The French defender was several months old when thousands of British shops, including retail giants Asda and Tesco, defied trading laws and opened their doors on a Sunday in a bid to boost trade but what do you remember about life in the UK in 1991?
We run the rule over City, English football and popular culture on and around the day he was born…
Anniversary
With Eliaquim only joining in the summer of 2014, he’s only had one opportunity to play on his birthday for City.
He turned 24 on the 13 February 2015 and was involved in the action two days before at the Britannia Stadium as City took on Stoke.
The French defender started and played 90 minutes as the Blues secured a 4-1 win thanks to a Sergio Aguero brace and goals from James Milner and Samir Nasri.
He could have played on his birthday today, but the game was moved to tomorrow due to TV coverage.
Maybe next year, Eliaquim!
City
City played four games in February in the 1990/91 season – two in the old Division One, one in the FA Cup and one in the Full Members Cup.
The closest game to the day Eliaquim was born was the 1-0 defeat against Notts County in the FA Cup Fifth Round on the 16 February 1991.
Gary Lund scored the only goal of the game in the 89th minute to eliminate the Blues after County goalkeeper Steve Cherry made numerous good saves to keep his side in the game.
City ended the 90/91 season with a 3-2 home win against Sunderland with Niall Quinn scoring twice to take his season tally to 21, finishing as the top goal scorer ahead of David White – who scored City’s other goal in the victory against the Black Cats.
Quinn and White continued their goal scoring exploits the following season as City retained their fifth place in Division One in the final campaign before the FA Premier League was introduced to the English league system.
League Champions
Arsenal secured their second league title in three seasons after a fantastic record of losing just one league game all season – a 2-1 defeat against Chelsea in early February 1991.
Liverpool claimed the runners-up spot, a shock to many after leading the table for much of the first half of the season before they were rocked in February by the sudden resignation of manager Kenny Daglish.
Third place went to Crystal Palace, who occupied their highest ever finish but were denied qualification for the UEFA Cup due to Liverpool being readmitted to European competition a year earlier than anticipated.
With Division One expanding for the 1991/92 season, only two teams went down with four being promoted from Division Two. Derby County finished bottom of the pile with just five wins all season and they were joined by Sunderland on the last day of the season.
Replacing them were Division Two champions Oldham, West Ham United, Sheffield Wednesday and Notts County, who were promoted through the play-offs.
Spurs picked up the FA Cup trophy after beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 after-extra-time, while Sheffield Wednesday earned a shock 1-0 victory over their manager Ron Atkinson’s old club Manchester United in the League Cup final.
Famous Birthdays
Eliaquim shares the birth date of 13 February with numerous other football personnel. Memphis Depay (1994), Kevin Strootman and Mamadou Sakho (both 1990), Rafael Marquez (1979) and Pierluigi Collina (1960) were all born on the same day as the Frenchman.
Other notable personnel to be born on the same day include singers Aston Merrygold (1988) and Robbie Williams (1974), tennis star Jamie Murray (1986) and comedians Mark Watson (1985) and Hugh Dennis (1962).
The UK in 1991
In January 1991, the Royal Air Force joins Allied aircraft in bombing raids on Iraq as ‘Operation Desert Storm’ in the Gulf War begins. The aerial bombing campaign resulted in the war being over in just over a month with a ceasefire plan being signed in early March.
The year also saw the tragic death of signer Freddie Mercury. The lead vocalist in Queen announced he was suffering from AIDS on 23 November and sadly died at his home 24 hours after going public with the news.
In April, The Football Association announced plans for a new ‘super league’ of 18 clubs to replace the Football League First Division as the highest division of English football.
The move was attacked by smaller Football League clubs, who feared that they could go out of business if TV revenue was confined to the proposed super league.
Top 5 songs in the UK in the week
Do the Bartman – Simpsons
3am Eternal – KLF ft. The Children of the Revolution
(I wanna give you) Devotion – Nomad ft. Mc Mikee Freedom
Only You – Praise
Wiggle it – 2 in a Room
1991 Stats
Number 1 Box Office film of year
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
UK transfer record in year
Chris Waddle - £4.25million (Spurs to Marseille)
World transfer record in year
Roberto Baggio - £8million (Fiorentina to Juventus)
Prices in year
Daily Mail: 55p
Nintendo Gameboy: £69.95
City ticket: £11
