7 April 1981 - It Was The Best Of Runs ...

On 7 April 1981, Auxerre defeated Nantes 0-1, ending a five-year home unbeaten streak for the hosts.

The streak began in June 1976 under manager José Arribas, in the last month of his 16-year tenure in charge of the club. On 4 June, Nantes managed a 1-1 draw with Nice, then won their only remaining home match of the season, a 1-0 victory over Nîmes on the season's last day.

Over the summer, Jean Vincent replaced Arribas and presided over the remainder of the unbeaten streak, staying with the club until 1982. During that time, the run extended to a Ligue 1-record 92 consecutive matches and included two league titles (1977, 1980) and one Coupe de France (1979). The streak-ending loss to Auxerre in 1981 likely cost Nantes another league title, as they finished that season in second, two points behind Saint-Etienne.

Nantes' 92-match streak is one of the best home league unbeaten runs, within striking distance of PSV (93) and Red Star Belgrade (96), but still well behind the top mark of 121 set by Real Madrid from 1957 to 1965.

6 April 1996 - The Name "San Jose Sex Pistols" Is Still Available

On 6 April 1996, the San Jose Clash hosted DC United for the inaugural Major League Soccer match. San Jose won, 1-0, but United went on to win the league title.

The new league was part of the deal that brought the World Cup to the United States in 1994. Only ten teams contested that first season, followed by a playoff tournament to decide the league champion. In addition to the tournament, MLS departed from the International Football Association Board rules by using a countdown clock (which paused for stoppages of play) and shootouts to decide matches that were even at the end of regulation.

It looked as if the shootout procedure might be needed in that first game, played before a capacity crowd of 31,683 at San Jose's Spartan Stadium. But with two minutes left, Clash forward Eric Wynalda dribbled into the DC United box, beat one defender, then split two others to fire a shot into the far corner of the net. It was the very first goal scored in MLS and was enough to give the victory to the Clash.

In 1999, the Clash renamed themselves the Earthquakes, taking the name from the city's old NASL team. The team moved to Houston in 2006 and became the Dynamo, while the Earthquakes name and records remained in San Jose. After a two-year hiatus, the Earthquakes team rejoined MLS in 2008.

5 April 2009 - They Didn't Go Down Without A Fight (Or A Trophy)

On 5 April 2009, Luton Town won the Football League Trophy in extra time over Scunthorpe, capping a run of last-gasp heroics for the Hatters in the tournament. The run of good fortune did not extend elsewhere, however, as Luton Town finished the season at the bottom of the English fourth tier and were relegated out of the Football League entirely.

The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, is an annual tournament open only to teams in the third and fourth divisions of the England's Football League. That season, Luton entered the competition in the Second Round, where they advanced on penalties over Brentford, 2-2 (4-3). After close 1-0 wins over Walsall and Colchester, Luton again advanced on penalties, this time over Brighton & Hove Albion in the semifinals 1-1 (4-3).

That set up the meeting with Scunthorpe, who reached the Final with victories over Notts County (2-1), Grimsby Town (2-1), Rochdale (1-0), Tranmere Rovers (2-1), and Rotherham United (3-0, agg.)

Playing before a crowd of 55,378 at Wembley, Scunthorpe took an early lead with a 14th-minute goal from striker Gary Hooper, but Luton pushed ahead with goals from their forward pairing of Chris Martin (32') and Tom Craddock (70'). Scunthorpe midfielder then ensured extra time with a strike in the 88th minute, but it was Luton who took advantage as substitute winger Claude Gnapka provided the 95th-minute match-winner.

That's where the magic ended for Luton, who went on to endure their third consecutive relegation thanks to a 30-point deduction at the beginning of the season for financial reasons. They dropped out of the Football League and into the Football Conference, so that they were unable to defend their title the next season.

4 April 1936 - Walker Beats The Wind

On 4 April 1936, Scotland claimed the British Home Championship with a late penalty kick against England at Wembley. And it took three tries.

Played before a crowd of 93,267, it was the last match of the tournament and the stakes were high; a win for either side would deliver the title, while Scotland could also win it with a draw. The hosts went ahead at the half-hour mark with a goal from striker George Camsell (playing in the seventh of his nine matches for England; he scored in all nine).

England held on desperately to the slim lead, but, in the 75th minute, captain Eddie Hapgood conceded a penalty. Scotland's 20-year old inside forward, Tommy Walker (pictured), volunteered to take the kick. He twice placed the ball on the spot only to see it twice blown away by the wind. With the stadium virtually silent, Walker again placed the ball, then coolly slotted it home.

The match ended as a 1-1 draw to give Scotland their 26th championship and first solely-held title since 1929.

3 April 1999 - Somebody Was On Drugs, But It Wasn't Fowler

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.

2 April 1927 - The Mightiest Magyar

On 2 April 1927, Real Madrid superstar Ferenc Puskás was born in Budapest. After winning Olympic gold and finishing as World Cup runners-up with Hungary, he ended his international career with Spain.

He started his professional career in 1943 with local Budapest side Kispest AC and quickly established himself as a dynamic goalscorer. In 1949, the Hungarian government rebranded Kispest as Budapest Honvéd, using it as the Army team. Puskás rose to the rank of major while leading the side to five league titles.

In 1945, at the age of 18, he joined the Hungarian national team and scored 84 goals in 85 appearances, including four goals in their gold-medal winning campaign for the 1952 Summer Olympics and four more in their run to the 1954 World Cup Final. There, a loss to West Germany ended Hungary's streak of 32 consecutive unbeaten matches, a period of success that earned them the name "the Mighty Magyars."

While on a world tour with Honvéd in 1956, the Hungarian Revolution broke out back home. Puskás and several other player decided not to return to Hungary and ended up in Spain. Puskás joined Real Madrid, where he won five La Liga titles and three European Cups. In 1962, he acquired Spanish nationality and played four matches for Spain, including three at that year's World Cup.

After retiring in 1966, he took up management for several teams. His most successful period as manager came with Panathinaikos, whom he guided to the European Cup Final in 1971. He returned to Hungary in 1993 and briefly led the national team before retiring for good later that year.

He died in Budapest in 2006 at the age of 79.

1 April 2002 - Personally, I Like The Fish

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.