30 September 1945 - Sweden Manages To Be In Two Places At Once

On 30 September 1945, Sweden played - and won - two separate matches. One was against Denmark in Solna and the other was against Finland in Helsinki.

At the time, Sweden was a rising power in football, having finished fourth at the 1938 World Cup. Unfortunately for the Swedes, however, all of their official competitions had been postponed due to the outbreak of World War II, so they had little opportunity to capitalize on the strength of their side, led by their prolific forward pairing of Gunnar Nordahl (43 goals in 33 appearances between 1942 and 1948) and Gunnar Gren (32 goals in 57 appearances between 1939 and 1958).

In place of the canceled competitions, Sweden played several friendlies during the war years. For some reason, they overbooked for 30 September 1945 and had to send full squads to both matches. As a sign of their dominance, Sweden won the two of them in convincing fashion, beating Denmark 4-1 and Finland 1-6.

Sweden continued their run of success once official competitions resumed after the war, taking the gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics, then finishing third at the 1950 World Cup.

29 September 2003 - The Tigers Deliver A Record Mauling

On 29 September 2003, South Korea defeated Nepal 16-0 in a qualifying match for the 2004 Asian Cup. It remains the Koreans' record victory and Nepal's record defeat.

Going into the match, which was played at Munhak Stadium in Incheon, Nepal had already lost to Oman, 0-7, and Vietnam, 5-0. Korea, meanwhile, had beaten Vietnam 5-0 and Oman 1-0, so the likely outcome was easily predictable, even if the scoreline wasn't.

It took the Koreans only 18 minutes to crack the Nepalese defense, as winger Kim Dae-Eui scored the opening goal, but the crack quickly widened into a chasm. The hosts took a 5-0 lead into the break, with another goal from Kim (37'), one from forward Woo Sung-Yong (21'), and a brace from right back Park Jin-Seop (22', 28'). Things only got worse for Nepal in the second half, with two more goals from Woo (46', 48'), three more from Park (64', 67', 89'), one each from midfielder Lee Eul-Yong (54'), midfielder Lee Kwan-Woo (57'), midfielder Chung Kyung-Ho (80'), and a hat-trick from striker Kim Do-Hoon (75', 84', 86').

Despite the record-setting performance, Korea finished second in their qualifying group after losses to Vietnam (0-1) and first-place finisher Oman (3-1). Nepal finished last having lost all six qualifying matches without scoring a single goal, resulting in a goal differential of -43.

28 September 1997 - The Tokyo Daechup

On 28 September 1997, South Korea upset Japan in a World Cup qualifier played in Tokyo, thanks to two late goals. The match is famous in Korea as the "Tokyo Daechup," or "Greatest Battle in Tokyo."

Japan, who had been touted at the time as the rising Asian football power, were aiming for their first World Cup appearance, while South Korea were similarly looking to earn a spot at the expense of their nearby rivals. The Koreans' hopes appeared to be dashed early in the second half as Japanese midfielder Motohiro Yamaguchi put his side ahead with a chip over Korean keeper Kim Byung-ji and the Japanese side pulled back deep into their half to protect the lead.

As the end neared, however, Korean earned a corner which midfielder Seo Jung-won managed to divert into the goal with a well-placed header to draw his team level. Then, as time was about to expire, Korean defender Lee Min-sung fired a ferocious left-footed rocket from distance. It beat the Japanese keeper and landed in the back of the net to give the underdogs a 1-2 victory. The Japanese were so disheartened that they sacked their manager after the match.

South Korea ended up securing the AFC automatic qualification spot easily, 6 points ahead of second-place finisher Japan. But Japan also made it to the tournament after beating Iran in a playoff.

27 September 1994 - Ravanelli's Record Romp

On 27 September 1994, Juventus defeated CSKA Sofia 5-1 in the second leg of their first round UEFA Cup match-up. All five Juventus goals were scored by striker Fabrizio Ravanelli - a record single-match tally for the club in European competition.

Born in Perugia in 1968, Ravanelli played for a handful of clubs in the Italian lower divisions before signing with Juventus in 1992. He performed moderately well in his first two seasons at Juve, delivering a total of 14 goals in 52 league appearances. He flourshed in 1994, however, surpassing his previous two years' total in a single season.

His high-water mark came in the first round of the UEFA Cup, with Juventus facing off against CSKA Sofia. The Bulgarians had won the first leg at home, 3-2, but UEFA ruled that they had used an ineligible player and awarded the match as a 3-0 win to Juve. Ravanelli mooted any controversy, however, by scoring the first five goals (9', 65', 69', 81', 83'). Sofia grabbed a consolation goal in the 90th minute to finish the day's scoring at 5-1.

Ravanelli scored four more goals in the tournament as Juventus advanced to the Final only to lose to fellow Italian club Parma. His tally against CSKA Sofia remains the club record for an individual in a European competition and is only one goal behind the record for all competitions (6, set by Omar Savori in a Serie A match against Inter in 1961).

26 September 1990 - Bergkamp's International Career Takes Flight

On 26 September 1990, Dennis Bergkamp made his international debut for the Netherlands in a friendly against Italy. He would go on to become the Dutch national team's greatest goalscorer.

Bergkamp, a second striker (and renowned aviophobe), began his professional career four years earlier with Ajax, where he won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1987) and the KNVB Cup (1987) before winning the Eredivisie in 1990. His performance that season won him the Dutch Football Talent of the Year and earned his his first cap for the Netherlands.

The Dutch lost that first match, 1-0 in Palermo, but Bergkamp developed into a prolific striker, scoring 37 goals in 79 international appearances - enough to make him the Netherlands' top scorer by the time of his international retirement in 2000 (though he was later surpassed by Patrick Kluivert). The Dutch failed to claim any major silverware during his tenure, but he earned an individual honor by winning the 1992 UEFA Euro golden boot. He also won silverware at the club level with Ajax, Inter, and especially Arsenal, where he won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups between 1995 and 2006.

25 September 2001 - This One Didn't Even Get A Name

On 25 September 2001, the Confederation of African Football unveiled the new trophy for the African Cup of Nations. It was the third trophy used since the competition's founding in 1957.

The first African Cup of Nations trophy, which was silver and resembled England's League Cup, was named the Abdelaziz Abdallah Salem trophy, after the first CAF president. When Ghana won the bi-annual tournament for the third time in 1978, the CAF allowed them to keep the trophy and commissioned a new one, named the African Unity Cup. That second trophy, according to the BBC, "was emblazoned with the Olympic rings and with space-age handles and a long stem. "

Cameroon won their third ACN title in 2000 and were allowed to keep the Unity Cup, so the CAF again commissioned the new trophy (pictured). It was first won by Cameroon in 2002, and has since been claimed by Tunisia (2004), and Egypt (2006, 2008, and 2010). Egypt's success meant that they now have permanent possession of the third cup, so the CAF will again have a new one for the 2012 tournament.

24 September 1922 - Crossing The Pond (And The Gender Gap)

On 24 September 1922, English women's side Dick, Kerr's Ladies opened their North American tour with a 6-3 loss to Paterson FC.

The Ladies began in 1917 as the works team for the Dick, Kerr & Co. munitions factory, located in Preston, Lancashire. They and other women's clubs soon grew so popular that the FA saw them as a threat to the men's game and issued a 1921 ban preventing the women from using league grounds. Nevertheless, they continued to play on non-league grounds and in 1922, were invited on their 1922 overseas tour.

The tour was scheduled to start in Canada, but upon their arrival on 22 September, they were informed that they were no longer welcome in Canada. They crossed the border to the US and made their way to New Jersey, where they faced Paterson FC. Paterson, a men's club, had won the 1917 National Association Foot Ball League title.

Paterson won that opening match 6-3, but it was one of only two losses Dick, Kerr's Ladies suffered in the eight matches they played against some of the strongest US men's sides of the time. They also lost to New York Centro-Hispano, won against the New Bedford Whalers, the New York Football Club, and the Baltimore Soccer Club, and drew with J&P Coats, Washington Stars, and the Fall River Marksmen. After the match against Fall River, a local paper reported "The score in no way explains how well these English lassies can play the national game of their homeland. Nor could the fans at the game tell just exactly how expert are the women tourists for the opposition was from a team of the best men kickers in the country."

Photo © Gail Newsham.