27 May 2000 - A Century Of Silverware

On 27 May 2000, Rangers defeated Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup Final, making them the first club in the world to secure 100 major trophies.

Founded in 1872, Rangers started the 1999-2000 season with 98 major trophies, including 48 league titles, 28 Scottish Cups, 21 Scottish League Cups, and one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. They had the chance to take four more trophies that season, but were eliminated from the Scottish League Cup and the UEFA Cup in December.

The focus on their two remaining competitions paid off--they clinched the league title on 22 April after Celtic's draw with Hibernian left the former 17 points adrift of Rangers with only five matches left to play. Rangers proceeded to finish 21 points clear of their Old Firm rivals in the final table.

That left the Scottish Cup Final, played before a crowd of over 50,000 at Hampden Park. Although Aberdeen had knocked Rangers out of the League Cup in the quarterfinals, 0-1 (aet), the Scottish Cup Final was not as close a contest. Rangers won 0-4 with goals from Giovanni van Bronckhorst (36'), Tony Vidmar (47'), Billy Dodds (50'), and Jörg Albertz (51').

Since then, Rangers added to their silverware collection with five more league titles, four more Scottish Cups, and one more League Cup. 

10 December 1997 - But I'm Sure They Were Happy Just To Be There

On 10 December 1997, MFK Košice lost 0-1 to Feyenoord, thus becoming the first-ever team to bow out of the Champions League with zero points.

Reigning champions of Slovakia's top flight, Košice reached the group stage by beating Icelandic club ÍA 4-0 on aggregate in the first qualifying round, then defeating Spartak Moscow 2-1 on aggregate in the second qualifying round. In doing so, they were the first Slovakian club to make it to the group stage.

But their good fortune ended there. They failed to even score in the first legs opening the tournament with a 3-goal loss to Manchester United, followed by a 2-0 loss to Feyenoord, then a 1-goal loss to eventual finalists Juventus. They improved in the rematch with Juve, but still fell, 3-2, then lost again to man United, 3-0. They were already guaranteed to finish at the bottom of the group regardless of the results in their last match against Feyenoord, who were also mathematically eliminated from the competition.

Played at the Všešportový areál in Košice, the hosts kept it close for most of the match and nearly walked away with a point, but succumbed to an 81st-minute strike from Giovanni van Bronckhorst to end the tournament's worst campaign in history with 6 losses in 6 matches.

25 June 2006 - The Battle Of Nuremberg

On 25 June 2006, referee Valentin Ivanov issued a FIFA-record four red cards and sixteen yellows in a World Cup Round of 16 match between the Netherlands and Portugal.

Both teams arrived at the Frankenstadion in Nuremberg as dark-horse contenders for the trophy. Portugal had won all three of their matches in the group, while the Netherlands won their first two, then drew with Argentina in their third game.

Despite their reputations for playing with style and creativity, the match quickly devolved into a brutal battle of attrition, with two Dutch players--Mark van Bommel and Khalid Boulahrouz--receiving cautions after only seven minutes. The next went to Portuguese midfielder Maniche in the 20th minute, but he scored three minutes later to give his team a 1-0 lead.

The first red card of the day went to Portuguese midfielder Costinha, who received a second yellow in the first minute of first-half stoppage time.

In the second half, Ivanov issued another eleven yellows, resulting in ejections for Boulahrouz (63') and Giovanni van Bronckhorst (90+5') for the Netherlands and Deco (78') for Portugal. The total of twenty cards remains a record high for any FIFA-sponsored competition.

Portugal held on to win the match 1-0 and eventually advanced all the way to the semifinals before falling to France.

27 May 2000 - A Century Of Silverware

On 27 May 2000, Rangers defeated Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup Final, making them the first club in the world to secure 100 major trophies.

Founded in 1872, Rangers started the 1999-2000 season with 98 major trophies, including 48 league titles, 28 Scottish Cups, 21 Scottish League Cups, and one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. They had the chance to take four more trophies that season, but were eliminated from the Scottish League Cup and the UEFA Cup in December.

The focus on their two remaining competitions paid off--they clinched the league title on 22 April after Celtic's draw with Hibernian left the former 17 points adrift of Rangers with only five matches left to play. Rangers proceeded to finish 21 points clear of their Old Firm rivals in the final table.

That left the Scottish Cup Final, played before a crowd of over 50,000 at Hampden Park. Although Aberdeen had knocked Rangers out of the League Cup in the quarterfinals, 0-1 (aet), the Scottish Cup Final was not as close a contest. Rangers won 0-4 with goals from Giovanni van Bronckhorst (36'), Tony Vidmar (47'), Billy Dodds (50'), and Jörg Albertz (51').

Since then, Rangers have continued to add to their silverware collection with five more league titles, four more Scottish Cups, and one more League Cup.

10 December 1997 - But I'm Sure They Were Happy Just To Be There

On 10 December 1997, MFK Košice lost 0-1 to Feyenoord, thus becoming the first-ever team to bow out of the Champions League with zero points.

Reigning champions of Slovakia's top flight, Košice reached the group stage by beating Icelandic club ÍA 4-0 on aggregate in the first qualifying round, then defeating Spartak Moscow 2-1 on aggregate in the second qualifying round. In doing so, they were the first Slovakian club to make it to the group stage.

But their good fortune ended there. They failed to even score in the first legs opening the tournament with a 3-goal loss to Manchester United, followed by a 2-0 loss to Feyenoord, then a 1-goal loss to eventual finalists Juventus. They improved in the rematch with Juve, but still fell, 3-2, then lost again to man United, 3-0. They were already guaranteed to finish at the bottom of the group regardless of the results in their last match against Feyenoord, who were also mathematically eliminated from the competition.

Played at the Všešportový areál in Košice, the hosts kept it close for most of the match and nearly walked away with a point, but succumbed to an 81st-minute strike from Giovanni van Bronckhorst to end the tournament's worst campaign in history with 6 losses in 6 matches.