31 May 1903 - Leipzig Über Alles

On 31 May 1903, VfB Leipzig (pictured) defeated DFC Prag 7-2 in Hamburg to claim the first German national championship.

Founded in 1896, Leipzig was one of the original 86 teams that joined together in 1900 to form the German football association, known as the Deutscher Fussball Bund or "DFB." In order to increase its membership, the DFB included ethnically German teams from other countries. One of those teams was DFC Prag, based in the city of Prague which is now part of the Czech Republic, but which was at the time part of Austria-Hungary.

Prag advanced to the final under mysterious circumstances. They were scheduled for a playoff match against Karlsruhrer FV, who received a telegram claiming to be from the DFB and informing them that the match had been postponed. Karlsruhrer thus failed to show up for the match - which had not been postponed - and Prag were declared winners by forfeit, placing them in the Final against Leipzig. While the telegram has never been officially explained, it is perhaps no coincidence that the DFB President at the time - Dr. Ferdinand Hueppe - was also the chairman of Prag.

The heavily-favored Prag side showed up for the match in poor condition, the players having gone pub-hopping the night before. They nonetheless took an early lead, going up 1-0 after eleven minutes. Leipzig equalized and the first half ended with the teams tied at 1-1. The late night apparently took its toll on the Prag players in the second half, however, as Leipzig scored six more goals to claim the 7-2 victory.

Leipzig won two more championships, in 1906 and 1913, before being disbanded by Allied authorities after World War II. Club members reorganized the team in 1946 and they have played under several different names since. Since 1965, the club has been known as 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig. They currently play in Germany's fifth tier.

DFC Prag was included in Nazi Germany's reorganization of sports and disappeared after World War II.

30 May 1995 - The Passing Of A Saint

On 30 May 1995, former Southampton forward and FA Cup legend Bobby Stokes died at the age of 44.

Born in Portsmouth on 30 January 1951, Stokes signed for local rivals Southampton in September 1966 as an apprentice and turned professional in February 1968. He made his first-team debut on 7 April 1969 against Burnley and contributed a goal to the Saints' 5-1 win. Thereafter, Stokes was a regular, if not constant, presence in the first team.

He is best known for his role in the 1976 FA Cup Final, which pitted Southampton, at that time in Division Two, against First Division Manchester United. Although United was a heavy favorite, the Saints surprisingly held them to a scoreless draw until the 83rd minute, when Stokes raced past United defender Martin Buchan and shot the ball past keeper Alex Stepney to score the match's only goal. The 1-0 win remains Southampton's greatest honor.

Stokes left the Saints in 1977, playing one season for Portsmouth and two for the Washington Diplomats before retiring from football after the 1979-80 season. He battled with alcoholism and died in 1995 after contracting pneumonia.

29 May 1963 - "... And A Child Shall Lead Them ..."

On 29 May 1963, center back Bobby Moore became England's youngest senior team captain at 22 years, 47 days.

Moore, who played for West Ham from 1958 to 1974, earned his first senior cap for England in May 1962 in a 4-0 friendly victory over Peru. He played a significant role for England in the 1962 World Cup, which ended in a quarterfinal defeat to eventual winners Brazil.

His appearance on 29 May 1963 was only his 12th for the national team. Long-serving captain Johnny Haynes had just retired and his immediate successor, Jimmy Armfield, was injured, leading new manager Alf Ramsey to hand the captain's armband to Moore. He rewarded Ramsey's faith by leading the team to a 4-2 win over Czechoslovakia.

Armfield reclaimed the captaincy upon his return, but Moore received it permanently in 1964. He led England to victory in the 1966 World Cup, which made him an English football icon. He made a total of 108 appearances for the national team, a record at the time that was later surpassed by goalkeeper Peter Shilton (125 caps) and David Beckham (109, as of the time of this writing).

28 May 1928 - The Birth Of The World Cup

On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam decided to organize and stage its own international football tournament, which came to be known as the World Cup.

FIFA had previously been involved in organizing Olympic football, starting with the 1920 Summer Olympics and continuing in 1924 and 1928. It was the success of those tournaments that prompted FIFA, under the leadership of President Jules Rimet, to stage its own competition starting in 1930.

To host the inaugural World Cup, FIFA looked to reigning two-time Olympic champions Uruguay, for whom 1930 was also the centennial anniversary of their independence from Brazil. Unfortunately, the choice of Uruguay as host country placed a significant travel burden on the European national sides, leading only four - Belgium, France, Romania, and Yugoslavia - to participate. They were joined by seven South American teams and two North American teams to make a total of thirteen participating nations.

The first two World Cup matches were held simultaneously on 13 July 1930 - France defeated Mexico 4-1 and the United States beat Belgium 3-0.

That first World Cup concluded with host Uruguay successfully defending its world champion status from the Olympics with a 4-2 victory over Argentina in the Final.

27 May 1987 - Madjer's Magic Match

On 27 May 1987, FC Porto won their first European Cup/Champions League trophy, defeating Bayern Munich 2-1 before a crowd of 62,000 at the Praterstadion in Vienna.

Porto started their march to the trophy in strong fashion, beating Maltese side Rabat Ajax in the first round by the aggregate score of 10-0. They followed that win with victories over Czechoslovakia's F.C. Vítkovice (3-1 agg.), Denmark's Brøndby I.F. (2-1 agg.), and the USSR's Dynamo Kiev (4-2 agg.). Bayern, meanwhile, advanced to the Final with wins over PSV Eindhoven (2-0 agg.), Austria Wien (3-1 agg.), Anderlecht (7-2 agg.), and Real Madrid (4-2 agg.).

Bayern were favored to win and club president Fritz Scherer was reportedly so confident that he drafted his victory speech in advance. It was thus no surprise when the German side took an early lead with a 25th minute goal from striker Ludwig Kögl and held onto the 1-0 advantage into the match's final minutes.

In the 78th minute, however, Porto's Algerian forward Rabah Madjer (pictured) equalized by flicking a brilliant backheeled shot into the Bayern net. Two minutes later, Madjer slipped past a Bayern defender and crossed the ball for Porto's Brazilian midfielder Juary, who had come on as a substitute in the 46th minute. Juary volleyed the ball into the roof of the net, giving Porto a 2-1 lead in the 80th minute and the Portuguese side held on to claim the victory.

26 May 1999 - Saving Their Best For Last

On 26 May 1999, Manchester United defeated Bayern Munich to claim the 1999 UEFA Champions League title before a crowd of over 90,000 people at Barcelona's Camp Nou Stadium.

Bayern scored first after Manchester United's Danish back Ronny Johnsen fouled Bayern striker Carsten Jancker just outside United's penalty area. Right forward Mario Basler took the ensuing free kick, which swerved around the United wall and into the left corner of the net, giving Bayern a 1-0 lead in the 6th minute.

Despite an advantage in possession, Manchester United were unable to penetrate the German side's defense. In the 67th minute, manager Alex Ferguson attempted to strengthen his team's offense, substituting forward Teddy Sheringham on for Swedish midfielder Jesper Blomqvist. Still down 1-0 in the 81st minute, he then brought on Norwegian forward Ole Gunnar Solskjær for forward Andy Cole.

At the end of regulation, the fourth official indicated that there would be three minutes of injury time. It was then that the substitutes rewarded Ferguson's decisions, as Sheringham scored the equalizer in the 91st minute. Less than 30 seconds later, United earned a corner, which was taken by midfielder David Beckham. He arced the ball in to Sheringham, who headed it down to the feet of Solskjær. The Norwegian then prodded the ball into the top of the net, giving United their first lead in the 92nd minute. The German side were stunned and United held on for the 2-1 win.

The victory completed a treble for Manchester United, who had already won the Premier League title and the FA Cup.

25 May 1988 - Pretty Sweet Victory, Eindhoven

On 25 May 1988, PSV Eindhoven won the European Cup Final, defeating Benfica on penalties 6-5 before a crowd of 70,000 at Neckarstadion in Stuttgart.

Benfica had beaten Albanian side Partiziana Tirana, Danish side Aarhus Gymnastikforening, Belgian side Anderlecht, and Romanian side Steaua Bucharest on their way to the Final, but had just lost their captain, midfielder Diamantino Miranda, to injury before the match. With him unavailable, the Portuguese team played very conservatively, keeping 11 men behind the ball for much of the match.

PSV made it to the Final with victories over Galatasaray, Rapid Vienna, Bordeaux, and Real Madrid, advancing against the last two teams by virtue of the away goals rule. Although PSV dominated possession in the Final, they could not break through Benfica's defense and the teams were scoreless through extra time, sending the match into penalty kicks.

Neither side had trouble finding the net during the initial penalty period, with both sides converting their first 5 shots each. In sudden death, midfielder Anton Janssen scored PSV's first kick. On Benfica's following attempt, Dutch keeper Hans van Bruekelen guessed correctly, diving low to his right, and saved the kick from back António Veloso.

The win completed a treble for the Dutch side and their manager, Guus Hiddink, who had already won the Eredivisie title and the Dutch KNVB Cup.