom corner.
Sergio Ramos recorded Real’s third, powering a header past Eisa after a corner, before Shiotani headed a consolation goal for the host team after Caio’s free-kick. Yahia Nader then turned Vinicius Jr’s effort into his own net in injury-time, rounding off a superb win.
The result means Real add to their 2014, 2016 and 2017 Club World Cup titles, while manager Solari claimed his first trophy as Los Blancos boss.
BY: GEORGE ‘Alan Green’ MAHAMAH
