7 May 2006 - There's Nothing Like Coming To The Match Prepared

On 7 May 2006, Wigan defender Pascal Chimbonda submitted a transfer request after his team lost 4-2 to Arsenal. And he didn't even have to go into the locker room to get it.

It was the last match of the season for both teams and the last match at Arsenal's Highbury Stadium. The Gunners celebrated the occasion with an early strike from winger Robert Pires (8'), but Wigan quickly rallied to take the lead after goals from Paul Scharner (10') and David Thompson (33'). Just as quickly, Thierry Henry equalized for the hosts (35'), then scored twice more in the second half to lift Arsenal to the 4-2 win.

After the final whistle, Wigan manager Paul Jewell greeted his players at the touchline to congratulate them on a hard-fought match and a top-half Premiership finish. Chimbonda, however, did not offer his hand, but instead presented Jewell with a transfer request that he had pulled out of his sock.

Angered by the show of disrespect, Jewell and Wigan chairman set Chimbonda's transfer fee at the relatively high mark of £6 million and refused to accept a pound less. Indeed, they rejected a £3 million offer from Tottenham and a £4 million one from West Ham. Chimbonda's transfer saga dragged on to the last day of the window when Wigan eventually accepted a bid of £4.5 million from Spurs.

He ended up playing for Tottenham from 2006 to 2008, then again for a brief spell in 2009. He moved to Blackburn Rovers for a stretch from 2009 to 2011 and currently plays for Queen's Park Rangers.

6 May 1961 - Spurs Do The Double

On 6 May 1961, Tottenham Hotspur completed their Double by winning the FA Cup with a 2-0 victory over Leicester City. Spurs were the first team to win the FA Cup and the League in the same season since Aston Villa did it in 1897.

Tottenham had already won the league in a season that saw them hold onto the top spot from the first week to the last. They had endured only seven losses all season, but one of those came at the hands of Leicester City, who won 2-3 at White Hart Lane in the first week of February.

Playing before a crowd of 100,000 at Wembley, Leicester suffered an early setback with an injury to right back Len Chalmers (who remained on the pitch in diminished capacity until the 80th minute). They nonetheless maintained their composure and held the dynamic Spurs attack in check for 65 minutes. Then, in the 66th minute, Spurs winger Terry Dyson sent the ball in for forward Bobby Smith, who powered the ball past keeper Gordon Banks. Nine minutes later, the pair connected again, with Smith providing the assist for Dyson's header.

It was the third FA Cup for Tottenham, who went on to win it again the following season, then four more times for a total of seven.

5 May 1992 - The Furiani Disaster

On 5 May 1992, eighteen people died when a terrace collapsed at the Stade Armand-Césari in Furiani, Corsica during a Coupe de France semifinal.

Local side Bastia had advanced through the tournament to face Ligue 1 leaders Marseille in the semifinals, with the winner advancing to play Monaco in the final. Bastia's directors decided to capitalize on the high-profile match by increasing the stadium's capacity, building a temporary terrace to hold an additional 10,000 fans. But before the match got underway, the new structure collapsed, killing eighteen people and injuring over 2,300 others.

The teams never played their semifinal, as the FFF decided to cancel the remainder of the tournament, leaving the Coupe de France without a winner for the first time.

4 May 1966 - Shilton Robs Banks

On 4 May 1966, goalkeeper Peter Shilton made the first of his Football League record 1,005 appearances, starting for Leicester in a 3-0 win over Everton.

Shilton joined Leicester's youth academy in 1963 at the age of 13, then moved up to the first team in 1966 at the insistence of their starting goalkeeper, Gordon Banks. He was only 16 when he got his first start, replacing Banks for a home match against Everton and keeping a clean sheet in the 3-0 victory.

Banks went on to win the World Cup with England the following summer, but Leicester traded him away to Stoke soon after, preferring to stick with Shilton for the 1967-68 season. Shilton made 286 league appearances for Leicester before following in Banks's footsteps and moving to Stoke in 1974. After three seasons with Stoke, he moved again, and spent time at Nottingham Forest, Southampton, Derby County, Plymouth Argyle, Wimbledon, Bolton, Coventry, West Ham, and Leyton Orient before retiring in 1997 at the age of 47.

He also holds the appearance record for England, with 125 caps between 1970 and 1990.

3 May 2006 - Hearts Break The Old Firm

On 3 May 2006, Heart of Midlothian secured second place with a 1-0 win over Aberdeen. It was the first time anyone had come between Celtic and Rangers at the top of the table since 1995.

Hearts had started the season with a 12-match unbeaten run in the league that included a 1-0 victory over Rangers. But they remained in second place for the entire second half of season, thanks in part to a critical 3-0 win over Celtic on 30 April. When they faced Aberdeen, Hearts were one point ahead of Rangers with a game in hand, but had to play away at Ibrox the next week in their final match of the season.

Although playing in front of their home fans and needing the win, Hearts struggled to create many opportunities. But Aberdeen center back Zander Diamond literally handed them a lifeline when he was flagged for a handball in the box in the 54th minute. Midfielder Paul Hartley converted the ensuing spot-kick for the game's only goal.

The win put Hearts four points clear of Rangers. So, although they lost to Rangers on the last day, they held on to second place, becoming the first team to come between Celtic and Rangers since Motherwell did it in 1995.

2 May 1953 - They Could Have Just Called It The Stanley Final

On 2 May 1953, Blackpool rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat Bolton 4-3 in the FA Cup Final. Although Blackpool forward Stan Mortensen scored a hat-trick, the match is nicknamed "the Matthews Final" after his teammate, winger Stanley Matthews, who inspired the comeback.

The two teams had split their meetings in the league that season, with both teams winning at home to set up the decider in the Final. It was Blackpool's third trip to the Final after losing their first two, while Bolton had already won it three times.

Playing before a crowd of 100,000 at Wembley, Bolton's Nat Lofthouse put his team ahead in only the second minute with a speculative shot from outside the box that bounced through the arms of keeper George Farm. Mortensen equalized in the 35th minute, but goals from Bobby Langton (40') and Eric Bell (55') made it look like Bolton's cup to lose.

But thirteen minutes later, the 38-year old Matthews blew through the Bolton back line and cross the ball in for a Mortensen header. In the 89th minute, Mortensen equalized with a free kick to complete his hat-trick. Blackpool controlled the ball for the remaining time, with Matthews befuddling the defense with clever dribbling and speed (though it certainly helped that two Bolton players were playing injured for the last 20 minutes). In the second minute of stoppage time, he provided another cross in from the right that was headed in by left winger Bill Perry for the win.

It was Blackpool's first major silverware and the only major club trophy won by Matthews in over 30 years of playing.

1 May 2002 - The Clasico Is Not Always A Classic

On 1 May 2002, Real Madrid and Barcelona met in the second leg of their Champions League semifinal match-up. The game ended as a 1-1 draw, which was enough to see Madrid through to claim their ninth European Cup/Champions League trophy.

The fierce rivals had faced off twice before in the competition, with Madrid winning both legs of their semifinal meeting in the spring of 1960 and going on to win the Final. The next fall, it was Barcelona who advanced, winning 4-3 on aggregate in the first round en route to the Final, which they lost to Benfica.

By May of 2002, they had already played each other three times. Madrid won twice, including a 2-0 victory in the semifinal's first leg (the other match was a 1-1 draw in the league). Playing before a crowd of 75,000 at the Bernabéu, Barcelona pressed for the needed goals, but it was Madrid who took the lead with a left-footed shot from Raúl in the 43rd minute.

Barça were finally rewarded in the 48th minute when Madrid defender Iván Helguera deflected a cross into his own net. The visitors continued to press for chances, but wasted them as shots from Javier Saviola, Patrick Kluivert, Luis Enrique, and Geovanni all shot wide.

The match ended 1-1 and Madrid went on to the Final in Glasgow where they beat Bayer Leverkusen, 1-2.