9 August 1941 - The Match Of Death That Never Was

On 9 August 1941, a team of Soviet prisoners of war defeated a Nazi Luftwaffe side 5-3 at the Zenith Stadium in Kiev.

The Soviet team was formed by a group of prisoners who worked at a bakery in occupied Kiev. Nikolai Trusevich, who had been a goalkeeper for Dynamo Kiev before the war, was given a job there sweeping floors by the bakery's manager, Iosif Kordik, who was a Dynamo Kiev supporter. Together, they managed to put together a team of eight former Dynamo Kiev players and three former players from Lokomotiv Kiev.

The team, named FC Start, played their first match on 7 June 1942, defeating another local side 7-2. Two weeks later, despite being malnourished and poorly equipped, Start defeated a team of occupying Hungarian soldiers by the score of 6-2. Over the next few weeks, Start continued a string of remarkable victories over occupying military teams, including an 11-0 win over a Romanian garrison and a 6-0 win over a German side.

According to legend, Start's incredible success drew the attention of Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goering, who sent a crack Luftwaffe side to Kiev. That team, called Flakelf, included several German national team members. Start met them on 6 August 1941 and beat them 5-1. Embarrassed by the defeat and eager to claim revenge, Flakelf demanded a rematch to be held on 9 August.

The rematch was held at Kiev's Zenith Stadium. The referee was a member of the Gestapo who entered the Start locker room prior to the match and told the prisoners "Win and die, lose and survive." Despite the warning, the Ukrainian players won 5-3 and were taken from the field and summarily executed.

In reality, however, the referee was not a Gestapo member and did not issue the famous warning. Nor was Flakelf a crack Luftwaffe squad sent by Goering, but was instead another local German garrison. The match was played fairly and the Ukrainian side were not taken off the field and shot, though several Start players were killed by the Nazis later in the war, along with several other Soviet prisoners.

The rumor of the "Match of Death" persists, however, and was the basis for the film "Escape to Victory" (marketed as "Victory" in the US) starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, and Pelé.

8 August 2003 - The Lesson Is "Don't Mess With Murdoch"

On 8 August 2003, Rupert Murdoch's British Sky Broadcasting ("BSkyB") paid a then-record £1.02 billion to secure the live broadcast rights for the English Premier League.

BSkyB acquired its first monopoly over live Premier League coverage when the league was formed in 1992. Mudoch's company outbid all other interested parties that year and did so again when the rights came up for renewal in 1996.

For the 2003 auction, the European Commission had expressed antitrust concerns about BSkyB's monopoly and demanded that the broadcast rights for the league be divided up into four separate packages, with the expectation that competing broadcasters would acquire different packages. BSkyB had other intentions, however, and snapped up all four packages in the record £1.02 billion purchase.

Irish broadcaster Setanta eventually broke BSkyB's monopoly in 2007 when it paid £392 million to acquire two of the six packages up for auction. BSkyB acquired the other four for £1.3 billion. In the summer of 2009, however, Setanta was unable to make an installment payment and lost its British broadcasting rights, which were then acquired by US-based broadcaster ESPN.

7 August 2004 - Riot In The Streets Of Beijing

On 7 August 2004, Japan defeated China 3-1 in the Asian Cup Final before a crowd of 62,000 at Workers Stadium in Beijing, sparking a riot among Chinese supporters.

The tournament was shrouded in anti-Japanese sentiment, as many Chinese attendees, still angry over Japan's treatment of China during World War II, harrassed the Japanese side, booing anytime they took possession of the ball, displaying political banners denouncing Japan, and drowning out the Japanese national anthem.

Prior to the Final, authorities from both nations expressed concerns about the growing tension. Chinese officials increased the police presence for the match, while the Japanese embassy in Beijing cautioned fans of its national team to avoid drawing attention to themselves. According to the BBC, "tens of thousands" of Chinese supporters were in the stands for the match to watch China's first Asian Cup Final in 20 years.

The match itself was free from violence. The teams were level 1-1 at the half, but Japan went ahead in the 66th minute with a controversial goal from defender Koji Nakata. Replays showed that Nakata's scoring strike went in off of his hand, but the goal was allowed. In any event, Japanese striker Keiji Tamada added an insurance goal in the 91st minute to seal the win.

After the match, the Japanese supporters were driven to safety while Chinese fans started to riot. They burned Japanese flags and sang political songs. Several fights broke out and many bystanders were injured, including a couple of photographers who were beaten by the police.

6 August 1875 - Jock Stein's Other Club

On 6 August 1875, a group of Irish-born football enthusiasts in Edinburgh's Cowgate neighborhood created Hibernians, named after the Roman word for Ireland. The club went on to play a significant role in the progress of Scottish football.

From the moment of its creation, the club had strong religious ties. Their first manager (and one of the founding members) was a priest, Canon Edward Hannon. Also, all players were required to be members of the Catholic Young Men's Society, an early sign of sectarianism in Scottish football that later came to a head in the Old Firm rivalry between Celtic and Rangers. In fact, when Celtic was formed in 1887, many of the first players were borrowed from Hibernians.

For reasons that have never been explained, Hibernians failed to attend the meeting at which the Scottish Football League was formed, and thus were not included in the nascent league. That failure made it difficult for the club to schedule matches and ultimately led to its near-demise in 1891, when it ceased operations. It reformed in 1892, however, as Hibernian F.C. The newly-named club joined the SFL Second Division in 1893 and was promoted to the First Division for the 1895-96 season.

The early 1900s were successful for Hibs, who won the Scottish Cup in 1902 and the league title in 1903, but began to decline in the 1920s as the Old Firm began to rise.

Hibs enjoyed a renaissance in the 1950s, when they were managed by Scottish coaching legend Jock Stein. They won the league in 1952 and finished second in 1950 and 1953 (both times to Rangers). In 1955, they became the first British team to play in the European Cup, making it to the semifinals of the inaugural tournament in 1955-56 before losing to Stade de Reims 3-0. Stein left after that season to manage Celtic, whom he transformed into a dominant side.

4 August 1999 - But Would They Have Beaten France? Probably, Yeah.

On 4 August 1999, host nation Mexico beat Brazil 4-3 in the Confederations Cup Final before a crowd of 110,000 at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca. The tournament was the fourth Confederations Cup, which typically includes the winners of the six FIFA confederations (CAF, CONMEBOL, UEFA, AFC, OFC, and CONCACAF) as well as the World Cup holders and the host country.

For the 1999 tournament, World Cup holders France declined to participate, so World Cup runners-up Brazil filled that slot. Brazil were also CONMEBOL champions, however, so CONMEBOL runners-up Bolivia took that confederation's qualifying spot. Similarly, because CONCACAF champions Mexico qualified as hosts, the United States filled the CONCACAF slot as the second-place team. They were joined by Egypt (CAF champions), Germany (UEFA champions), New Zealand (OFC champions), and Saudi Arabia (AFC champions).

The Final featured a showdown between the tournament's two best players—Brazilian midfielder Ronaldinho and Mexican midfielder Cuauhtémoc Blanco. Ronaldinho had scored in every match for Brazil, including a 13th-minute gamewinner in their 1-0 win over the United States in the group stage and a hat-trick in their 8-2 demolition of Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals. Similarly, Blanco netted four in Mexico's opening match against Saudi Arabia and scored the 97th-minute golden goal in Mexico's 1-0 win over the United States in the semi-finals.

In the Final, Mexico took a 2-0 lead in the first half with goals from midfielder Miguel Zepeda (13') and striker José Manuel Abundis (28'). Brazil pulled one back just before the break when left winger Serginho converted a 43rd-minute penalty kick. Striker Roni then equalized in the 47th minute, but the game did not remain level for long, as Zepeda scored his second in the 51st minute. Blanco added another eleven minutes later, to recapture Mexico's 2-goal lead. It turned out to be the matchwinner, as Brazilian midfielder Zé Roberto completed the scoring with a goal in the 63rd minute.

Blanco and Ronaldinho tied with Saudi Arabia's Marzouq Al-Otaibi for most goals of the tournament at 6 each. And while Blanco helped his team to the title, Ronaldinho earned the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.

3 August 1996 - The Super Eagles Have Landed

On 3 August 1996, Nigeria beat Argentina 3-2 in the gold medal match of the Summer Olympics before a crowd of 86,117 in Athens, Georgia's Sanford Stadium.

The Nigerian side, nicknamed the Super Eagles, had impressed during their first World Cup appearance two years earler, when they won their group, then lost in the first knockout round to eventual runners-up Italy in extra time. They had also won the African Cup of Nations in 1994.

In the 1996 Olympics, they finished the group stage even on points with Brazil and Japan, with two wins and one loss each, but finished in second position on goal differential (Brazil finished first). They then defeated Mexico 2-0 in the quarterfinals before beating Brazil 4-3 in the semifinals with a dramatic come-from-behind victory. With Brazil up 3-2, striker Nwankwo Kanu scored a 90th minute equalizer to force extra time, then won the game with a golden goal in the 94th minute.

Nigeria received more last-minute heroics in the Final. After giving up a 3rd-minute goal, then twice drawing level, the match was tied at 2-2 in the 90th minute when midfielder Emmanuel Amuneke received the ball about 10 yards out from the Argentine goal and sent a soft looping shot over the head of keeper Pablo Cavallero for the win.

1 August 1996 - Women's Football Goes Olympic

On 1 August 1996, the United States took the gold medal by defeating China 2-1 in the Womens' Final of the Summer Olympics before a crowd of 76,489 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. At the time, it was largest crowd in history to watch a women's sporting event.

It was the first time that women's football had been included in the Olympics. Eight teams qualified and were divided into two groups. The United States and China were in the same group and played each other to a 0-0 draw on 25 July. They both won their matches against group members Sweden and Denmark to finish in the group's top two spots, with China in first place on goal differential.

In the knockout rounds, the United States beat Norway 2-1 (a.e.t.) and China defeated Brazil 3-2 to set up the rematch in the gold medal game.

Midfielder Shannon MacMillan scored first to put the US ahead in the 19th minute, but China equalized in the 32nd minute with a goal from midfielder Sun Wen. In the 68th minute, US forward Tiffeny Milbrett again put the US ahead, then gave way to midfielder Tiffany Roberts three minutes later as the US side protected its lead to the final whistle, claiming the first ever gold medal in Olympic women's football.