22 September 2005 - The Wrong Way To Make A First Impression

On 22 September 2005, Real Madrid's Jonathan Woodgate used an own goal and a red card to make one of the worst debuts in football history.

The defender had joined Real Madrid over a year earlier, completing a £13.4M move from Newcastle in August 2004. But a lingering thigh injury suffered against Chelsea the previous April had kept him out of any competitive matches for his new club until he finally got the call to start in a league contest against Athletic Bilbao.

He made his mark in the 25th minute, when he misjudged an attempted clearance and headed the ball into his own net past keeper Iker Casillas. Then, just before the break, he received a yellow card for a challenge on Athletic midfielder Carlos Gurpegi. His day ended twenty minutes into the second half after he received a second booking for a foul on winger Joseba Exteberria.

Fortunately for Woodgate, his errors did not impact Real Madrid, who went on to win the match 3-1. But he made only eight more league appearances for them before moving back to England on loan with Middlesbrough, then signing for them on a permanent deal in 2007.

30 November 1983 - Bilbao Bagged By Barça

On 30 November 1983, Barcelona won their first Supercopa de España, beating Athletic Bilbao 3-2 on aggregate. They have since gone on to become the competition's most successful club.

It was only the second Supercopa, which pits the previous season's Copa del Rey winner against the reigning La Liga title holder. But a similar competition, the Copa Eva Duarte, was played from 1947 to 1953m which Barcelona won three times, the most for any club (no other club won it more than once).

Bilbao had won the league the previous season, including two defeats of Barcelona along the way, while Barcelona had taken the honors in the Copa del Rey over Real Madrid. The two teams met Bilbao's Estadio San Mamés on 26 October for the first leg of the Supercopa, with Barcelona claiming a 1-3 victory.

In the second leg, played before a crowd of 18,000 at the Camp Nou, Bilbao forward Endika (pictured) scored in just the 2nd minute to set the stage for a comeback, but it proved to be the only goal of the match as the two defenses held firm and Barcelona took the silverware with an aggregate score of 3-2.

Barça have since won the Supercopa an additional 11 times, most recently in 2016, to become the competion's most successful club. Bilbao, meanwhile, went on to win a league and Copa del Rey double in 1984, making them that year's automatic Supercopa champions. They returned to the Supercopa in 2015, where they beat Barcelona 5-1 on aggregate. 

30 March 1904 - What If They Held A Final, But Nobody Came?

On 30 March 1904, Club Español de Madrid were the only ones to show up for the Copa del Rey final. And they still didn't win the cup.

The 1904 non-final was the culmination of a controversial tournament for the club. After two years of being run by Madrid CF, the 1904 edition was organized by the Madrid Football Federation, whose president was also the president of Español de Madrid. Four teams participated in the initial rounds, with the winner scheduled to play in the Final against the previous year's champions, Athletic Bilbao (pictured in 1904).

Español de Madrid drew their first match with Madrid-Moderno, 5-5, on 13 March. The two sides decided to schedule a replay rather than go to extra time, but could not agree on the timing. Español wanted to have it the following day, while Madrid-Moderno wanted to have at least a 48-hour break between matches. When Madrid-Moderno failed to show up on 14 March, the Madrid Football Federation declared Español the winners.

They advanced to the semi-final match against Moncloa FC on 27 March, but an injury to an Español player forced the teams to abandon the game. Again, the teams were unable to agree on a replay date and, again, the Madrid Football Federation declared Español to be the winners. The federation set 30 March as the date for the Final, moved from the originally-scheduled date of 26 March.

Meanwhile, Bilbao had arrived to play the Final on the originally scheduled date, but had no opponent. When they did not show up for the rescheduled match on 30 March, the president of the Madrid Football Federation tried once again to declare Español the winners. But the other teams protested the decision and decided that Bilbao should retain the title.

Español de Madrid finished as runners-up in 1909 and 1910, while Bilbao went on to win the tournament a total of 23 times, second only to Barcelona's 25.

12 July 1988 - An Award For Winning Awards

On 12 July 1988, UEFA recognized Juventus as the first club to win all three of UEFA's major competitions—the European Cup, the Cup Winners' Cup, and the UEFA Cup—by awarding them the UEFA Plaque.

One of the most successful clubs in Europe, Juventus won the first of their three UEFA Cups in 1977, defeating Athletic Bilbao over two legs by virtue of the away goal rule. In 1984, they won their only Cup Winners' Cup, beating Porto 2-1. One year later, they completed their triple crown, winning the first of two European Cups when they topped Liverpool 1-0 thanks to a Michel Platini penalty kick. Prior to that, Juve had twice finished as European Cup runners-up.

Only two other clubs—Ajax and Bayern Munich—have followed Juventus by winning all three of the major UEFA competitions, but Juventus remains the only club to win all of the confederation's official tournaments and cups, including the Intertoto Cup (1999) and the UEFA Super Cup (1984, 1996), as well as the joint UEFA-CONMEBOL Intercontinental Cup (1985, 1996).

18 April 1905 - Real Madrid Starts A Cup Collection

On 18 April 1905, Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 in the Copa de Su Majestad El Rey Alfonso XIII (His Majesty King Alfonso XIII's Cup). Now known simply as the Copa del Rey, the win gave Real their first national title.

The competition originated in 1902 as an invitational tournament called the Copa del Ayuntamiento de Madrid (Madrid City Council's Cup) to honor the coming-of-age of King Alfonso XIII. Five teams participated that year, including Real Madrid (known at that time simply as Madrid FC) and FC Barcelona, who met each other for the first time in a semifinal match on 14 May with the Catalan side recording a 3-1 win.

Only three teams contested the 1905 edition - Madrid, San Sebastian RC, and Athletic Bilbao. The tournament used a table format, with each team scheduled to play one match each against the other two. Wins earned two points, while draws earned one and the team at the top of the table at the finish took the trophy.

Madrid opened the tournament on 16 April with a 3-0 win over San Sebastian, then faced Bilbao two days later. It was a close contest, refereed by one of San Sebastian's players, but Madrid claimed their second win thanks to Manuel Prast (pictured, front row, second from left), who scored the match's only goal. The win secured Madrid's place at the top of the table with four points, while San Sebastian later defeated Bilbao to finish in second.

Madrid went on to win the tournament each of the next three years and has since amassed a total 19 Copa del Rey titles, with the last coming in 2014.

8 February 1931 - Bata Batters Barcelona

On 8 February 1931, Athletic Bilbao's Agustín Sauto Arana scored seven goals against Barcelona to set a La Liga record.

Better known by his nickname "Bata," the 22-year old striker had joined Bilbao from Barakaldo during the previous season, scoring only once in seven appearances. Despite his modest production, the club won a league and Copa del Rey double. The league title was their first, finishing seven point clear of runners-up Barcelona, while getting a league-high 20 goals from Guillermo Gorostiza.

Gorostiza returned for the 1930-31 season, but Bata stole the spotlight, winning the Pichichi with 27 goals (Gorostiza finished second with 17). Seven of Bata's goals came in a 12-1 win over Barcelona, setting a league record that remains unbroken, though Barcelona's Laszló Kubala matched it in February 1952.

Bilbao went on to capture another double in 1931-32, with Bata getting 13 league goals to retain the scoring title. He won another two Copa del Rey trophies (1932, 1933) and two more league titles (1934, 1935) before play was suspended in 1936 for the Spanish Civil War. When football resumed in 1939, he had moved back to Barakaldo, where he remained until his retirement in 1943.

29 January 1950 - And People Say Draws Aren't Exciting

On 29 January 1950, a flurry of late goals led Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao to the highest-scoring draw in La Liga history.

At the time, both teams were challenging for the title. Hosts Madrid, playing in their first season under manager Helenio Herrera (pictured), were four points behind leaders Real Madrid, while Bilbao were five points back. The visitors struck first, with Agustín "Piru" Gaínza scoring in the first minute. But Madrid quickly rallied, taking a 2-1 lead into the break after goals from Henry Carlsson (3') and Larbi Benbarek (16').

In the second half, Bilbao surged back ahead with scores from Gaínza (47'), Rafael Iriondo (52', 57'), and Telmo Zarra (65') to take a 2-5 lead, then the teams swapped strikes from Madrid's Diego Lozano (68') and Iriondo (69') to push the margin to 3-6.

The score remained there until the 84th minute, when Madrid received a lifeline in the form of a penalty, duly converted by Benbarek. One minute later, José Lloret cut the margin to 5-6, then Madrid's Alfonso Aparicio scored with one minute left to set the final scoreline at 6-6.

The draw proved crucial, as Madrid went on to win the league by a single point over Deportivo de la Coruña. It was the first major honor for Herrera, who won La Liga with Madrid again the following season, then went on to claim multiple trophies with Barcelona, Inter, and Roma. But Bilbao didn't finish the year empty-handed, as they won the Copa del Rey over Real Valladolid.

24 September 1983 - There's More Than One Way To Win A Title

On 24 September 1983, a brutal challenge by Andoni Goikoetxea sidelined Diego Maradona for three months with a broken ankle.

Maradona was in his second season with Barcelona after making a world-record £5 million transfer from Boca Juniors in the summer of 1982. Despite a bout with hepatitis that first season, he helped Barça win the Copa del Rey and finish fourth in the league, leading to high expectations for a season with Maradona in full health.

But that changed when they hosted defending league champions Athletic in September. With Barcelona leading 1-0 and Maradona advancing the ball, Athletic center back Andoni Goikoetxea lunged at the Argentinian from behind, catching his left leg, leaving Maradona crumpled on the pitch with broken ankle. The tackle, called by one commentator "one of the most brutal ever seen in Spanish club soccer," earned Goikoetxea the nickname "the Butcher of Bilbao" (helped by the fact that Goikoetxea had broken leg of Barcelona's Berndt Schuster two years earlier).

Barcelona went on to win the match 4-0, but Maradona missed three months in recovery. Despite his absence, the finished third in the league, one point out of first. Athletic repeated at champions and also won the Copa del Rey, beating Barcelona 1-0.

22 September 2005 - The Wrong Way To Make A First Impression

On 22 September 2005, Real Madrid's Jonathan Woodgate used an own goal and a red card to make one of the worst debuts in football history.

The defender had joined Real Madrid over a year earlier, completing a £13.4M move from Newcastle in August 2004. But a lingering thigh injury suffered against Chelsea the previous April had kept him out of any competitive matches for his new club until he finally got the call to start in a league contest against Athletic Bilbao.

He made his mark in the 25th minute, when he misjudged an attempted clearance and headed the ball into his own net past keeper Iker Casillas. Then, just before the break, he received a yellow card for a challenge on Athletic midfielder Carlos Gurpegi. His day ended twenty minutes into the second half after he received a second booking for a foul on winger Joseba Exteberria.

Fortunately for Woodgate, his errors did not impact Real Madrid, who went on to win the match 3-1. But he made only eight more league appearances for them before moving back to England on loan with Middlesbrough, then signing for them on a permanent deal in 2007.

30 November 1983 - Bilbao Bagged By Barça

On 30 November 1983, Barcelona won their first Supercopa de España, beating Athletic Bilbao 3-2 on aggregate. They have since gone on to become the competition's most successful club.

It was only the second Supercopa, which pits the previous season's Copa del Rey winner against the reigning La Liga title holder. But a similar competition, the Copa Eva Duarte, was played from 1947 to 1953m which Barcelona won three times, the most for any club (no other club won it more than once).

Bilbao had won the league the previous season, including two defeats of Barcelona along the way, while Barcelona had taken the honors in the Copa del Rey over Real Madrid. The two teams met Bilbao's Estadio San Mamés on 26 October for the first leg of the Supercopa, with Barcelona claiming a 1-3 victory.

In the second leg, played before a crowd of 18,000 at the Camp Nou, Bilbao forward Endika (pictured) scored in just the 2nd minute to set the stage for a comeback, but it proved to be the only goal of the match as the two defenses held firm and Barcelona took the silverware with an aggregate score of 3-2.

Barça have since won the Supercopa a total of 10 times, most recently in 2011, to become the competion's most successful club. Bilbao, meanwhile, went on to win a league and Copa del Rey double in 1984, making them that year's automatic Supercopa champions. Unfortunately for them, however, that remains their last major trophy.

30 March 1904 - What If They Held A Final, But Nobody Came?

On 30 March 1904, Club Español de Madrid showed up for the Copa del Rey final, but had no opponent. And they still didn't win the cup.

The 1904 non-final was the culmination of a controversial tournament for the club. After two years of being run by Madrid CF, the 1904 edition was organized by the Madrid Football Federation, whose president was also the president of Español de Madrid. Four teams participated in the initial rounds, with the winner scheduled to play in the Final against the previous year's champions, Athletic Bilbao (pictured in 1904).

Español de Madrid drew their first match with Madrid-Moderno, 5-5, on 13 March. The two sides decided to schedule a replay rather than go to extra time, but could not agree on the timing. Español wanted to have it the following day, while Madrid-Moderno wanted to have at least a 48-hour break between matches. When Madrid-Moderno failed to show up on 14 March, the Madrid Football Federation declared Español the winners.

They advanced to the semi-final match against Moncloa FC on 27 March, but an injury to an Español player forced the teams to abandon the game. Again, the teams were unable to agree on a replay date and, again, the Madrid Football Federation declared Español to be the winners. The federation set 30 March as the date for the Final, moved from the originally-scheduled date of 26 March.

Meanwhile, Bilbao had arrived to play the Final on the originally scheduled date, but had no opponent. When they did not show up for the rescheduled match on 30 March, the president of the Madrid Football Federation tried once again to declare Español the winners. But the other teams protested the decision and decided that Bilbao should retain the title.

Español de Madrid finished as runners-up in 1909 and 1910, while Bilbao went on to win the tournament a total of 23 times, second only to Barcelona's 25.

12 July 1988 - An Award For Winning Awards

On 12 July 1988, UEFA recognized Juventus as the first club to win all three of UEFA's major competitions - the European Cup, the Cup Winners' Cup, and the UEFA Cup - by awarding them the UEFA Plaque.

One of the most successful clubs in Europe, Juventus won the first of their three UEFA Cups in 1977, defeating Athletic Bilbao over two legs by virtue of the away goal rule. In 1984, they won their only Cup Winners' Cup, beating Porto 2-1. One year later, they completed their triple crown, winning the first of two European Cups when they topped Liverpool 1-0 thanks to a Michel Platini penalty kick. Prior to that, Juve had twice finished as European Cup runners-up.

Only two other clubs - Ajax and Bayern Munich - have followed Juventus by winning all three of the major UEFA competitions, but Juventus remains the only club to win all of the confederation's official tournaments and cups, including the Intertoto Cup (1999) and the UEFA Super Cup (1984, 1996), as well as the joint UEFA-CONMEBOL Intercontinental Cup (1985, 1996).

18 April 1905 - Madrid Starts A Cup Collection

On 18 April 1905, Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 in the Copa de Su Majestad El Rey Alfonso XIII (His Majesty King Alfonso XIII's Cup). Now known simply as the Copa del Rey, the win gave Real their first national title.

The competition originated in 1902 as an invitational tournament called the Copa del Ayuntamiento de Madrid (Madrid City Council's Cup) to honor the coming-of-age of King Alfonso XIII. Five teams participated that year, including Real Madrid (known at that time simply as Madrid FC) and FC Barcelona, who met each other for the first time in a semifinal match on 14 May with the Catalan side recording a 3-1 win.

Only three teams contested the 1905 edition - Madrid, San Sebastian RC, and Athletic Bilbao. The tournament used a table format, with each team scheduled to play one match each against the other two. Wins earned two points, while draws earned one and the team at the top of the table at the finish took the trophy.

Madrid opened the tournament on 16 April with a 3-0 win over San Sebastian, then faced Bilbao two days later. It was a close contest, refereed by one of San Sebastian's players, but Madrid claimed their second win thanks to Manuel Prast (pictured, front row, second from left), who scored the match's only goal. The win secured Madrid's place at the top of the table with four points, while San Sebastian later defeated Bilbao to finish in second.

Madrid went on to win the tournament each of the next three years and has since amassed a total 17 Copa del Rey titles. Their last one came in 1993, however, and they have since struggled in the competition. For the past two seasons, they were eliminated by lower division sides Real Unión (in 2008) and Alcorcón (in 2009).