2008 in association football

January • 3 – Argentine midfielder Éver Banega leaves Boca Juniors and joins the Spanish club Valencia for an estimated fee of €18 million. • 5 – Everton are knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round by Oldham Athletic, a team from Football League One (third division) as Huddersfield Town from the same division beat Birmingham City. • 6 – Toulouse are eliminated from the Coupe de France by Paris FC, a team from the Championnat National (third division). • 9 – Sam Allardyce leaves the manager's position at Newcastle United by mutual agreement. • 11 – Jürgen Klinsmann is unveiled as the new coach of Bayern Munich, effective July. • 20 – The Africa Cup of Nations begins in Ghana with the hosts beating Guinea 2–1. • 23 – Tottenham Hotspur defeat Arsenal 5–1 in the semi-final second-leg of the League Cup. This was the first time they had beaten their local rivals since 1999. • 24 – George Burley is announced as the new coach of the Scotland national football team. • 28 – Mohamed Sissoko leaves Liverpool to sign for Juventus, costing the Italian team €13 million. February • 2 – Frédéric Kanouté is named 2007 African Footballer of the Year • 4 – Víctor Muñoz is sacked from the managers job of Spanish team Recreativo Huelva; Manolo Zambrano is immediately installed as the new coach of the La Liga team. • 10 – Egypt win the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations after beating Cameroon in the final 1–0. • 13 – Giovanni Trapattoni is announced as the new coach of the Republic of Ireland. He will officially take up this role in May. • 23 – South Korean men's team won East Asian Cup 2008. • 23 – Japanese J. League Cup winner Gamba Osaka defeated MLS champion Houston Dynamo at the final game of Pan-Pacific Championship 2008 by 6–1, won the champion title of inaugural tournament. The Los Angeles Galaxy won the third place match against Sydney FC from A-league by 2–1. • 24 – Japan won the Women's East Asian Cup 2008 with three straight wins over South Korea, North Korea, and China. • 24 – Tottenham Hotspur win the Football League Cup after beating Chelsea 2–1 after extra time at Wembley Stadium. • 24 – Newcastle Jets win the Hyundai A-League Grand Final by defeating the Central Coast Mariners by 1–0 at the Sydney Football Stadium. March • 11 – Newport County win the FAW Premier Cup beating Llanelli 1–0 in the final. • 12 – The United States women's national soccer team wins the 2008 Algarve Cup for the sixth time, beating Denmark 2–1 in the final. • 16 – Rangers win the Scottish League Cup by beating Dundee United 3–2 in a penalty shootout after a 2–2 draw at Hampden Park. May • 5 – Real Madrid wins the 31st La Liga title after beating Osasuna 2–1. • 8 – Announced that Frank Rijkaard would leave his managerial post at Barcelona at the end of the season, to be replaced by Barcelona B coach Pep Guardiola. • 11 – Manchester United wins its tenth Premier League title after beating Wigan Athletic 2–0 away. • 17 – Portsmouth wins the 127th FA Cup after beating Cardiff City 1–0 at Wembley Stadium • 21 – Manchester United won the UEFA Champions League after beating Chelsea 6–5 on penalties after a 1–1 draw after 90 minutes in Moscow • 22 – Celtic win the SPL title for the third successive season by three points from Rangers on the final day. • 24 – Avram Grant is sacked as Chelsea manager after just eight months in charge of the Premier League club. June • 2 – José Mourinho replaces Roberto Mancini as manager of Inter Milan • 25 – LDU Quito won the first leg of the Copa Libertadores final beating Fluminense 4–2. • 29 – Spain wins UEFA Euro 2008 after beating Germany 1–0 in the final. July • 1 – Luiz Felipe Scolari becomes the new manager of Chelsea. • 2 – LDU Quito wins the Copa Libertadores beating Fluminense in penalties 3–1 after a 5–5 aggregate draw. August • 8 – Scottish Premier League team Gretna are formally liquidated. • 21 – United States women's team win gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics • 23 – Argentina's men's team win gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics September • 1 – Manchester City sign Robinho from Real Madrid for a British record fee of £32.5 million • 1 – Manchester United sign Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur for £30.75 million. • 4 – Kevin Keegan resigns as manager of Newcastle United. == International tournaments ==