On 12 October 2003, Germany won their first Women's World Cup, beating Sweden 2-1 in the final with a golden goal from substitute Nia Künzer.
The final continued a growing rivalry between the two teams. Sweden won their first meeting in a major tournament, beating the Germans in the 1991 FIFA World Cup third-place match, then again in the group stage in 1995. But since then, it had been all Germany, who defeated Sweden twice in the final of the UEFA Women's European Championship (1995 and 2001), took them out in the Euro semifinals in 1997 and beat them in the first round in 2001. They also topped them in the group stage of the 2000 Summer Olympics.
In the 2003 World Cup Final, played before a crowd of 26,137 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, Sweden played a strong defensive game, shutting down a high-powered German attack that saw them breeze through the group stage with a goal differential of +11. Although the German side included forward Birgit Prinz, the tournament's leading scorer with seven goals, she was repeatedly denied by Swedish goalkeeper Caroline Jönsson.
Sweden took a surprising lead with a 41st-minute strike from forward Hanna Ljungberg, but the lead didn't last long as German striker Maren Meinert equalized in the 46th minute. That was the last score throughout the first 90 minutes, sending the match into extra time. There, defender-midfielder Künzer (pictured), who had come on in the 88th minute, scored a golden goal, beating Jönsson with a powerful headed ball that just cleared the keeper's outstretched hand.
On 11 October 1962, Pelé won the battle of superstars, outdoing Eusébio with a hat-trick to lead Santos over Benfica for their first Intercontinental Cup.
The contest matched Santos, the reigning Copa Libertadores champions, against European Cup winners Benfica. In the first leg, played at the Maracaña on 19 September, Pelé scored an 85th-minute match-winner with the final score of 3-2.
In the second leg, played in Lisbon's Estádio da Luz, the striker picked up where he left off, opening the scoring in the 15th minute with a sliding tap-in from a low cross. Ten minutes later, he doubled lead with an impressive finish after avoiding two tackles, then blowing by a third defender.
Santos stretched their lead to five after a goal from Coutinho (48'), another from Pelé (64'), and one from Pepe (77') before Benfica finally got on the scoresheet with an 85th-minute goal from Eusébio. Four minutes later, they cut the margin to 2-4 after a strike from Joaquim Santana (who had provided both of their goals in the first leg). But it was too little, too late for the Portuguese side as they fell to Santos, 2-5.
It was the second time Benfica had conceded five goals in the Intercontinental Cup--they lost 5-0 to Peñarol in the second leg the year before, then fell 2-1 in the play-off. Santos had better luck in the competition, repeating as champions in 1963 by beating AC Milan.
On 10 October 1999, two players got their first caps for England, but went on to very different international careers.
The occasion was a friendly against Belgium, played at Sunderland's Stadium of Light. National team boss Kevin Keegan, then in his first year as manager, collected a team of veterans, including goalkeeper David Seaman, defender Tony Adams, and forward and captain Alan Shearer, each of whom had more than 50 England appearances at the time. But Keegan also included a couple of new faces in the midfield--West Ham's Frank Lampard and Leicester City's Stephen Guppy (pictured). Between the two, Guppy received the lion's share of pre-match attention, with one commentator calling him "one of the country's most gifted left-sided midfielders."
The 30-year old Guppy played all 90 minutes as England won 2-1 with goals from Shearer (6') and Jamie Redknapp (66') (Belgium's lone strike was scored by Branko Strupar (14')). Lampard, who was 21, gave way to Dennis Wise in the 76th minute. The match turned out to be Guppy's only appearance for the England senior side, while Lampard went on to earn a total of 106 caps.
The match did provide one unique distinction for Guppy, making him the only player to appear for England's U-21, semi-pro, B team and full side.
On 9 October 1866, Charles Wreford-Brown was born in Bristol. Although he twice captained the English national team, his lasting legacy may be the invention of the term "soccer" to refer to association football.
The Football Association formed in 1863 and quickly set about creating a set of rules for their game, which they called association football to distinguish it from the other types of football played at the time, such as rugby football. According to legend, Wreford-Brown was a student at Oxford when a group of fellow students invited him to play a game of rugby, which they nicknamed "rugger." He reportedly responded that he preferred "soccer" and the new name stuck.
Wreford-Brown's love of the sport led him to play for England and he captained the team twice (in 1894 and 1895, both against Wales). He later served the sport in a legislative capacity, representing Old Carthusians and later Oxford in the Football Association. He also chaired England's international selection committee.
The term "soccer" fell out of favor in England around the turn of the 19th century, but it continues to be used regularly around the world.
On 8 October 2010, Japan got their first win over Argentina, beating them 1-0 in a friendly. It was the seventh meeting between the two teams.
It was Japan's first match under their new manager, Alberto Zaccheroni, who had just come off a 6-month term with Juventus. His pre-Japan career also included spells with a number of other Italian clubs, including Udinese (1995-98), Milan (1998-2001), Lazio (2001-02), Inter (2003-04), and Torino (2006-07). Argentina, meanwhile, were playing their third match under interim manager Sergio Batista, who had replaced Diego Maradona after the 2010 World Cup. Argentina had won his two previous matches, over Ireland (1-0) and defending World Cup champions Spain (4-1).
The Albiceleste fielded a full-strength side for the match against Japan, played before a crowd of 60,000 at Saitama Stadium. But despite the presence of prolific scorers Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, and Diego Milito, it was Japan who struck first, going up 1-0 in the 19th minute with a goal from Shimizu S-Pulse winger Shinji Okazaki (pictured, left), who pounced on the ball after goalkeeper Sergio Romero failed to hold on to it.
Messi twice came close, but his 14th-minute and 30th-minute shots were stopped by goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima. He had another chance in the 75th minute, but fired the ball straight at Kawashima for an easy save.
Not content to sit on the lead, Japan attacked the Argentine goal and had several opportunities to extend the margin. But Okazaki's goal remained the only one of the day as Japan claimed the 1-0 victory.
On 7 October 1917, Denmark whipped Norway in a friendly 12-0 despite starting the match a man down.
The imbalance was caused by Danish defender Johannes Hansen, who--for reasons that remain unclear--chose to get a pre-match haircut that delayed the opening whistle. The Norwegians agreed to the delay, but Swedish referee Ernst Albihn went ahead and started the match after learning that Hansen had arrived at the stadium in Copenhagen, even though he was not on the pitch.
As it turned out, it didn't make any difference. Even with the brief disadvantage in numbers, Denmark's Michael Rohde scored in only the 6th minute. At the half-hour mark, they were up 4-0 with a hat-trick from Rohde's club teammate, Victor Klein (both played for B 93). Rohde then scored another before the break to stretch the lead to 5-0.
The second half was even worse for Norway. They managed to avoid another goal until Paul Berth's 68th-minute strike, but then the dam burst as Kjøbenhavns Boldklub forward Poul Nielsen (pictured) rattled off five straight goals in a span of just over ten minutes (70', 74', 76', 78', 80'). A final score from Alf Olsen in the 83rd minute ended the barrage and set the final margin at 12-0.
On 6 October 1956, Bobby Charlton started his record-setting Manchester United career in style, scoring a brace on his debut against Charlton Athletic.
The striker had been with the club since 1953, rising up through the youth ranks before signing a professional contract in 1954. He was just five days shy of his 19th birthday when manager Matt Busby gave him his inaugural start for the first team.
Played before a crowd of 41,439 at Old Trafford, the league contest matched first-place United against Charlton Athletic, who were dead last in the table. So it was a bit shocking when the visitors took the lead midway through the first half. But the lead last only a minute, as forward Johnny Berry quickly equalized for United. Then young Bobby Charlton struck twice before the break (32', 37') to put the hosts up 3-1.
They were the first of his record 249 goals for the club in a career that spanned 17 seasons. His 758 appearances (only 2 of which were as a substitute) also set a club record, though that one was broken by current record holder Ryan Giggs in 2008.
The match ended as a 4-2 United victory, with United's final goal coming from forward Liam Whelan.
On 12 October 2003, Germany won their first Women's World Cup, beating Sweden 2-1 in the final with a golden goal from substitute Nia Künzer.
