This Day In Football History

16 May 1914 - A Champion Grows In Brooklyn

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 16 May 1914, Brooklyn FC won the inaugural US Open Cup, beating Brooklyn Celtic 2-1.

Originally called the National Challenge Cup, the tournament was established by the United States Football Association to compete with a similar competition started four years earlier by the American Amateur Football Association. But while that tournament was limited to amateurs, the National Challenge Cup was open to all teams across the country, making the first truly national competition in the United States.

While almost 300 teams received invitations, only 40 chose to participate. Most of those came from the northeast region, though Chicago was also represented. But, in the end, the final came down to a pair of teams from Brooklyn.

They met at Coates Field in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where a large local crowd turned out for the event. It took only three minutes for Brooklyn FC to take the lead with a goal from their captain, Percy Adamson, but Celtic equalized with a 27th-minute penalty from Thomas Campion.

The match remained level deep into the second half, then, with three minutes remaining, FC pushed ahead again when James Ford found the back of the net to win the cup, known as the Dewar Trophy (pictured). It was part of a double for FC, who also won that season's NAFBL title.

15 May 1929 - The New World Order Begins Now

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 15 May 1929, England suffered their first defeat to a team from outside the British Isles, losing to Spain 4-3 in Madrid.

Since their first official international in 1872, England spent the next 36 years playing only Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. That changed in June 1908, when they played a pair of matches against Austria, winning 6-1 and 11-1. They followed that with another 20 matches against Continental competition and won all but one, a 2-2 draw with Belgium in November 1923.

Spain, meanwhile, played their first match in 1920 and struggled for the first few years. But in the months leading up to their meeting with England, they had notched a pair of impressive victories, beating Portugal 5-0 and France 8-1.

The two teams met in Madrid for the friendly, where England looked likely to continue their dominance, taking a 2-0 lead with both goals coming from West Brom's Joe Carter (19', 22'). Spain, however, powered back to level with strikes from Gaspar Rubio and Jaime Lazcano (reports conflict as to the timing of those goals).

England reclaimed the lead through Joe Bradford, but Lazcano (pictured) again equalized just a few minutes from the final whistle, prompting a mini pitch invasion by the home supporters. Then one minute later, amateur Severino Goiburu put Spain ahead for the first time and they held the lead for the 4-3 victory.

14 May 1948 - Dinamo Powers Up

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Tue, 14 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 14 May 1948, Dinamo Bucureşti formed from the merger of two pre-existing clubs and has since gone on to become one of Romania's most successful teams.

The two clubs that came together were Unirea Tricolor, winners of the 1941 national title, and Ciocanul, formerly known as Maccabi Bucureşti. In 1947, the new Communist government assigned control of both clubs to the Ministry of the Interior, who merged them into Dinamo Bucureşti. Both teams remained intact for the 1947-48 season, in which Ciocanul played as "Dinamo A" and finished eighth, while Unirea played as "Dinamo B" and were relegated.

The new Dinamo maintained the eighth-place finish in their first season, 1948-49, but quickly rose to the top of the table, finishing as runners-up in 1951, 1952, and 1953 before winning their first title in 1955. They have since increased their collection of league titles to eighteen, second only to rivals Steaua Bucureşti's 24, though their most recent one came in 2005. In addition, they have also won the Romanian Cup thirteen times, most recently in 2011.

13 May 2012 - Invincibles In Italy

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Mon, 13 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 13 May 2012, Juventus completed the Serie A season as undefeated champions with a 3-1 win over Atalanta.

They had finished the previous season in disappointing fashion, taking seventh place in the final table. That prompted the sacking of manager Luigi Delneri, who had held on to the post for a little over a year. The club replaced him with former Juventus midfielder Antonio Conte, who had played there from 1991 to 2003 and who had ended the 2010-11 season by guiding Serie B side Siena back to the top flight.

Juve made one other significant change over the summer, signing former Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo as a free agent.

Led by the combination of Conte on the touchline and Pirlo on the pitch, Juventus battled with Milan in a tight race for the Scudetto and finally claimed the title with an away win over Cagliari on 6 May. By that point, they had won 22 and drawn 15 of their 37 matches over the course of the season. One week later, with the championship firmly in hand, they completed their unbeaten season with the home win over Atalanta. It was the first time any team went undefeated over the course of a 38-game season and only the third undefeated Serie A season overall (Perugia did it over the course of 30 games in 1978-79 and Milan did it over the course of 34 games in 1991-92).

Counting a draw on the last day of the 2010-11 season, the win stretched Juve's overall unbeaten league streak to 39. They extended it to 49 through the first 10 games of the 2012-13 season before finally losing to Inter on 3 November. Though impressive, it still fell short of the overall Italian league record of 58, set by Milan over the course of the 1990-91 to 1992-93 seasons.

12 May 1985 - Verona Victorious

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Sun, 12 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 12 May 1985, Hellas Verona won their first and only Serie A title with a 1-1 draw against Atalanta.

Founded in 1903, Verona joined the newly-formed Serie B in 1929 and took almost thirty years to reach the top flight for the first time, joining Serie A in 1957. Even then, it was for only one season, and they returned back to the second division in 1958. From 1968 on, they spent the majority of their time in the top flight, but rarely challenged for honors.

But they began to show signs improvement in the early 1980s, finishing as Coppa Italia runners-up in 1983 and 1984 (added to their previous final appearance in 1976) and a fourth-place league finish in 1984, which was at the time the club's best position in the final table.

That changed in the 1984-85 season. Led by their forward pairing of Preben Elkjær Larsen and Giuseppe Galderisi, Verona rose to the top of the table. By 12 May, they were ahead of Torino by four points with two games left for both teams. Because wins were worth only two points at the time, Verona needed only a draw at mid-table Atalanta to secure the Scudetto.

Atalanta, however, refused to roll over and took the lead after only 16 minutes when defender Eugenio Perico scored a header from a cross. Unshaken, Verona drove forward in search of an equalizer and finally got it in the 51st minute when Elkjær (pictured) scored with a dramatic volley. That proved to be enough, as the game ended 1-1, making Verona the Serie A champions.

11 May 2011 - As If The Title Challenge Wasn't Exciting Enough

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Sat, 11 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 11 May 2011, with Celtic leading Hearts 0-2 at Tynecastle, manager Neil Lennon was attacked by a home supporter.

Since taking charge of Celtic in 2010, Lennon had attracted more than his fair share of unwanted attention, receiving bullets in the mail in January 2011, followed by an attempted letter bombing in March. While religious sectarianism seemed an obvious motive given its history in Scottish football, authorities believed the incidents were more likely fueled by sports rivalries.

When Celtic visited Tynecastle to play Hearts for their penultimate game of the season, they were trailing Rangers by four points, but had a game in hand. Hearts, meanwhile, were in a distant third, having already lost twice to Celtic, 3-0 and 4-0.

The third match in the series followed the pattern of the first two, with Celtic going up 0-2 in the 49th minute thanks to Gary Hooper's second goal of the day. It was at that point that Hearts supporter John Wilson jumped the barrier and tried to attack Lennon, but was quickly wrestled to the ground by a combination of police and stewards, then apprehended.

Celtic went on to win the match 0-3, but ended up finishing in second by a single point. Wilson was later convicted of breaching the peace and received an eight-month jail sentence.

10 May 1930 - The Beginning Of A Beautiful Rivalry

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Fri, 10 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 10 May 1930, England and Germany met for the first time in a full international, playing to a 3-3 draw in Berlin.

Unofficial representative teams for the two countries played twice in 1899 with England dominating both matches, 13-2 and 10-2. Shortly afterward, England played two matches against combined German and Austrian teams and won both, 6-0 and 7-0.

But their trip to Berlin in 1930 was their first meeting since the establishment of an official German team in 1908. The game looked likely to follow the pattern of those earlier meetings when England went up 0-1 with an 8th-minute goal from Joe Bradford, but Germany's Richard Hofmann (pictured) brought the hosts level in the 21st minute.

The two traded goals again as Bradford put England back in front in the the 31st minute and Hofmann scored another equalizer eighteen minutes later. He then completed his hat-trick in the 60th minute to give Germany the lead. They held it for twenty minutes until David Jack found the net to finish the game 3-3.

Since then, the two teams have formed a fierce rivalry, including England's famously controversial win over Germany in the final of the 1966 World Cup.

9 May 2010 - Chelsea, Champions

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 9 May 2010, a record win over Wigan lifted Chelsea to their fourth league title and sent them on the way to their first Double.

It was the last day of the Premier League season and Chelsea were at the top of the table, but they had only a one-point lead over Manchester United, who had won the league for the last three seasons. Needing a win to secure the title, they were hosting Wigan at Stamford Bridge while United were playing Stoke City at Old Trafford.

Chelsea wasted little time in staking their claim to the trophy, going up 1-0 after only six minutes with a goal from Nicolas Anelka. Wigan regained their composure and managed to right their defensive ship for a time, but lost defender Gary Caldwell about ten minutes before the break when he fouled Frank Lampard in the box and received a straight red card. Lampard converted the ensuing penalty to put the Blues up 2-0.

With Wigan down to ten men and the hosts having one hand on the trophy, the second half was all Chelsea's. They got a goal from Salomon Kalou (54'), another from Anelka (56'), and a hat-trick from Didier Drogba (63', 68' (p), 80'), before a final strike from Ashley Cole in the 80th minute sealed the 8-0 win. It was Chelsea's biggest margin of victory in a league game (later matched against Aston Villa in 2012) and also helped set the Premier League record for most goals in a season at 103, beating the previous record of 97 set by Manchester United in 1999-2000.

Chelsea went on to complete the Double that year, beating Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final on 15 May.

8 May 1996 - N'Gotty Got It

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 8 May 1996, Paris Saint-Germain won their first and only European trophy, beating Rapid Vienna in the Cup Winners' Cup Final.

It was the first time in the tournament final for PSG, but the second for Rapid, who finished as runners-up to Everton in 1985. They met at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, where a crowd of 37,000 gathered for the occasion.

The people in the stands were anticipating a furious offensive clash, with both teams featuring some of the tournament's top scorers--Carsten Jancker (6 goals) and Christian Stumpf (4) for Rapid and Youri Djorkaeff (4) and Patrice Loko (4) for PSG. But what they got was a tight match decided by the day's single goal.

And that goal came from an unlikely source. PSG defender Bruno N'Gotty (pictured), who had not scored at all that year, found the back of the net in the 28th minute to deliver the trophy to the Parisians.

N'Gotty and PSG returned to the final the following year, but lost to Barcelona, 1-0.

7 May 2007 - Arsenal Ladies Do Some Heavy Lifting

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Tue, 07 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 7 May 2007, Arsenal Ladies won the Women's FA Cup to complete a record-making Sextuple.

Arsenal had already completed a dominating league season in which they won all 22 games to claim their ninth title. They also won their ninth League Cup that season, as well as their first UEFA Cup. In addition, they took that season's Community Shield and the London County FA Women's Cup, making the Women's FA Cup the final piece of silverware needed to complete a full sweep of all available trophies.

Playing at the City Ground in Nottingham, Arsenal faced Charlton in the final and stumbled out of the gate, falling behind after only two minutes when Charlton's Katie Holtham opened the scoring. But the margin did not hold for long, as Kelly Smith's free kick brought Arsenal level five minutes later, then captain Jayne Ludlow put them ahead in the fifteenth minute.

Ludlow scored again just before the break and Smith added another in the 80th-minute to cap the 4-1 victory.

6 May 2007 - The Red Devils Reclaim The Title

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Mon, 06 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 6 May 2007, Manchester United won their sixteenth league title after challengers Chelsea drew with Arsenal.

United started the season seeking their first league honors since 2003, with both Arsenal (2004) and Chelsea (2005, 2006) lifting the trophy in the interim. True to their mission, they claimed the top spot on 1 October and held on to it for the remainder of the season, with only Chelsea staying within touching distance. After beating Manchester City on 5 May, Manchester United were eight points clear of Chelsea, who had three games left to play.

The first of those three games was away at Arsenal. There, the defending champions suffered an early blow with the loss of defender Khalid Boulahrouz (pictured) to a red card in the 43rd minute. Compounding their injury, the foul led to a penalty that was converted by Arsenal's Gilberto Silva, putting them down 1-0 at the break.

Despite the man disadvantage, Chelsea fought back to earn a draw with a diving 70th-minute header from Michael Essien. It was the second 1-1 draw Essien had salvaged against Arsenal that season, but it wasn't enough to deny the title to United, who went on to win four of the next six trophies.

5 May 2002 - The Italian Job

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Sun, 05 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 5 May 2002, Juventus completed a remarkable run to the Serie A title, thanks in part to a season-end collapse by Inter.

It was the last day of the season and Inter had been at the top of the table since 24 March. On 30 March, they had a six-point lead over Juventus, who were then in third, with Roma in between. But Juve went on an unbeaten run to climb into second, while an Inter loss to Atalanta and draw with Chievo saw their lead shrink to a single point. Roma had dropped to third, but were separated from the top by only two points.

All three teams were away for their final matches of the season, Inter at Lazio, Juventus at Udinese, and Roma at Torino. In his pre-match conference, Roma manager Fabio Capello took a fatalistic approach to the day, saying that he expected all three teams to win, leaving the table unchanged.

As it turned out, he was two-thirds correct. Both Juventus and Roma went on to win--0-2 and 0-1, respectively--but Inter fell hard to Lazio. Despite taking a 1-2 lead in the first half, they went into the break level at 2-2, then surrendered a pair of second-half goals to fall 4-2.

The results pushed Juventus into first, Roma into second, and Inter into third.

2 May 1975 - The Beginning Of A Beautiful Rivalry

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 2 May 1975, the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers played for the first time, starting a rivalry that has spanned over six different leagues.

That first game in the series was Portland's first game ever. Founded earlier that year, they were starting their inaugural NASL season and opened it by hosting Seattle, who were in their second year in the league. A crowd of 8,131 showed up at Portland's Civic Stadium for the game and watched Seattle claim the win, 0-1.

But Portland got their revenge by winning their division, then eliminating Seattle in the playoffs en route to the Soccer Bowl, where they finished as runners-up to Tampa Bay.

Since then, the teams have met in the Western Soccer Alliance, the American Professional Soccer League, the A-League, the United Soccer League, and their current home, Major League Soccer. They've also played four times in the U.S. Open Cup, with Portland winning three of those. Overall, though, Seattle has the edge with a record of 42 wins, 29 losses, and 9 draws.

1 May 1904 - Game Of Threes

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Wed, 01 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 1 May 1904, France played their first official international, drawing 3-3 with Belgium in Brussels.

The French had formed an unofficial team in 1900 under the control of the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques and competed in the Olympics that year, winning the silver medal. They played five other matches, including a 6-2 win over Belgium and four losses to England. Then, in 1904, they joined FIFA.

For their first official game, they traveled to Brussels for a friendly against Belgium. The hosts took the lead with a 7th-minute goal from Georges Quéritet, but France surged ahead within five minutes after goals from Louis Mesnier (12') and Marius Royet (13').

Quéritet brought Belgium level in the 50th minute, then they reclaimed the lead with a 65th-minute goal from Pierre Destrebecq. But with three minutes left, Gaston Cyprès scored for France to end the day as a 3-3 draw.

30 April 1977 - Austria Cranks Up The Heat

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 30 April 1977, six goals from striker Hans Krankl helped Austria to their record win, a 9-0 victory over Malta in a World Cup qualifier.

After finishing third in the 1954 World Cup, Austria had struggled, advancing only to the group stage in 1958, withdrawing in 1962, then failing to qualify for the 1966, 1970, and 1974 tournaments. But they started off their campaign for the 1978 World Cup by winning their first two games against Malta and Turkey by identical 1-0 scores.

For their third match, they hosted the return fixture against Malta in Salzburg. There, Krankl, who had scored the winner against Malta in the previous game, struck again with a goal in the 9th minute. He scored three more in the span of just over ten minutes (12', 18', 20') before Josef Stering added another in the 30th minute to give Austria a 5-0 lead at the break.

Things were little better for Malta in the second half, as both Krankl (53', 66') and Stering (69') again found the back of the net, along with Hans Pirkner (65'). The final margin of 9-0 remains Austria's biggest win.

They ultimately won their qualification group to reach the tournament, then won their first-round group, but were eliminated in the second group stage.

29 April 1965 - The Story Of VP Sathyan

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 29 April 1965, former India captain and 1995 AIFF Player of the Year V.P. Sathyan was born in the Kannur District.

A center back, Sathyan began his career in 1982 with Spirited Youth Club, but spent the majority of his career with Kerala Police where he won back-to-back Federation Cups in 1990 and 1991. In 1992, he joined Mohun Bagan, where he won another pair of consecutive Federation Cups in 1992 and 1993 (in the latter, he scored the only goal of the final).

In 1994, he returned to Kerala Police for two more seasons, then closed out his club career with a year at Indian Bank, which he later managed in 2001.

Along with his domestic success, he rose to prominence during his ten-year tenure with the Indian national team, serving as captain of the squad that won the gold medal at the 1995 South Asian Federation Games. It was that performance that led to him winning the All-Indian Football Federation's Player of the Year award.

Unfortunately, his life took a downward turn after football. In 2006, at the age of 41, financial pressures led him to take his own life by jumping in front of a train.

28 April 1970 - The Gunners Fire Back In Europe

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 28 April 1970, Arsenal rallied from a 3-1 first-leg deficit to win the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup over Anderlecht with an aggregate score of 3-4.

The tournament was an opportunity to salvage the seasons for the Gunners, who were almost done with a disappointing domestic campaign that would see them finish twelfth in the league after early exits in both the FA Cup and League Cup. For the first leg on 22 April, they visited Anderlecht, where the hosts dominated, taking a 3-0 lead before an 82nd-minute goal from Ray Kennedy brought the final margin to a slightly more respectable 3-1.

In London for the second leg, the situation was reversed. Arsenal went up 1-0 with a 25th-minute goal from Eddie Kelly, while their defense stymied the previously-prolific Belgian attack. Radford then struck in the 75th minute, followed by a goal from Jon Sammels one minute later. That was enough to push the final scoreline to 3-4 on aggregate, giving Arsenal their first European trophy.

The victory inspired the squad, who regained their domestic form the following season, winning both the league and the FA Cup.

27 April 1913 - The Change Of Scenery Made The Difference

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 27 April 1913, the Paterson True Blues won their third American Cup after beating Tacony FC 2-1 in a second replay.

Organized by the American Football Association, the American Cup was an annual tournament played from 1885 to 1924. The True Blues out of Paterson, New Jersey, one of the dominant American teams of the era, reached the tournament final seven times previously, winning it in 1896 and 1909. Philadelphia-based Tacony, meanwhile, had been there once before, winning it in 1910.

For the 1913 final, Tacony hosted the first meeting on 12 April, but it ended as a 2-2 draw after Paterson's Neil Clarke equalized in the dying seconds. They returned to Philadelphia a week later for a replay, with Clarke again scoring the tying goal in a 1-1 draw to force a third game.

They met again on 27 April, with the location moved to Morris Park, New Jersey. There, Tacony again took a 1-0 lead, but Paterson's Alec Lowe brought them level. Then a late Tacony handball led to a Paterson penalty converted by Jack Nielson that proved to be the deciding score.

26 April 2000 - Even A Modest Record Is Still A Record

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 26 April 2000, Andorra got their first win, beating Belarus 2-0 in a friendly. It remains their record margin of victory.

Dating back to 1996, the Andorran national team struggled through the early years, with their very first match being a 1-6 home loss to Estonia. They went on to lose 20 and win none of their first 23 matches, including defeats in all ten of their qualifiers for Euro 1996. Their only non-defeats were scoreless draws with Azerbaijan in 1998 and 2000 and the Faroe Islands in 1999.

But in April 2000, they hosted Belarus in a friendly and took a 1-0 lead when midfielder Jesús Julián Lucendo scored with a penalty kick in the 57th minute. As if that was not shocking enough, they then extended their lead five minutes later with a goal from striker Juli Sánchez (pictured). It proved to be one more goal than they needed as the match ended 2-0 to give Andorra their first taste of victory.

Unfortunately, they followed that result with a string of eleven straight defeats before getting their second victory, another 2-0 friendly win at home, this time over Albania. To date, their only other win--and only one in a competitive match--is a 1-0 victory over Macedonia in a World Cup qualifier in 2004.

25 April 1868 - Celtic's Other Greatest Manager

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 25 April 1868, Willie Maley was born in Ireland. He went on to become Celtic's most successful manager.

He played for Celtic as a half back from 1888 to 1897, helping the club win their first three league titles. Then, in 1897, he became Celtic's first manager at the age of 29. He continued his winning ways, claiming another league title in that first season, followed by the Scottish Cup in 1899.

He managed Celtic until January 1940, making him the club's longest-tenured boss. During that span, they won a total of thirty trophies, including sixteen league titles and fourteen Scottish Cups. The total of 30 major trophies is also a club record, five more than his nearest challenger, Jock Stein.

Maley's final major honor was the 1938 league title, followed by a second-place finish in 1939. With the league officially suspended the following season for World War II, he retired three months short of his 71st birthday. He remained in Glasgow and died there in 1958 at the age of 89.

24 April 1954 - Wolves Hunger No More

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 24 April 1954, Wolverhampton won their first league title, beating Tottenham 2-0 in their final match of the season.

One of England's strongest teams at the mid-point of the twentieth century, Wolves had finished as runners-up three times before, in 1938, 1939, and 1950. They topped the table for most of the 1952-53 season, included as late as mid-April, but faltered at the end and finished third.

For most of the 1953-54 season, they were involved in a two-team battle for the title with West Bromwich Albion. On 24 April, Wolves were ahead of West Brom by two points, with each team having only one game left to play--West Brom at Porstmouth and Wolves hosting Tottenham at Molineux.

Playing before a crowd of 44,000, Wolves took the lead with a goal from center forward Roy Swinbourne (pictured) in the 18th minute. He then added a second in the 68th minute to seal the victory. As it turned out, they would have claimed the title even with a loss, as West Brom lost 3-0 (West Brom did not go empty-handed, however--they won the FA Cup a week later over Preston North End).

Wolves went on to win two more titles in 1958 and 1959, and finished as runners-up again in 1955 and 1960.

23 April 1984 - Cambridge Learns The Other Definition Of "Smarts"

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 23 April 1984, Cambridge United set a Football League record for futility, stretching their winless streak to 31 games.

Playing in Division Two, United had finished 12th the previous season and were looking to improve upon that showing in 1983-84. They got off to a good start with a win and a draw in their first two games, but their campaign soon floundered, with three losses out their next four. Then, after a 2-1 win over Oldham on 1 October, just their second victory of the season, Cambridge started their historic run.

It opened with a 1-3 loss to Crystal Palace, the first of seven consecutive losses in the league (plus two more in the League Cup). After that, they managed to sprinkle in a few draws among the losses, culminating in their 31st consecutive winless game in the league, a scoreless draw away at Grimsby Town.

They finally stopped the hemorrhage of points with a 1-0 win over Newcastle on 28 April, but the damage had already been done. They remained rooted at the foot of the table to the end and dropped back down into Division Three.

Their 31-game winless streak remained a league record until 2008, when it was surpassed by Derby County, who stretched the mark to 36 games.

22 April 1982 - He Really Didn't Merit That Nickname

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 22 April 1982, Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, better known as Kaká, was born in Gama, Brazil. He went on to win the Ballon d'Or and World Player of the Year award in 2007.

An attacking midfielder, he started his career with São Paulo, joining their youth academy in 1994, then signing with the club as a professional in 2001. He remained there for a little over two seasons, making 59 league appearances and scoring 23 goals. That attracted the interest of AC Milan, who signed him in the summer of 2003 for a transfer fee of €8.5 million.

An accomplished provider of assists in addition to goals, Kaká helped Milan to the league title in his first season there. In 2005, they reached the Champions League final, but lost to Liverpool. Both teams returned to the final in 2007, with Milan winning 2-1. Kaká was the tournament's top scorer. Later that year, Milan won the Club World Cup and Kaká claimed the Ballon d'Or and the World Footballer of the Year award.

In the summer of 2009, he moved to Real Madrid for a transfer fee of €68.5 million, an amount that, at the time, was the second-highest in history after the €76 million Real Madrid paid for Zinedine Zidane in 2001. (It dropped to third after the club signed Cristiano Ronaldo for €94 million in later in the summer of 2009).

At Madrid, has battled through injuries, but has still made made over 80 appearances there and helped them win the league title in 2012.

21 April 1905 - They Could Probably Drop The "Juniors" By Now

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 21 April 1905, Boca Juniors played their first match, beating Mariano Moreno in a friendly, 4-0.

The club had formed earlier that month, founded by a group of Italian immigrants in the Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. The met at the home of one of the founders, Esteban Baglietto, until the discussions grew so heated, particularly over the color of the new club's kit, that his mother asked them to leave. They eventually chose to play in pink shirts, though they did not use them long before changing to vertical black and white stripes and, eventually, the familiar blue with a horizontal yellow stripe that they use at present.

For their first match, they hosted a friendly against Mariano Moreno and won 4-0, with captain Juan Farenga scoring the club's first goal.

Three years later, they joined the league in the Second Division, then reached the First Division in 1913, Since then, they've grown into one of Argentina's most successful clubs, winning 30 league titles, six Copa Libertadores, and three Intercontinental Cups.

20 April 1996 - The MetroStars Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Seal) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

On 20 April 1996, the NY/NJ MetroStars lost their MLS home opener when they conceded an own goal with just thirteen seconds left.

Based in Giants Stadium, the MetroStars were the informal successor to the Cosmos and, as such, carried high expectations. With stars such as midfielder Tab Ramos and goalkeeper Tony Meola, most observers tipped the MetroStars to challenge for the league title in that first season. But an opening-day away loss at Los Angeles dampened some of that enthusiasm.

They returned to Giants stadium for their home opener, with a crowd of almost 47,000 turning out to see them take on the New England Revolution. The teams battled to a scoreless standstill for most of the match, which, under the rules at the time, would have sent them into a shootout. But just moments from the end of regulation, New England's Darren Sawatzky sent in a shot that Meola parried into the path of MetroStars defender Nicola Caricola. Caricola tried to clear it, but succeeded only in floating it over Meola's head and into the goal, gifting New England the 0-1 win.

The MetroStars went on to finish the season with a record of fifteen wins (three of which were shootout wins, worth only a single point) and seventeen losses. That was still enough to qualify them for the MLS Cup, but they lost in the first round to eventual champions DC United.