7 February 1997 - Two Nations Weren't Big Enough To Hold Him

On 7 February 1997, USSR-born defender Akhrik Tsveiba joined an exclusive group when he made an appearance for his third national team. 

In 1990, at the age of 33, Tsveiba (pictured) started his international career with the Soviet team, making 25 appearances for them through the summer of 1992 (the last seven of those appearances were with the Soviet Union's successor team, the Commonwealth of Independent States).

On 26 August 1992, after the dissolution of the CIS team, he made a lone appearance for Ukraine in a 1-2 friendly loss to Hungary. Then, just over five months later, he switched his allegiance to Russia. His first appearance for them came on 7 February 1997 in the opening match of the Carlsberg Cup, which Russia won over Yugoslavia on penalties, 1-1 (6-5). (Russia went on to win the tournament with a win over Switzerland in the final.)

He proceeded to make another seven appearances for Russia, bringing his career total to 34 before retiring from international play in 1997.

While players with caps from two different national teams are not uncommon, Tsveiba is one of only seven who have played for three different teams. Three of the others--Yury Nikiforov, Andrei Pyatnitskyi, and Sergei Mandreko--were former USSR players in similar situations to Tsveiba. The other three are Josef Bican (Austria, Czechoslovakia, and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia), László Kubala (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Spain), and Karel Burkert (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Bohemia and Moravia).

6 February 1945 - I Don't Care Why They Chose The Name, I Like It

On 6 February 1945, SV Robinhood was founded in the Surinamese capital of Paramaribo. They have since become the country's most successful club, with a record 23 league titles.

The club was originally organized as a recreational outlet for the area's poorer citizens, which perhaps explains the unusual name, though no record of the reason survives. They joined the league in 1946, starting in the third division, and rose quickly through the ranks, winning the first of four consecutive titles in 1953.

They continued to accumulate silverware in the '60s and '70s, but really hit their stride in the '80s, winning the league nine times in that decade--every year but 1982, when they lost out to derby rival Leo Victor.

Robinhood won their most recent league title in 2012 and finished 7th out of 10 teams the last two seasons.

5 February 2011 - Presto, He's Gone

On 5 February 2011, Ebbsfleet goalkeeper Preston Edwards became an internet sensation after getting sent off in a match after just ten seconds.

Ebbsfleet, who were sitting in second place in the Conference South table, were at fourth-placed Farnsborough, whom they had beaten 2-1 earlier that season. The visitors kicked off and promptly sent the ball down to their left back, who--under pressure from a Farnsborough player after a failed clearance--tried to pass it back to Edwards. But the pass was too slow, allowing another Farnsborough player to get to it instead.

In order to prevent the goal, Edwards brought the attacker down in the box, resulting in a straight red--the fastest ejection in history for a goalkeeper. With no substitute keeper on the bench, Ebbsfleet were forced to replace him in goal with midfielder Tom Phipps, who made a valiant effort, but failed to stop the ensuing penalty kick. It was the first goal toward the final score of 3-0 for Farnsborough.

Video of the incident went viral soon afterward, making Edwards an overnight celebrity. Speaking to BBC Radio Kent, he said "I'd like to be known for better, different reasons, but it's happened. I've got to take it on the chin. At least I've got something in history." He ultimately got payback, however, as Ebbsfleet beat Farnsborough at the end of the season in the promotion playoffs, earning a spot in the Conference National.

4 February 1937 - Stanley And Steele Strike For Stoke

On 4 February 1937, Stoke City recorded their record league victory, beating West Brom by the score of 10-3. It is also West Brom's record loss.

The teams met at Stoke's Victoria Ground separated by six spots in the table, with Stoke in fourteenth and West Brom sitting in twenty-first, only one place above the bottom. Their previous match ended as a 2-2 draw, so few people expected what happened next.

Powered by their star forward Stanley Matthews (pictured, left), Stoke took the lead in the 10th minute (scored by Freddie Steele (pictured, right) from a Matthews cross), but West Brom equalized one minute later. They scored again in the 20th minute and never looked back. Steele converted a 32nd-minute penalty to extend the lead to 3-1, then scored again to push the lead to 4-1 by the break.

In the second half, Stoke continued to surge and were up 5-1 before West Brom got their second goal. But Steele continued to torment the Baggies, scoring twice more to push the score to 7-2 en route to the final score of 10-3. While that remains a record margin in the league, it is a distant second to their 26-0 win over Mow Cop in the Staffordshire Senior Cup in 1877.

Steele went on to score a club record 33 league goals that season, part of his career total of 140 in 224 league appearances.

3 February 1908 - I've Always Wondered About That Shamrock

On 3 February 1908, Panathinaikos were founded in Athens. They have since gone on to become one of the most successful teams in Greece, with 20 league titles and one European Cup final to their name.

The club's founder, Giorgios Kalafatis, led forty others in a breakaway from their previous club, who had decided to drop football. They originally adopted the name Podosferikos Omilos Athinon, but changed it to Panathinaikos in 1924. Along the way, they fixed green and white as their colors and chose a shamrock as their club emblem (taking it from Chalcedona of Constantinople, the former club of Panathinaikos star and subsequent club president Michalis Papazoglou).

They won their first league title in 1930, but enjoyed their greatest run of success in the 1960s, winning six championships in the decade. In 1971, under manager Ferenc Puskás, they finished as European Cup runners-up, losing to Ajax in the final (it was the first of three consecutive European Cups for the Dutch side).

Panathinaikos won their most recent league title--their 20th--in 2010, adding it to their collection that includes 18 Greek Cups and three Greek Super Cups.

2 February 2011 - Corinthians Get The Tolima Take-Down

On 2 February 2011, Brazilian giants Corinthians were dumped out of the Copa Libertadores in the first round by Colombian side Deportes Tolima.

The two sides met over two legs and played the first one to a scoreless draw in São Paulo on 26 January. One week later, they reconvened at Tolima's Estadio Manuel Murillo Toro to decide the contest. There, playing before a crowd of 15,000 the hosts took control of the match early and were denied a quick lead only by the brilliant play of Corinthians goalkeeper Júlio César and the referee's decision not to award what looked like a certain penalty for an 18th-minute foul by Corinthians in the box.

Corinthians did better in the second half, getting a great chance in the 50th minute with a powerful blast from striker Ronaldo (pictured), but Tolima keeper Anthony Silva managed to parry it. They then fell victim to a controversial goal on a Tolima counterattack in the 66th minute when forward Danny Santoya beat César after getting the ball in a marginally offside position.

Tolima's second goal left no room for doubt, however, as unmarked striker Wilder Medina connected on a cross and headed the ball home. The 2-0 loss continued Corinthians' frustration in the tournament, which they have never won. Tolima advanced to the group stage, but were eliminated there.

1 February 1958 - Will The Real Luther Blissett Please Stand Up

On 1 February 1958, Luther Blissett, who holds the Watford records for appearances and goals, was born in Jamaica. 

The striker, who moved to England at a young age, joined Watford's youth team in 1974, then signed a professional contract with the Fourth Division side one year later. His first two seasons were unremarkable, but he began scoring at a rapid pace in the 1977-78 season and helped Watford climb the league table all the way to the First Division by 1982. That season in the top flight--the club's first--was Blissett's best with a total of 27 goals in 41 appearances.

His performance caught the eye of Italian giants AC Milan, who signed him in June 1983 for £1M. But his form remained in England and he scored only six times in 39 appearances across all competitions before Milan sold him back to Watford for £550,000 in the summer of 1984. He remained there for another four years, then moved to Bournemouth for three seasons before returning to Watford for a third and final time. By the time he left again in 1992, he had set club records for appearances (503) and goals (183).

He retired 1994 after brief spells with Bury and Mansfield Town and also made a total of 14 appearances for England.

In 1994, a group of political and cultural activists in Italy adopted Blissett's name as a collective pseudonym for a series of pranks, saying "anyone can be Luther Blissett simply by adopting the name Luther Blissett." Use of the name quickly spread across Europe and the United States and was attached to a variety of activities, including one novel written under Blissett's name. The real Luther Blissett joked about participating, but is not actually a part of the project.