1996 in association football

The following are the association football events of the year 1996 throughout the world.

Events

• Copa Libertadores 1996: Won by River Plate after defeating América de Cali 2–1 on aggregate.
• UEFA Euro 1996: Germany defeats the Czech Republic 2–1 with a golden goal from Oliver Bierhoff at Wembley Stadium.
• The UEFA Regions' Cup is founded for amateur teams in Europe to have an international tournament.
• February 7 – Logi Ólafsson makes his debut as the manager of Iceland with a 1–7 loss against Slovenia.
• March 3 – Dutch club NEC fires Wim Koevermans and appoints former coach Leen Looyen as his successor.
• April 6 – Major League Soccer kicks-off: an overflow crowd of 31,683 packed Spartan Stadium to witness the historic first match. San Jose Clash forward Eric Wynalda scored the league's first goal in a 1–0 victory over D.C. United.
• May 11 – Manchester United wins 1–0 over Liverpool to claim the FA Cup. United becomes the first team to win the English League and Cup Double twice.
• May 16 – PSV claims the KNVB Cup after defeating Sparta Rotterdam at De Kuip, 5–2.
• August 18 – PSV wins the Johan Cruyff Shield, the annual opening of the new season in the Eredivisie, following a 3–0 win over Ajax.
• August 27 – Manager Alan Ball is fired by Manchester City and succeeded by Steve Coppell.
• October 9 – Manager Huub Stevens leaves Roda JC. He is replaced by interim-coach Eddy Achterberg, and later by Martin Jol.
• November 8 – Phil Neal replaces Manchester City manager Steve Coppell as caretaker, to be succeeded by Frank Clark on December 29.
• November 26 – Juventus wins the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo after defeating Argentina's River Plate 1–0. The match's only goal is scored by Alessandro del Piero in the 81st minute.

Undated:

• Heidelberg Ball School is founded in Germany.

Winner club national championships

Asia

• Japan – Kashima Antlers
• Lebanon – Al-Ansar
• Qatar – Al-Arabi
• South Korea – Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i
• Iran – Persepolis

Europe

• Croatia – Dinamo Zagreb
• Czech Republic – Slavia Prague
• England – Manchester United
• France – Auxerre
• Germany – Borussia Dortmund
• Italy – A.C. Milan
• Netherlands – Ajax
• Poland – Widzew Łódź
• Portugal – Porto
• Scotland – Rangers
• Spain – Atlético Madrid
• Turkey – Fenerbahçe
• Yugoslavia – Partizan

North America

• Mexico
  • 1995–96 – Necaxa
  • Inverno 1996 – Santos
• United States
  • Seattle Sounders (APSL)
  • D.C. United (MLS)

South America

• Argentina
  • Clausura – Vélez Sársfield
  • Apertura – River Plate
• Bolivia – Bolívar
• Brazil – Grêmio
• Chile – Colo-Colo
• Ecuador – El Nacional
• Paraguay– Cerro Porteño
• Peru – Sporting Cristal

International tournaments

• African Cup of Nations in South Africa (January 13 – February 3, 1996)
  1. South Africa
  2. Tunisia
  3. Zambia
• UEFA European Football Championship in England (June 8 – 30 1996)
  1. Germany
  2. Czech Republic
  3. —
• Baltic Cup in Narva, Estonia (July 7 – 9 1996)
  1. Lithuania
  2. Estonia
  3. Latvia
• Olympic Games in Atlanta, United States (July 20 – August 3, 1996)
  • Men's Tournament
  1. Nigeria
  2. Argentina
  3. Brazil
  • Women's Tournament
  1. United States
  2. PR China
  3. Norway

Births

January

• 1 January:
  • Mahmoud Dahoud, German footballer
  • Andreas Pereira, Brazilian footballer
  • Mathias Jensen, Danish footballer
• 7 January: Isaac Success, Nigerian footballer
• 10 January: Iván Cifuentes, Spanish footballer
• 11 January: Leroy Sané, German footballer
• 14 January: Jordi Malela, Belgian footballer
• 15 January: Ebou Adams, Gambian footballer
• 21 January
  • Marco Asensio, Spanish footballer
  • Aldo Kalulu, French youth international
  • Cristian Pavón, Argentine international
• 23 January: Ruben Loftus-Cheek, English footballer
• 24 January: Patrik Schick, Czech footballer
• 26 January: Zakaria Bakkali, Belgian footballer
• 28 January: Mohamed Mushimiyimana, Rwandan footballer

February

• 2 February:
  • Gulfran Támara, Colombian footballer
  • Harry Winks, English footballer
• 11 February:
  • Jonathan Tah, German footballer
  • Lucas Torreira, Uruguayan footballer
• 14 February:
  • Lucas Hernandez, French footballer
  • Viktor Kovalenko, Ukrainian footballer
• 28 February: Danilo Barbosa, Brazilian footballer

March

• 4 March:
  • Timo Baumgartl, German footballer
  • Antonio Sanabria, Paraguayan footballer
• 6 March: Timo Werner, German footballer
• 7 March: Quentin Martin, French footballer
• 15 March: Levin Öztunalı, German footballer
• 19 March: Birkan Öksüz, Turkish footballer
• 24 March: Valentino Lazaro, Austrian footballer
• 28 March: Benjamin Pavard, French footballer
• 31 March: Muhammed Conteh, Gambian international footballer

April

• 2 April: André Onana, Cameroonian footballer
• 9 April: Giovani Lo Celso, Argentinian footballer
• 10 April: Andreas Christensen, Danish footballer
• 11 April: Dele Alli, English footballer
• 29 April: Gustav Engvall, Swedish footballer

May

• 1 May: Nicolas Mohr, Austrian footballer
• 2 May: Julian Brandt, German footballer
• 3 May: Alex Iwobi, Nigerian footballer
• 5 May: Matheus Pereira, Brazilian footballer
• 11 May: Andrés Cubas, Argentine-born Paraguayan footballer
• 16 May: Mustapha Njie, Gambian footballer
• 17 May: Youcef Atal, Algerian footballer
• 26 May: Lukáš Haraslín, Slovak footballer
• 30 May: Aleksandr Golovin, Russian footballer

June

• 11 June: Hakeeb Adelakun, English footballer
• 12 June: Davinson Sánchez, Colombian footballer
• 13 June: Kingsley Coman, French footballer
• 17 June: Godfred Donsah, Ghanese footballer
• 18 June: Alen Halilović, Croatian footballer
• 22 June:
  • Yusupha Bobb, Gambian footballer
  • Mikel Merino, Spanish footballer
• 28 June
  • Demarai Gray, Jamaican footballer
  • Milot Rashica, Kosovar footballer
• 29 June: Bart Ramselaar, Dutch international footballer

July

• 3 July: Kumaahran Sathasivam, Malaysian footballer
• 5 July: Ajdin Hrustic, Australian footballer
• 7 July: Ivan Ljubic, Austrian footballer
• 11 July: Andrija Živković, Serbian footballer
• 12 July: Moussa Dembélé, French footballer
• 18 July:
  • Dzhamaldin Khodzhaniyazov, Russian footballer
  • Siebe Schrijvers, Belgian footballer
• 22 July: Indy Groothuizen, Dutch footballer
• 26 July: Thomas Hooyberghs, Belgian footballer

August

• 7 August: Dani Ceballos, Spanish footballer
• 12 August: Arthur, Brazilian footballer
• 14 August: Neal Maupay, French footballer
• 19 August: Almoez Ali, Sudanese-Qatari footballer
• 21 August: Sofyan Amrabat, Dutch-born Moroccan footballer
• 27 August: Ebru Topçu, Turkish footballer
• 30 August: Gabriel Barbosa, Brazilian footballer

September

• 1 September: Robby Ndefe, Dutch-Angolan footballer
• 5 September: Richairo Zivkovic, Dutch footballer
• 16 September: Alexis Blin, French footballer
• 17 September: Duje Ćaleta-Car, Croatian footballer
• 20 September: Jerome Sinclair, English footballer
• 25 September:
  • Max Christiansen, German footballer
  • Rannick Schoop, Curaçoan footballer
• 27 September: Maxwel Cornet, French-Ivorian footballer

October

• 3 October: Kelechi Iheanacho, Nigerian footballer
• 12 October: Riechedly Bazoer, Dutch footballer
• 13 October: Terens Puhiri, Indonesian footballer
• 15 October: Charly Musonda, Belgian footballer
• 27 October: Nadiem Amiri, German footballer

November

• 9 November: Kasey Palmer, English-born Jamaican footballer
• 23 November: James Maddison, English footballer
• 29 November: Gonçalo Guedes, Portuguese footballer

December

• 4 December: Diogo Jota, Portuguese footballer (died 2025)
• 8 December: Scott McTominay, Scottish footballer
• 15 December: Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ukrainian footballer
• 16 December:
  • Wilfred Ndidi, Nigerian footballer
  • Sergio Reguilón, Spanish footballer
• 19 December
  • Mouctar Diakhaby, French-born Guinean footballer
  • Franck Kessié, Ivorian footballer

Deaths

January

• January 2 – Karl Rappan (90), Austrian footballer and manager

February

• February 23 – Helmut Schön (80), German footballer and manager

May

• May 11 – Ademir Marques de Menezes, Brazilian striker, top scorer at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. (73)
• May 16 – Danilo Alvim, Brazilian midfielder, runner up at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. (75)

August

• August 2 – Obdulio Varela, Uruguayan midfielder, winner as captain of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, commonly regarded as one of the greatest classic holding midfielders. (78)

September

• September 17 – Teodoro "Lolo" Fernandez (84), Peruvian footballer
• September 22 – Svetislav Valjarević (85), Serbian Yugoslav international footballer

October

• October 4 – Silvio Piola, Italian striker, winner of the 1938 FIFA World Cup, scoring two goals in the final. Highest goalscorer in Italian first league history. (83)
• October 30 – Roberto Belangero, Brazilian midfielder, runner-up at the 1957 South American Championship. (68)

November

• November 7 – Hans Klodt (82), German international footballer
• November 26 – Guido Gratton (64), Italian footballer