12th January – Footballing Birthdays

Ottmar Hitzfeld is 76 today. The German made his name when he won the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund in 1997. He had already won two Bundesliga titles with Borussia, but they were expected to lose to a very strong Juventus side, but won 3-1.
He then had two spells in charge of Bayern Munich, the first between 1998 and 2004, then between 2007 and 2008. Hitzfeld left Bayern to become the manager of the Swiss national team, for six years before leaving in 2014.

Borussia Dortmund’s Emre Can turns 31 today. The German spent four years with Liverpool between 2014 and 2018. Before that, he played at Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen.
Emre Can left Anfield to join Juventus and he signed for Dortmund on a permanent deal after a spell on loan there.

Axel Witsel is 36 today. Witsel was part of the ‘Golden Generation’ of Belgian football and has played 132 times for his country since his debut in 2008.
The Belgian is currently playing his club football in Spain for Athletico Madrid. They are his sixth club and it is the sixth country where he has played.

Dean Whitehead is 43 today. During his career, Whitehead played for Oxford United, Sunderland, Stoke City, Middlesbrough and Huddersfield Town. He spent a short spell in charge of Cardiff City as Caretaker Manager in 2023.

Former Middlesbrough striker Hamilton Ricard celebrates his 50th birthday today. The Colombian signed for the Teeside club in 1998 and scored a total of 33 goals for the club before Steve McClaren sold him to Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia.

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