9 September 1989 - Taking Invincibility To A Whole New Level

On 9 September 1989, Steaua Bucureşti lost their first domestic match in over three years when rivals Dinamo Bucureşti finally ended their unbeaten streak at an incredible 119 games.

That run stretched back to the first match of the 1986-87 season when Steaua, who already were the defending Divizia A and European Cup champions, beat Argeș Pitești 1-0 on opening day. Led by midfielder Gheorghe Hagi, who had signed for them the previous winter, they went undefeated that season, winning the league with a record of 25 wins and 9 draws. They also won that season's Cupa României, beating Dinamo in the final.

They repeated their undefeated double the next season (including a league record of 30 wins and 4 draws and a belated cup win over Dinamo after Steaua walked out of the final in protest of a decision by the referee to disallow one of their goals), then completed another unbeaten double in the 1988-89 season (with a league record of 31 wins and 3 draws and a third consecutive win over Dinamo in the Cupa României final).

After winning their first two matches of the 1989-90 season, Steaua hosted Dinamo on 9 September, where the visitors proceeded to win 0-3. That result ended Steaua's domestic unbeaten run at a staggering 119 matches, consisting of 113 wins and only 16 draws. It remains the longest recorded streak in the history of the sport.

19 June 1994 - Mimosas Take A Spill

On 19 June 1994, Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas lost their first league game in almost five years, ending their unbeaten streak at a world-record 108 matches.

Founded in 1948, Mimosas are the most successful club in Côte d'Ivoire football history, with 24 Premier Division titles. Five of those came during their record unbeaten run, which started on the first day of the 1990 season. They finished that year with their eighth overall title, then continued their run through the entire 1991, 1992, and 1993 seasons, led in part by forward Abdoulaye "Ben Badi" Traoré (pictured), who was the league's top scorer in 1992 (then again in 1994 and 1996).

They nearly extended it through the 1994 season, with eleven wins and a draw in their first twelve matches. But in their thirteenth match, they were upset 2-1 by SO Armée. Mimosas still went on to win the title--they won their next match by the league-record margin of 11-0--but their unbeaten streak stopped at 108, four games past the previous world record of 104, set by Steaua Bucureşti from 1986 to 1989.

Afterward, Mimosas continued their run of success, winning another twelve titles between 1995 and 2010, including seven straight from 2000 to 2006.

7 June 1947 - The Story Of Steaua Bucureşti

On 7 June 1947, the Romanian Royal Army founded a new football club. Now known as Steaua Bucureşti, they have won a record 26 league titles a record 22 Romanian Cups, and a European Cup.

Originally named ASA Bucureşti, the club started as a training tool for army officers and encompassed several sports in addition to football, including fencing, volleyball, boxing, and shooting. They adopted red and yellow striped shirts with blue shorts to reflect the colors of Romania's flag and joined the league for the 1947-48 season (they later replaced the yellow stripes with blue).

They quickly became successful, winning the Cupa României in 1949 and 1951, then winning league and cup Doubles in 1951 and 1952. In all, they have twenty-three league titles, twenty-two Cupa României trophies, and five Supercupa României trophies, all of which are record numbers.

Steaua have also enjoyed European success, winning the European Cup on penalties over Barcelona in 1986, powered by keeper Helmuth Duckadam and midfielder Gheorghe Hagi. They followed that with a UEFA Super Cup win later that year, beating Dynamo Kyiv 1-0.

They won their most recent league title in 2015 and finished as runners-up in the two seasons since.

7 May 1986 - Steaua Steals The Win

On 7 May 1986, Romanian side Steaua Bucureşti won the European Cup, beating Barcelona on penalties, 0-0 (2-0), before a crowd of 70,000 at Seville's Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán. The star of the day was Steaua's goalkeeper, Helmuth Duckadam, who was hailed afterward as the Hero of Seville.

The Romanians had ridden a strong defense to the Final, not conceding more than one goal in any earlier match and keeping four clean sheets. The last of those clean sheets was the critical semifinal second leg against Anderlecht. Down 1-0 from the first leg, Steaua stifled the Belgian offense while scoring three goals of their own to advance 3-1 on aggregate.

Barcelona, meanwhile, had several close calls, advancing from the first and second rounds by virtue of the away goal rule and winning their semifinal match-up against Gothenburg in a penalty shootout.

The first 120 minutes of the Final itself were rather dull, with the Romanians content to sacrifice their offense in favor of a stern defense that the Catalonians could not penetrate. But all the excitement that had been held at bay during those first two hours spilled out in the penalty shootout. For the first four shots - two from each side - the keepers guessed correctly each time and swatted the ball away. Steaua forward Marius Lăcătuş finally broke the deadlock, blasting a powerful shot just under the bar and into the roof of the net.

Duckadam saved yet another kick, a low rolling shot to his right, then Steaua midfielder Gavril Balint sent Barça keeper Javier Urruticoechea the wrong way to put the Romanians up 2-0. Barça's hopes then fell to forward Marcos Alonso, but again, Duckadam guessed correctly, diving to his left to save the kick. He had saved all four shots against him, leading Steaua to their first (and to date, only) European Cup trophy.

9 September 1989 - Taking Invincibility To A Whole New Level

On 9 September 1989, Steaua Bucureşti lost their first domestic match in over three years when rivals Dinamo Bucureşti finally ended their unbeaten streak at an incredible 119 games.

That run stretched back to the first match of the 1986-87 season when Steaua, who already were the defending Divizia A and European Cup champions, beat Argeș Pitești 1-0 on opening day. Led by midfielder Gheorghe Hagi, who had signed for them the previous winter, they went undefeated that season, winning the league with a record of 25 wins and 9 draws. They also won that season's Cupa României, beating Dinamo in the final.

They repeated their undefeated double the next season (including a league record of 30 wins and 4 draws and a belated cup win over Dinamo after Steaua walked out of the final in protest of a decision by the referee to disallow one of their goals), then completed another unbeaten double in the 1988-89 season (with a league record of 31 wins and 3 draws and a third consecutive win over Dinamo in the Cupa României final).

After winning their first two matches of the 1989-90 season, Steaua hosted Dinamo on 9 September, where the visitors proceeded to win 0-3. That result ended Steaua's domestic unbeaten run at a staggering 119 matches, consisting of 113 wins and only 16 draws. It remains the longest recorded streak in the history of the sport.

26 June 1988 - It Helps To Have Friends In High Places

On 26 June 1988, the Romanian Cup Final ended abruptly when one of the teams stormed off the field and refused to return.

The Final was an Eternal Derby contest between Bucharest rivals Steaua and Dinamo. Steaua were in the midst of a 60-match unbeaten run that stretched back to the start of the 1986-87 season and included the 1987 and 1988 league titles and the 1987 Romanian Cup (they had also recently won the 1986 European Cup Final over Barcelona).

The game was a rematch of the previous final. With only a few minutes left, and the score level at 1-1, Steaua striker Gavril Balint (pictured) put the ball in the back of the Dinamo net for a certain match-winner, but he was flagged for being offside. Upset with the call, the Steaua players and staff marched off the pitch, reportedly at the direction of the club's highest-profile supporter, Valentin Ceaușescu, son of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. 

The referee abandoned the match and gave the trophy to Dinamo. But the next day, the government intervened, ruling that the goal should have been allowed and declaring Steaua the winners.

Two years later, after the fall of the Ceaușescu regime, Steaua renounced the cup and offered it to Dinamo, who refused to accept it. That year's cup title remains vacant.

Steaua, meanwhile, continued their unbeaten run, extending it to a total of 119 league and cup matches.

19 June 1994 - Mimosas Take A Spill

On 19 June 1994, Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas lost their first league game in almost five years, ending their unbeaten streak at a world-record 108 matches.

Founded in 1948, Mimosas are the most successful club in Côte d'Ivoire football history, with 24 Premier Division titles. Five of those came during their record unbeaten run, which started on the first day of the 1990 season. They finished that year with their eighth overall title, then continued their run through the entire 1991, 1992, and 1993 seasons, led in part by forward Abdoulaye "Ben Badi" Traoré (pictured), who was the league's top scorer in 1992 (then again in 1994 and 1996).

They nearly extended it through the 1994 season, with eleven wins and a draw in their first twelve matches. But in their thirteenth match, they were upset 2-1 by SO Armée. Mimosas still went on to win the title--they won their next match by the league-record margin of 11-0--but their unbeaten streak stopped at 108, four games past the previous world record of 104, set by Steaua Bucureşti from 1986 to 1989.

Afterward, Mimosas continued their run of success, winning another twelve titles between 1995 and 2010, including seven straight from 2000 to 2006.

7 June 1947 - The Story Of Steaua Bucureşti

On 7 June 1947, the Romanian Royal Army founded a new football club. Now known as Steaua Bucureşti, they have won a record 23 league titles and a European Cup.

Originally named ASA Bucureşti, the club started as a training tool for army officers and encompassed several sports in addition to football, including fencing, volleyball, boxing, and shooting. They adopted red and yellow striped shirts with blue shorts to reflect the colors of Romania's flag and joined the league for the 1947-48 season (they later replaced the yellow stripes with blue).

They quickly became successful, winning the Cupa României in 1949 and 1951, then winning league and cup Doubles in 1951 and 1952. In all, they have twenty-three league titles, twenty-two Cupa României trophies, and five Supercupa României trophies, all of which are record numbers.

Steaua have also enjoyed European success, winning the European Cup on penalties over Barcelona in 1986, powered by keeper Helmuth Duckadam and midfielder Gheorghe Hagi. They followed that with a UEFA Super Cup win later that year, beating Dynamo Kyiv 1-0.

They recently finished the 2011-12 season with a third-place league spot and another Cupa României trophy.

7 May 1986 - Steaua Steals The Win

On 7 May 1986, Romanian side Steaua Bucureşti won the European Cup, beating Barcelona on penalties, 0-0 (2-0), before a crowd of 70,000 at Seville's Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán. The star of the day was Steaua's goalkeeper, Helmuth Duckadam, who was hailed afterward as the Hero of Seville.

The Romanians had ridden a strong defense to the Final, not conceding more than one goal in any earlier match and keeping four clean sheets. The last of those clean sheets was the critical semifinal second leg against Anderlecht. Down 1-0 from the first leg, Steaua stifled the Belgian offense while scoring three goals of their own to advance 3-1 on aggregate.

Barcelona, meanwhile, had several close calls, advancing from the first and second rounds by virtue of the away goal rule and winning their semifinal matchup against Gothenburg in a penalty shootout.

The first 120 minutes of the Final itself were rather dull, with the Romanians content to sacrifice their offense in favor of a stern defense that the Catalonians could not penetrate. But all the excitement that had been held at bay during those first two hours spilled out in the penalty shootout. For the first four shots - two from each side - the keepers guessed correctly each time and swatted the ball away. Steaua forward Marius Lăcătuş finally broke the deadlock, blasting a powerful shot just under the bar and into the roof of the net.

Duckadam saved yet another kick, a low rolling shot to his right, then Steaua midfielder Gavril Balint sent Barça keeper Javier Urruticoechea the wrong way to put the Romanians up 2-0. Barça's hopes then fell to forward Marcos Alonso, but again, Duckadam guessed correctly, diving to his left to save the kick. He had saved all four shots against him, leading Steaua to their first (and to date, only) European Cup trophy.