1997 in association football

Events

• January 1 – Manager Leo Beenhakker is named technical director at Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem and replaced as a manager by Sparta Rotterdam head coach Henk ten Cate.
• Roberto Carlos goal by famous 'banana shot' in free kick against France in 1997 Tournoi de France
• Copa Libertadores 1997: is won by Cruzeiro after defeating Sporting Cristal on an aggregate score of 1–0.
• UEFA Champions League: Borussia Dortmund won 3–1 in final against Juventusin the Olympiastadion. The goals for the Germans are scored by Riedle in the 29th and 34th minute and Ricken in the 71st minute.
• Scottish Cup: Kilmarnock FC beats Falkirk 1–0.
• February 25 – Manager Hans Westerhof is sacked by FC Groningen.
• April 30 – Striker Boudewijn Zenden from PSV Eindhoven plays his first international match for the Netherlands national football team, when Holland defeats San Marino 6–0 in Serravalle.
• May 17 – Chelsea wins the FA Cup by defeating Middlesbrough 2–0.
• May 18 – Eric Cantona, the famous and controversial French footballer in the Premiership, announces his retirement from football.
• June 29 – Brazil wins the 1997 Copa América by defeating home nation Bolivia 3–1 in the final in the Estadio Hernando Siles in La Paz.
• July 20 – Gudjon Thordarson makes his debut as the manager of Iceland with a 1–0 loss against Norway.
• August 17 – PSV Eindhoven wins the Johan Cruijff Schaal, the annual opening of the new season in the Eredivisie, with a 3–1 win over Roda JC in the Amsterdam ArenA.
• November 2 – Borussia Dortmund wins the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo, Japan by defeating Brazil's Cruzeiro 2–0. The goals for the Germans are scored by Michael Zorc and Heiko Herrlich.

  Winner national club championships

Asia

• - Júbilo Iwata
• – Al-Ansar
• – Al-Arabi
• - Pusan Daewoo Royals
• - Bangkok Bank, Royal Thai Air Force

  Europe

• – CSKA Sofia
• – Croatia Zagreb
• – Manchester United
• – AS Monaco
• – Bayern Munich
• – Olympiacos
• – Juventus
• – PSV Eindhoven
• – Rosenborg
• – Widzew Łódź
• – Porto
• – Real Madrid
• – Galatasaray
• – Partizan

  North America

• *Verano – Chivas
• *Invierno – Cruz Azul
• – D.C. United

  South America

• *Clausura – River Plate
• *Apertura – River Plate
• – Bolívar
• – Vasco da Gama
• *Apertura – Universidad Católica
• *Clausura – Colo-Colo
• – Olimpia Asunción
• – Alianza Lima

  International tournaments

• UNCAF Nations Cup in Guatemala City, Guatemala
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• Copa América in Bolivia
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• Baltic Cup in Vilnius, Lithuania
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• FIFA U-20 World Cup in Malaysia
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• FIFA U-17 World Championship in Egypt
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• Tournoi de France in France
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  National team results

Asia

Europe

South America

Births

• January 1 – Quique Fornos, Spanish footballer
• January 5 – Jesús Vallejo, Spanish footballer
• January 7 – Izzy Brown, English footballer
• January 8 – Fran Brodić, Croatian footballer
• January 26 - Gedion Zelalem, American footballer
• February 10 – Adam Armstrong, English footballer
• February 26 – Malcom, Brazilian footballer
• March 12
• * Dean Henderson, English footballer
• * Allan Saint-Maximin, French footballer
• March 29 – Ezequiel Ponce, Argentine footballer
• April 2 – Abdelhak Nouri, Dutch footballer
• April 5 – Borja Mayoral, Spanish footballer
• April 13 – Mateo Cassierra, Colombian footballer
• April 17 – Jorge Meré, Spanish footballer
• April 27 – Josh Onomah, English footballer
• May 17
• * Andrea Favilli, Italian footballer
• * Ayron Verkindere, Belgian footballer
• June 16 – Jean-Kévin Augustin, French footballer
• June 22 – Gabriel Rojas, Argentine footballer
• July 3 – Filip Sachpekidis, Swedish footballer
• July 11 – Rasmus Nissen Kristensen, Danish footballer
• July 25 – Louis Reed, English footballer
• August 2 – Ivan Šaponjić, Serbian footballer
• August 3 – Adrian Lillebekk Ovlien, Norwegian footballer
• August 19 – Bartłomiej Drągowski, Polish footballer
• September 15 – Jeisson Vargas, Chilean footballer
• October 17 – Václav Černý, Czech footballer
• November 1 – Nordi Mukiele, French footballer
• November 14 – Christopher Nkunku, French footballer
• November 18 – Olivier Boscagli, French footballer
• November 26 – Aaron Wan-Bissaka, English footballer
• December 11 – Konstantinos Mavropanos, Greek footballer

  Deaths

January

• January 10 – Francisco Aramburu, Brazilian striker, runner-up at the 1950 FIFA World Cup.

  February

• February 19 – Afonso Guimarães da Silva, Brazilian midfielder, semi-finalist at the 1938 FIFA World Cup.
• February 21 – Josef Posipal, West-German defender, winner of the 1954 FIFA World Cup.

  March

• March 25 – Baltazar, Brazilian striker, runner-up at the 1950 FIFA World Cup.

  April

• April 23 – Brian Alderson, Scottish footballer

  June

• June 4 – Pedro Zaballa, Spanish footballer
• June 18 – Héctor Yazalde, Argentinian footballer

  July

• July 8 – Dick van Dijk, Dutch footballer
• July 10 – Ivor Allchurch, Welsh footballer

  September

• September 21 – Juan Burgueño, Uruguayan forward, winner of the 1950 FIFA World Cup.
• September 29 – Dequinha, Brazilian midfielder, Brazilian squad member at the 1954 FIFA World Cup.

  October

• October 18 – Ramiro Castillo, Bolivian footballer
• October 31 – Bram Appel, Dutch footballer
• October 31 – Hans Bauer, West-German defender, winner of the 1954 FIFA World Cup.

  November

• November 1 – Roger Marche, French footballer
• November 9 – Helenio Herrera, Argentine-French footballer and manager

  December

• December 7 – Billy Bremner, Scottish footballer
• December 28 – William Martínez, Uruguayan midfielder, winner of the 1950 FIFA World Cup.