31 October 2002 - I Think They Made Their Point. Repeatedly.

On 31 October 2002, AS Adema won a match by the world record scoreline of 149-0. Adema, however, didn't score any of those goals.

The match came in the final round of Madagascar's THB Champions League tournament, played among three teams in a round robin format. The reigning champions, Stade Olympique de L'Emyrne Antananarivo (SOE), had been eliminated in their previous match by a controversial last-minute penalty decision, making Adema the new champions with one match to spare--against SOE.

With nothing at stake, SOE decided to use the match against Adema as a stage to protest their elimination. They kicked off and proceeded to put the ball directly into their own net. As Adema's players watched in astonishment, SOE continued to score an own goal from each successive kickoff, resulting in the final scoreline of 149-0, a margin recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest ever.

Afterward, the Fédération Malagasy de Football suspended SOE's manager for three years. Four of SOE's players also received suspensions.

30 October 2008 - There Are Many Things I Can Do In 22 Seconds But This Isn't One Of Them

On 30 October 2008, Nigerian midfielder Soo Adekwagh got her team off to a blazing start against South Korea in the 2008 U-17 Women's World Cup by scoring after only 22 seconds.

Hosted by New Zealand, the 2008 tournament was the first FIFA-sponsored U-17 women's world championship. The tournament started two days earlier, but Nigeria and South Korea met on the first match day for Group D, which also included England and Brazil.

Playing before a crowd of 11,500 at Wellington Stadium, Nigeria kicked off. Adekwagh (pictured, right) received the ball and fired a dipping shot toward goal. The ball surprised Korea's keeper, Lee Hyo Ju, who was unable to prevent it from going into the net. At 22 seconds, the goal bettered the previous record of 30 seconds, set by Sweden's Lena Videkull in 1991, as the fastest goal in FIFA women's history.

Nigeria proceeded to win the match 2-1, but were eliminated in the group stage after a loss to England and a draw with Brazil. South Korea rallied to win the group, but were themselves ousted by the United States in the first knockout round.

Adekwagh currently plays for Bayelsa Queens, one of Nigeria's most successful women's clubs, and was a member of the Nigerian team that advanced to the Final of the 2010 U-20 Women's World Cup.

29 October 1933 - When Crossing The Border Crosses The Line

On 29 October 1933, Switzerland and Romania drew 2-2 in a World Cup qualifier. FIFA, however, later concluded that the Romanians had used an ineligible player and awarded the Swiss a 2-0 win instead.

The controversial match was the second in the three-team qualification group that also included Yugoslavia. The Swiss had already drawn with Yugoslavia, while Romania had not yet played. The teams met at the Wankdorf Stadion in Bern, where the visitors went up 0-2 with goals from forwards Gratian Sepi (18') and Stefan Dobay (65'). Switzerland pulled back within one after a score from forward Erwin Hochstrasser (75'), then midfielder Ernst Hufschmid converted an 80th-minute penalty to earn what they thought was a draw.

After the match, Swiss officials complained to FIFA that Romania had illegally included forward Iuliu Baratky (pictured). Baratky had made nine appearances for Hungary between 1930 and 1933, making him ineligible to play for neighboring Romania. In response, FIFA recorded the match as a 2-0 Swiss victory. Romania went on to defeat Yugoslavia 2-1 to qualify for the tournament anyway.

Meanwhile, Baratky continued to play for them, making a total of 20 appearances and scoring 14 goals from 1933 to 1940.

28 October 1993 - The Agony Of Doha

On 28 October 1993, a late Iraqi goal denied Japan their first World Cup appearance in a match Japanese supporters call "the Agony of Doha."

The two teams met on the final day of Asian Football Confederation qualification for the 1994 World Cup. With four of their five matches already played, Japan were at the top of the group with 5 points, while Iraq were three places back on 4 points. A win for Japan would have sent them through to their first-ever World Cup, while the Iraqis needed both a win and favorable results in the day's other two matches.

Playing before a crowd of 15,000 at the Al-Ahly Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Japan took a quick lead thanks to forward Kazuyoshi Miura's 5th-minute strike. The two sides then exchanged second-half goals, with forward Ahmad Radhi equalizing for Iraq in the 54th minute, followed by an 80th-minute goal from Japanese forward Masashi Nakayama to restore the Blue Samurai's advantage.

But in the 90th minute, as the Japanese supporters began making their World Cup plans, substitute Jaffar Salman headed a cross past Japanese keeper Shigetatsu Matsunaga. The match ended 2-2, eliminating both Iraq and Japan from the tournament. Saudi Arabia won the group, while Japanese arch-rivals South Korea took the second and final qualification spot.

27 October 1944 - Real Madrid Breaks New Ground

On 27 October 1944, construction began at Real Madrid's new stadium, the Nuevo Estadio Chamartín. Now known as the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, it is one of the world's most famous football venues.

The club had played previously at the old Estadio Chamartín, which was constructed in 1923 and held a crowd of 22,500. By 1944, however, club decided it needed a larger stadium to accommodate the growing supporter base. In June of that year, they purchased land next to their existing stadium and began planning the construction of the new one.

The construction lasted just over three years, resulting in a new capacity of 75,145 (27,645 were seated, with the remainder on terraces). On 14 December 1947, Real Madrid inaugurated their new home with a match against Portuguese side Os Belenenses.

The stadium has undergone several renovations over the years, at one point expanding to hold a partially seated crowd of 125,000. It has since been converted to an all-seater with a current capacity of 80,354. During that time, it has hosted important matches including four World Cup matches and the 2010 Champions League Final.

In 1955, the club chose to rename it after the man who spearheaded its construction, former club president Santiago Bernabéu.

26 October 1938 - England Conquers Europe

On 26 October 1938, Europe put together their first continental XI to challenge England. They lost 3-0.

England had split from FIFA ten years earlier over a dispute about payments for amateur players, but continued to play other nations in a series of friendlies, including a win over World Cup champions Italy in 1934 and a 6-3 pounding of Germany in Berlin during a May 1938 European tour. It is not clear what prompted the formation of that first European XI, but the match coincided with the 75th anniversary of the founding of England's Football Association.

45,000 people turned out to watch the teams at London's Highbury Stadium. England were led by captain Eddie Hapgood (pictured) and his Arsenal teammate Wilf Copping, but the side also included up-and-coming stars like Stoke's Stanley Matthews, who had scored a hat-trick against Czechoslovakia the previous year. Europe, meanwhile were led by Italian national Silvio Piola, who had scored twice in the Azzurri's 4-2 win over Hungary in the 1938 World Cup Final. The side included three other Italians, as well as players from Belgium, France, Norway, and Hungary.

England went up 2-0 by halftime, with goals from George Hall (20') and Thomas Lawton (39'), before Len Goulden finished the day's scoring in the 73rd minute to end the match at 3-0.

25 October 2007 - They Didn't Give Him Much Incentive To Win It, Did They?

On 25 October 2007, manager Martin Jol guided Tottenham Hotspur in their UEFA Cup tilt against Getafe despite being sacked earlier that day.

Jol, who had taken charge of Spurs in November 2004, led them to 9th-place in the final table that season, followed by consecutive 5th-place finishes in 2006 and 2007. But they had a rocky start to the 2007-08 season, with only one win in their first 10 matches. After only two matches, photographers caught Spurs officials meeting in a Spanish hotel with Sevilla manager Juande Ramos, fueling rampant speculation that Jol's departure was imminent.

Prior to the match against Getafe, Daily Mirror reporter John Cross announced that the Spurs board had in fact sacked Jol, but that he would nonetheless take charge of the side one last time. The word circulated throughout the stadium, leading the Spurs supporters to chant "Stand up for Martin Jol." But it was an unhappy curtain call for the Dutchman, as Getafe won 1-2.

Ramos indeed succeeded Jol, but lasted just under one year before getting sacked himself. Jol, meanwhile, moved to Hamburg. After guiding them to a 5th-place finish in 2008, he moved to his current club, Ajax.