MARCH 17, 1939.
The Germans take on the Czechs, but not a single ball is kicked. Europe teeters on the brink of war after Hitler invades Prague while Italy, under the rule of fascist leader and well-known Lazio fan Benito Mussolini, are weeks away from annexing Albania.
In the town of Cusano Milano however, Giovanni Luciano Giuseppe Trapattoni enters the world.
Every year, the Ireland manager celebrates his birthday on the feast day of our patron saint and what better way to mark his 73rd than with a slideshow of the man himself.