On 3 April 1999, Liverpool won the Merseyside derby over Everton 3-2 in a match best remembered for a provocative goal celebration.
Although Everton were sitting seven spots below Liverpool in the table and the two teams had played to a scoreless draw earlier that season at Goodison Park, the visitors stunned the home crowd with a goal from midfielder Olivier Dacourt after only 41 seconds. He unleashed a powerful volley from 30 yards out that skimmed the head of defender Steve Staunton and beat keeper David James.
But the lead did not last long. A trip by Everton's Marco Materazzi on Paul Ince led to a 15th-minute penalty kick, which Robbie Fowler converted with ease. Fowler, who previously had been accused of drug abuse by the Everton supporters, then raced to the goal line, dropped to his knees, and pretended to snort the white line in front of the visiting fans. Police soon stepped into the area to quiet the ensuing uproar.
Liverpool proceeded to win 3-2 after another goal from Fowler (21') and a one from Patrik Berger (82'), while Everton's Francis Jeffers (84') provided the day's last goal.
Afterward, Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier attempted to explain Fowler's celebration by saying the striker was really pretending to eat the grass, claiming it was a Cameroonian tradition learned from teammate Rigobert Song. The FA clearly disagreed, suspended Fowler for six matches (including time for another incident) and fining him £32,000. Liverpool also fined him an additional £60,000 for bringing the game into disrepute.
On 2 April 1989, Arsenal defender and captain Tony Adams had the misfortune of being the only goalscorer in the Gunners' 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford. Adams scored his first goal of the day to give Arsenal a 0-1 lead, only to bring Man United level when he inadvertently put the ball into his own net.
Adams had skippered the Arsenal side for just over a year, having been appointed in January 1988 at the age of 21, making him the youngest Arsenal captain to that point. His tenure as captain improved, however, as Arsenal went on to claim the league title in 1989 with their famous 0-2 win at Anfield in their last match of the season. He also led Arsenal through their record-breaking unbeaten league season in 2003-04.
Adams held onto the captain's armband for fourteen years before retiring in 2002 as one of Arsenal's most decorated players. During his career, in addition to the 1989 title, he helped Arsenal to three more league titles (in 1991, 1998, and 2002), three FA Cup trophies (1993, 1998, 2002), two League Cup trophies (1987, 1993), a European Cup Winners' Cup (1994), and three Community Shields (1991 (shared), 1998, 1999 ). He made 504 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 32 goals.
On 1 April 2002, Charlton FC tricked hundreds of supporters with a clever April Fool's Day prank.
In the program for that day's contest against Arsenal, the club included a full-page announcement stating that they had received complaints about the sword featured in their current crest, which some people found inappropriately unfriendly. To address those concerns, Charlton presented three potential new designs and asked the fans to vote for the one they preferred.
The first option was a reproduction of the crest used by nearby rivals Fulham FC, simply replacing "FFC" with "CAFC." The other two options were very similar to the current crest, but one replaced the sword-in-hand with a smiling fish (representative of the club's "Addicks" nickname) and the other with a cartoonish bird (for their other nickname as the Robins). Over 300 people actually voted online, while hundreds more called the club to protest the change.
It was not the first hoax involving the Charlton crest, as a 1998 fanzine article claimed that the current sword-in-hand image came from the "Spencer-Percival" family crest. In fact, the design was the result of a fan competition in 1963.
On 31 March 2004, visitors Venezuela upset Uruguay 0-3 in a World Cup qualification match.
Going into their qualification campaign, Uruguay manager Juan Ramon Carrasco had reworked the side's rigid defensive style into an open and attacking flow, resulting in wins over Bolivia (5-0) and Chile (2-1), as well as an explosive 3-3 draw with Brazil (though they also suffered a crushing 4-1 loss at Paraguay). Venezuela, meanwhile, had opened with losses to Ecuador (2-0) and Argentina (0-3) before rallying with narrow wins over Colombia (0-1) and Bolivia (2-1).
Playing before a crowd of 40,094 at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, the hosts attacked from the opening whistle, applying furious pressure on the Venezuelan goal. But it was the visitors who took the lead in the 19th minute with a long-range blast from midfielder Gabriel Urdaneta. Uruguay renewed their energy on offense and were twice denied by the woodwork in the first half.
Venezuela doubled their lead in the 67th minute with a goal from Héctor "El Turbo" Gonzalez on a counter. Ten minutes later, Gonzalez delivered a cutting pass that fellow midfielder Juan Arango easily stabbed home for the final 0-3 margin. Venezuelan supporters dubbed the match "the Centenariazo," after Uruguay's famous "Marazanazo" victory over Brazil in 1950. Uruguay manager Carrasco, meanwhile, called the match "a stain on the history of Uruguayan football."
Ultimately, neither team qualified for the 2006 World Cup, as Venezuela's form faded and they finished 9th out the 10 CONMEBOL teams. Uruguay finished 5th and advanced to the CONMEBOL/OFC playoff where they lost to Australia on penalties.
On 30 March 1904, Club Español de Madrid were the only ones to show up for the Copa del Rey final. And they still didn't win the cup.
The 1904 non-final was the culmination of a controversial tournament for the club. After two years of being run by Madrid CF, the 1904 edition was organized by the Madrid Football Federation, whose president was also the president of Español de Madrid. Four teams participated in the initial rounds, with the winner scheduled to play in the Final against the previous year's champions, Athletic Bilbao (pictured in 1904).
Español de Madrid drew their first match with Madrid-Moderno, 5-5, on 13 March. The two sides decided to schedule a replay rather than go to extra time, but could not agree on the timing. Español wanted to have it the following day, while Madrid-Moderno wanted to have at least a 48-hour break between matches. When Madrid-Moderno failed to show up on 14 March, the Madrid Football Federation declared Español the winners.
They advanced to the semi-final match against Moncloa FC on 27 March, but an injury to an Español player forced the teams to abandon the game. Again, the teams were unable to agree on a replay date and, again, the Madrid Football Federation declared Español to be the winners. The federation set 30 March as the date for the Final, moved from the originally-scheduled date of 26 March.
Meanwhile, Bilbao had arrived to play the Final on the originally scheduled date, but had no opponent. When they did not show up for the rescheduled match on 30 March, the president of the Madrid Football Federation tried once again to declare Español the winners. But the other teams protested the decision and decided that Bilbao should retain the title.
Español de Madrid finished as runners-up in 1909 and 1910, while Bilbao went on to win the tournament a total of 23 times, second only to Barcelona's 25.
On 29 March 2008, a 2-2 draw with Fulham guaranteed Derby County's relegation--the earliest such guarantee in the history of the Premier League.
Derby had earned promotion to the Premier League the year before under new manager Billy Davies, who had joined the club in June 2006. But they struggled in the top flight, winning only one match all season (a 1-0 victory over Newcastle on 17 September). They dropped into last place in the fourth week, then rose to 19th before getting pinned to the bottom again in the eleventh week and staying there for the remainder of the season. Billy Davies left the club in November, replaced by Paul Jewell.
They entered the match against Fulham with only 10 points, 17 points shy of safety. With only seven games left, Derby needed a win to preserve any hope of survival. And Fulham were ideal opponents, as they were in the relegation zone themselves, only one spot above Derby.
Derby struck first with a 10th-minute goal from Emanuel Villa, but the visiting Cottagers claimed the lead after a header from Diomansy Kamara (24') and an own-goal from Derby's Dean Leacock (78'). Villa salvaged a point for Derby with a late goal in the 80th minute, but it was too little to save their season. They were 19 points from safety with only six matches remaining, thus ensuring their drop from the top flight. It is the earliest in the season that any team has been mathematically relegated, breaking the previous record set by Sunderland on 12 April 2003.
And it was Derby's last point of the season. They lost all of their remaining games to finish with 11 points, the lowest points total since Stoke City finished with 17 in 1985 and a record low since the league went to three points for a win.
On 28 March 2010, midfielder Kristine Lilly came on as a first-half substitute for the US in a friendly against Mexico. By doing so, she became the first person in international football history to represent her country in four different decades.
Lilly made her first appearance for the United States in 1987 when she was just 16 years old. Over the course of her 24-year international career, she has earned 352 caps while winning two World Cups (1991, 1999) and two Olympic gold medals (1996, 2004).
She was on the bench for the match against Mexico, played at the University of San Diego's Torero Stadium, but entered in the 32nd minute as a replacement for midfielder Yael Averbuch. The US were already up 1-0 at the point with a 12th-minute goal from forward Amy Rodriguez and proceeded to extend their lead with strikes from Shannon Boxx (43') and Lauren Cheney (72').
Lilly's appearance meant that she played for the US in the '80s, '90s, '00s, and '10s. Her last appearance was as a substitute against Mexico on 5 November 2010.
On 3 April 1999, Liverpool won the Merseyside derby over Everton 3-2 in a match best remembered for a provocative goal celebration.
