14 March 2004 - Livingston Lives The High Life

On 14 March 2004, Livingston FC tallied their third win of the season over Hibernian. Unlike the previous two, which were Scottish Premier League fixtures, this one came in a cup competition - the Scottish League Cup Final -- and gave Livingston their first major trophy.

It was an anticlimactic result for Hibernian, who had cleared the way to the trophy by beating perennial favorites Celtic (2-1 in the quarterfinals) and Rangers (4-3 on penalties in the semifinals, after drawing 1-1 through the end of extra time), who, between them, had won the previous seven Scottish Cups.

For their part, Livingston took a long and improbable road to the Final, playing all of their matches away from home. They entered the competition in the Second Round, where they easily handled Queen's Park FC (1-3), then advanced over Dundee United (0-1) thanks to a 19th-minute own goal from the hosts. In the quarterfinals, they required extra time to beat Aberdeen at Pittodrie, 2-3, before eliminating Dundee FC (0-1) in the semifinals with a 90th-minute penalty kick.

The Final was played at Glasgow's Hampden Park before a crowd of 45,500. Although Hibs created a number of chances by lobbing balls over the Livingston defense, they were repeatedly denied by keeper Roddy McKenzie and once by center back Marvin Andrews, who cleared a Garry O'Connor strike off the line. In the second half, Livingston took the lead with a 50th-minute goal from forward Derek Lilly, who struck from 12 yards out. With Hibs reeling, Livingston left back Jamie McAllister delivered the death blow two minutes later, curling his shot past Hibs keeper Daniel Andersson.

The trophy was Livingston's first piece of major silverware, and only their second ever trophy (the other being the 1974 Scottish Qualifying Cup when the club were known as Ferranti Thistle). Adding to the shock of their win was the fact that they accomplished it after having been placed in financial administration the previous month. Unfortunately, the win did not herald better times for the club, who were relegated in 2006. In the Summer of 2009, the club once again went into administration and were relegated to the Scottish fourth tier for the 2009-10 season.

Hibs and Livingston played two more times in the league that season, with Hibs winning at Livingston on 3 April, then Livingston winning 4-1 at Easter Road on the last day of the season.

13 March 1955 - Four Teams, Three Medals (Sorry, Venezuela)

On 13 March 1955, the opening matches of the Pan American Games' football tournament were played in Mexico City. Although 22 nations participated in the Games, only four sent teams for football: Venezuela, the Netherlands Antilles, hosts Mexico, and defending champions Argentina.

The tournament used a table format, with two points for a win and one for a draw. Each team played the other three two times, for a total of six matches each, with the top team at the finish taking the gold medal.

The two opening-day matches were both close, as Mexico played Venezuela to a 1-1 draw, while Argentina beat the Netherlands Antilles 2-1. In the latter match, the Netherlands Antilles took a shock lead in the 9th minute, but the defending champions scored two goals in under three minutes (20', 22') to take the lead and the win. The Netherlands Antilles were hampered by the loss of a player to injury in the 70th minute and finished the match with 10 men.

Argentina repeated as champions with 5 wins and a draw, while Mexico took the silver and the Netherlands Antilles went home with the bronze. Venezuela finished out of medal position at the bottom of the table with only one win to go with two draws and three losses.

The US, which chose not to send a football team to Mexico despite participating in the rest of the Games, nevertheless had an impact on the pitch, as the referees for both opening matches were Americans.

12 March 2009 - The Ukraine Is Not Weak!

On 12 March 2009, Dynamo Kyiv and Metalist Kharkiv became the first Ukranian sides to meet in a UEFA competition. Their historic meeting came in the Round of 16 of that season's UEFA Cup.

One of the most successful clubs in Ukraine, Kyiv entered the competition with an established European pedigree, having previously participated in numerous Champions League/European Cup and UEFA Cup matches, as well as winning the 1975 and 1986 UEFA Cup Winners' Cups and the 1975 UEFA Super Cup. They had qualified for the 2008-09 Champions League, but their third-place finish in that competition's group stage sent them into the UEFA Cup Round of 32. There, they advanced over Valencia on away goals to set up the meeting with Metalist in the Round of 16.

Metalist, on the other hand, was a relative novice. The 2008-09 UEFA Cup was only their second time in European competition, with the first being the previous season's UEFA Cup (where they were eliminated in the first round by Everton). They got off to a much stronger start in 2009-10, opening their campaign with a 4-2 aggregate win over Besitkas to advance to the group stage. There, they finished at the top of their group, over more experienced European sides Galatasaray, Olympiacos, Hertha Berlin, and Benfica, then rolled over Sampdoria 3-0 in the Round of 32.

The Round of 16 match-up was held in Kiev, where the home side staked their claim with a 1-0 win thanks to a 54th-minute header from midfielder Ognjen Vukojevic (pictured). Metalist battled back to win the second leg 3-2, but Kyiv again advanced thanks to their two away goals.

Kyiv advanced all the way to the semifinals where they ran into yet another Ukrainian side, Shakhtar Donetsk who beat Kyiv 3-2 on aggregate and went on to win the title with a 2-1 win over Werder Bremen.

11 March 1951 - Home Cooking With Curry

On 11 March 1951, hosts India won the gold medal in football at the first Asian Games in New Delhi, beating Iran 1-0 in the Final. It was the national team's first piece of major silverware and part of an overall strong performance at the Games by India, who finished with 51 medals, including 15 golds.

In total, eleven countries participated in the Games, but only six took part in the football tournament. One of those was Japan, who had been barred from the 1948 Summer Olympics due to being under Allied occupation at the time. (Japan made the most of the opportunity by collecting a total of 60 total medals, 24 of which were golds, the most of any country in either category. India were second in both.)

India cruised through their first two matches with ease, beating Indonesia then Afghanistan by the same score: 3-0. Iran similarly started well with a 2-0 victory over Burma in the quarterfinals, but fought two closely-contested matches against Japan in the semifinals, first drawing 0-0, then edging Japan 3-2 in the replay. Japan still medalled, beating Afghanistan 2-0 in the third-place game, while India took the gold with their victory over Iran.

10 March 1981 - The Pride Of The Indomitable Lions

On 10 March 1981, Chelsea star and Cameroon international Samuel Eto'o was born in Nkon, Cameroon. He currently holds the record for most appearances in La Liga by an African player.

Although he rose to fame with Barcelona, Eto'o got his professional start for Barça rivals Real Madrid, signing for them in 1997. But he failed to make an impact in the Spanish capital and spent most of his time on loan with Leganés, Espanyol, and Mallorca between 1997 and 2000. In 2000, he signed a permanent deal with Mallorca and spent an additional four successful seasons there, along the way winning the 2003 Copa del Rey. He did so well at Mallorca that Real wanted to re-sign him in 2004, but he left instead for Barcelona.

His time at Barcelona was very successful, with three league titles (2005, 2006, 2009) and two Champions League trophies (2006, 2009). On 4 May 2008, he made his 242nd La Liga appearance, breaking the record for most league appearances by an African player. By the time he left Barcelona in the summer of 2009, he had raised that number to 309.

Eto'o has also been successful for Cameroon, helping them win the 2000 and 2002 African Cup of Nations, as well as the 2008 Olympic gold medal. He is the all-time top scorer for the Indomitable Lions, notching 55 goals in 112 appearances.

He moved to Inter in 2009 as part of a deal that sent Inter's Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovich to Barcelona, then left in 2011 for Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala, who gave him a salary of approximately €20M per season, making him the world's highest-paid footballer.

He currently plays for Chelsea, having joined them in August 2013.

9 March 1908 - Enter Inter

On 9 March 1908, a group of players from the Milan Cricket and Football Club (now known as AC Milan), unhappy with the club's restrictions on foreign players, formed their own club which they named Football Club Internazionale Milano. Inter has since become one of Italy's most decorated clubs, with 26 national trophies, including 18 Serie A titles.

Known as the Nerazzurri for their black and blue striped home shirts, Inter won their first Scudetto in 1910, followed by a second in 1920. By 1922, Inter's fortunes had turned and they finished last in Serie A with a meager 11 points on the season. They avoided relegation, however, by winning a playoff against the next-to-last team, thus preserving their current status as the only team in Italy to remain in Serie A for their entire existence.

Mussolini's Fascist government disapproved of Inter's policy of recruiting foreign players and, in 1928, forced the club to play under the name "Ambrosiana." Nevertheless, Inter did well during the Fascist years, winning their first Coppa Italia (1939) and a fifth league title (1940).

Inter's greatest period came in the 1960s under manager Helenio Herrera. Nicknamed "La Grande Inter" for their successes, the club won three league titles (1963, 1965, 1966) and two European Cups (1964, 1965). They made it back to the European Cup Final in 1967, where they famously lost to Celtic's "Lisbon Lions."

After going through the entire 1990s without winning the league, Inter has since recovered their domestic form, winning five consecutive Scudettos from 2006 to 2010 (though the first, in 2005-06, was awarded to Inter after initial title-winner Juventus was found guilty of match-fixing). They also won the 2010 Champions League.

8 March 2009 - Ronaldo's Return To Form

On 8 March 2009, Brazilian three-time FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldo scored an injury-time equalizer for Corinthians in their match against Palmeiras. It was his first goal after recovering from a potentially career-ending knee injury suffered over a year earlier while playing for AC Milan.

The striker had a history of knee problems, with two separate injuries to his right knee while playing for Inter (1997-2002). He battled back both times and recovered in time to help Brazil win the 2002 World Cup and claim his third FIFA World Player of the Year award. In January 2007, he joined Milan after five seasons with Real Madrid. On 13 February 2008, he injured his left knee while leaping for a cross in a 1-1 draw with Livorno. The injury ended his season and there was speculation that it would end his career as well.

Ronaldo, however, was determined to return. He returned to Brazil and started training with Flamengo to rehabilitate his knee. The Rio club indicated their willingness to sign him once he was able to play, but, in December 2009, he controversially signed instead with their league rivals Corinthians.

On 4 March 2009, he made his first appearance for Corinthians, coming on as a substitute in Copa do Brasil match against Itumbiara. In the match against Palmeiras on 8 March, he again entered as a substitute, coming on in the 63rd minute with his side down 1-0. He quickly made his presence felt, sending a booming strike off the crossbar in the 78th minute, before heading in the equalizing goal in the 93rd minute. He ran behind the goal to celebrate with the Corinthians supporters, causing a mild pitch invasion.

Ronaldo finished the season with 10 goals in 14 matches and recently signed an extension to remain at Corinthians through 2011.