31 May 1970 - The Reds See Yellow

On 31 May 1970, Mexico and the Soviet Union kicked off that year's World Cup before a crowd of 107,000 at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca. The match did not go as the hosts had hoped, ending as a scoreless draw.

Controversy erupted even before the players took the pitch, as FIFA scheduled several matches, including the opener, to start at noon. They claimed the early start time was intended to facilitate live television coverage for Europe, but many of the players complained that the noon starts would be too hot and would favor sides from warmer climates.

Despite El Tri's home advantage, the Soviets were heavily favored, having advanced the semi-finals of the previous World Cup, then finishing in fourth place in the 1968 Europeam Championship. Mexico, meanwhile, had never gotten out of the first round in any prior World Cup. On the day, however, neither side managed to threaten the other, making it an anticlimactic start to what would eventually become one of the most celebrated tournaments thanks to a dynamic Brazil side that won the trophy, their third, after beating Italy 4-1 in the Final.

The match did see the World Cup's first-ever tactical substitution, as well as the first-ever yellow card in a World Cup match. Before 1970, substitutions were allowed only in case of injury and, while cautions and expulsions were used before 1970, the tournament was the first to use the card system. The first substitute was the USSR's Anatoliy Puzach, who came on for Viktor Serebryanikov in the 46th minute, while the first yellow card - one of five issued in the match - went to Evgeni Lovchev in the 40th minute.

30 May 1979 - The Ultimate Cinderella Story

On 30 May 1979, Nottingham Forest won their first European trophy, beating Malmö FF in the European Cup Final before a crowd of 57,000 at the Olympiastadion in Munich. It was an incredible accomplishment for Forest, who became only the third English side - after Manchester United and Liverpool - to claim Europe's biggest prize.

Forest were riding a wave of success under manager Brian Clough, who had taken Derby County to the European Cup semifinals six years earlier. After leaving Derby and suffering through a brief spell at Leeds, Clough moved to Forest in January 1975. Though they were in the Second Division at the time, Clough steered them to promotion in 1977, then to the League title in 1978.

In the European Cup, Forest advanced with wins over Liverpool, AEK Athens, Grasshopper, and Köln. Malmö, who were also playing in their first European Cup Final, reached it by beating Monaco, Dynamo Kiev, Wisła Kraków, and Austria Vienna.

Despite the participation of two relative Cinderella teams, the match itself was anticlimactic. Malmö, dealing with the loss of key players to injury, played a defensive game to slow the English attack. But Forest secured the match's only goal near the end of the first half, as their £1 million signing Trevor Francis - making his first European appearance for Forest - scored a 45th-minute header (pictured) that turned out to be the matchwinner.

Forest successfully defended their title the next season, beating Hamburg 1-0.

29 May 1985 - The Heysel Stadium Disaster

On 29 May 1985, as Liverpool and Juventus prepared to play the European Cup Final in Brussels' Heysel Stadium, pre-match rioting resulted in 39 deaths and over 600 injuries. UEFA Chief Executive Lars-Christer Olsson later called it "the darkest hour in the history of the UEFA competitions."

The trouble started approximately one hour before the scheduled kick-off time. Behind one of the goals, the opposing fans, who were divided into two sections separated by a narrow strip of unoccupied territory and bordered by chain-link fencing, began to throw bottles and stones over the fences at each other. As the situation grew increasingly hostile, a group of Liverpool supporters charged through and over the fencing into the Juventus enclosure. The Juventus fans retreated against a wall, which collapsed under the pressure. Of the 39 people killed, 32 were Juventus fans, while the other seven were neutrals.

Upon seeing their fellow supporters attacked, the Juventus fans at the other end of the stadium began rioting and fought with the police for over two hours, even after the match started (officials chose to play the match for fear that cancellation would result in increased violence - Juventus won 1-0 with a 56th-minute penalty scored by their French midfielder Michel Platini).

In response, UEFA banned British clubs from European competition for five years, with Liverpool receiving an additional three-year ban (later reduced to one extra year). British police investigated the incident and eventually arrested 27 people for manslaughter. In a trial held in Belgium, 14 people - all Liverpool fans - were given three-year sentences.

28 May 1888 - When The Old Firm Was Young

On 28 May 1888, newly-formed Celtic FC played their first official match, a 5-2 win against Rangers. Newspaper reports from the time state that the match was friendly both in name and spirit, in contrast to what the meeting would become.

Celtic were founded the previous November in the Calton district of Glasgow by Brother Walfrid, whose chose the name "Celtic" to emphasize the area's Irish heritage. It was a decision that linked the new club with Edinburgh's Hibernian, founded in 1875. Indeed, Celtic borrowed several Hibernian players for the match against Rangers (and would later sign several of those players the following August to Hibernian's detriment).

Accounts of that first Celtic-Rangers match are sparse, but show that Neil McCallum scored Celtic's first goal of the day, and thus their first-ever goal in an official match.

The Glasgow derby has since become one of the most hotly-contested rivalries in football, with Celtic and Rangers usually fighting one another for the Scottish league's trophies. To date, they have played a total of 387 matches in the league, the Scottish Cup, and the Scottish League Cup, with 155 Rangers wins, 139 Celtic wins, and 93 draws. Between them, they have 95 league titles - Celtic have 42, while Rangers have 53, including the last two.

27 May 1965 - Inter Bars The Door

On 27 May 1965, Inter defeated Benfica 1-0 in the European Cup Final before a crowd of 85,000 at the San Siro. It was the second consecutive European Cup for the Italian side, who would not win it again until 2010.

At the time, Benfica had themselves recently won two straight European Cups (in 1961 and 1962) and boasted the tournament's joint top scorers in Eusébio and José Augusto Torres (pictured at far right), both with nine goals. But Inter were playing at their home stadium, where, playing the catenaccio system masterminded by their manager Helenio Herrera, they had conceded only one goal throughout that season's competition. The Final thus shaped up as a classic battle of offense against defense.

On the day, Inter were helped by the poor weather, with rain slowing both the pitch and the speed of the Portuguese attack. Inter received another lucky break when their Brazilian midfielder Jair de Costa took what appeared to be an easily-handled shot on goal in the 42nd minute. The wet ball slipped through the hands of Benfica keeper Costa Pereira to give Inter a 1-0 lead. Which, as it turned out, was all they needed as Benfica proved unable to crack the Italians' defense.

Inter returned to the Final twice more, losing to Celtic in 1967 and Ajax in 1972 before winning their third European Cup/Champions League trophy in 2010 over Bayern Munich.

26 May 1989 - "It's Up For Grabs Now!"

On 26 May 1989, Arsenal won the League in dramatic fashion, beating runners-up Liverpool 0-2 at Anfield in the last match of the season.

Despite leading the race for the title earlier that spring, a recent loss to Derby County and a draw with Wimbledon left Arsenal in second place, three points behind Liverpool. Liverpool also had a better goal differential which meant that Arsenal needed not only to win, but to win by two goals. It seemed an impossible task, as Liverpool had not lost by two more or goals at Anfield all season (and had, in fact, lost there only twice all year).

It was an emotional day, with Liverpool still feeling the effects of the Hillsborough disaster from the previous month in which 96 of their supporters died due to overcrowding and police mismanagement. Recognizing that, Arsenal manager George Graham planned to keep the game close for the first half, try to get a goal early in second half, then push a second. Which is almost exactly how it played out.

After a scoreless first half, Arsenal striker Alan Smith scored a 52nd-minute goal after a Nigel Winterburn free kick. With about 14 minutes left in the match, and Arsenal still leading 1-0, Graham switched the Arsenal formation from a defensive 4-5-1 to a more attacking 4-4-2. Liverpool took advantage of the extra space in midfield to launch several counter-attacks, but could not produce an equalizer.

In the second of three minutes of injury time, Arsenal keeper John Lukic rolled the ball out to right back Lee Dixon, who sent a long pass to Smith. Smith lobbed it into the path of a charging Michael Thomas just outside the Liverpool box. Thomas (pictured at right) evaded Liverpool defender Steve Nicol, then chipped the ball over the diving Liverpool keeper, Bruce Grobbelaar. It went into the net with 25 seconds to spare - deciding the title with the final goal in the final minute of the season's final match. Commentator Brian Moore reported the action saying "Thomas, charging through the midfield ... it's up for grabs now ... Thomas, right at the end!"

The match has since been recognized as one of the most dramatic title wins in English history and featured in the 1997 film "Fever Pitch."

25 May 2005 - The Miracle Of Istanbul

On 25 May 2005, Liverpool won their fifth European Cup/Champions League trophy, coming back from a 3-0 deficit to beat AC Milan on penalties 3-3 (3-2) before a crowd of 70,000 at Istanbul's Atatürk Olympic Stadium.

The win salvaged an otherwise disappointing season for the Reds, who had finished the Premier League season in fifth place after an early FA Cup elimination and a loss to Chelsea in the League Cup Final. The win also allowed Liverpool to compete in the next season's Champions League - their fifth-place League finish was outside the four qualification spots, but UEFA granted them a special exemption to compete in 2005-06 as title holders.

Milan were favored to win and, true to form, took an early lead with a volley from captain Paolo Maldini after only 51 seconds (it was the fastest-ever goal in a European Cup/Champions League Final and made the 36-year old Maldini the competition's oldest-ever goalscorer). Liverpool attacked the Milan area, but were unable to break through the Italians' defense. Liverpool's efforts exposed them to a counter-attack, resulting in two more Milan goals before the break, both from Argentinian striker Hernán Crespo (38', 42'), on loan from Chelsea.

Milan's 3-0 lead looked insurmountable, but Liverpool renewed their pressure after the break. They played only three defenders in order to bolster their attack, which paid dividends when they scored three goals in a six-minute period (Gerrard 54', Šmicer 56', Alonso 60') to draw level. Despite Liverpool's weakened back line, Milan were unable to score and the match went to extra time, then to penalty kicks.

Milan went first in the shootout and missed their first two kicks - the first went over the bar, while the second was easily saved. Liverpool made their first two, but their third was saved, so that after four kicks, Liverpool were ahead 3-2. Milan's Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko, who had scored the winning penalty in the 2003 Final, stepped up to take Milan's last kick, knowing that he needed to convert it in order to prevent Liverpool from winning. Unfortunately for Milan, he sent it right down the middle where it was saved by keeper Jerzy Dudek.