15 September 1956 - The Tigers Roar In Hong Kong

On 15 September 1956, South Korea defeated South Vietnam 5-3 at the Government Stadium in Hong Kong to claim the title in the first ever AFC Asian Cup.

The tournament began with a qualifying round of nine Asian Football Confederation teams in three groups. Israel qualified from Group 1 without playing a match, as fellow group members Afghanistan and Pakistan withdrew. South Vietnam won Group 2 and South Korea advanced from Group 3. The three group winners were then joined by hosts Hong Kong, who automatically qualified for the round-robin Final Tournament.

The Final Tournament was played as a series of six matches between 1 September and 15 September. Two points were awarded for a win and one point for a draw. All matches were played at Hong Kong's Government Stadium.

South Korea drew its first match 2-2 against Hong Kong, then beat Israel 1-2 to go into the final match with three points. They were one point behind Israel, who had already completed their matches, and thus needed a win against South Vietnam to claim the title.

The teams were tied at 2-2 early in the second half when South Korea's Choi Jung-Min put them ahead with a strike in 57th minute. They extended their lead to 4-2 when Woo Sang-Kwon, who had earlier converted a penalty kick, scored his second goal of the match in the 58th minute. South Vietnam pulled back within one in the 63rd minute, but Choi added another in the 66th minute, giving South Korea a 5-3 victory.

14 September 2008 - But The 5,003rd Goal Gets The Win

On 14 September 2008, Real Madrid defeated Numancia 4-3 at the Bernabéu in the second week of the 2008-09 La Liga campaign. In doing so, Real became the first team to tally 5,000 goals in La Liga.

Numancia took an early lead with a 6th-minute header from midfielder Juan Carlos Moreno. Real equalized in the 18th minute with a long-distance shot from skipper Guti. The Spanish midfielder scored with a left-footed rocket that deflected off a Numancia player and past the keeper into the bottom right side of the net. That was Real's 5,000th league goal.

The match was far from over, as Numancia midfielder José Barkero returned the lead to his side in the 21st minute, only for Real winger Gonzalo Higuaín to equalize in the 25th minute. Real took its first lead of the match with a 33rd minute goal from midfielder Rafael Van der Vart and stretched its advantage thanks to a 39th-minute own goal from Barkero. Moreno added another goal in the 56th minute, but it was too little, as Real held on for the 4-3 win.

13 September 2006 - Footballers Of The World, Unite!

On 13 September 2006, Arsenal defeated Hamburg 1-2 in their opening UEFA Champions League group stage match before a crowd of 51,258 at Arena Hamburg. The match was notable for the fact that, for a 42-minute period, the Arsenal side was comprised of 11 different nationalities.

Arsenal's starting eleven included ten different nationalities. The only duplicate was the Ivory Coast, due to the presence of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboué in defense. Toure suffered a thigh injury, however, and was replaced by Justin Hoyte in the 28th minute. At that point, the Gunners on the pitch were Jens Lehmann (Germany), Emmanuel Eboué (Ivory Coast), Johann Djourou (Switzerland), Justin Hoyte (England), William Gallas (France), Tomáš Rosický (Czech Republic), Gilberto Silva (Brazil), Cesc Fàbregas (Spain), Alexander Hleb (Belarus), Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), and Robin van Persie (Netherlands). That combination lasted until the 69th minute, when van Persie was substituted in favor of a second Brazilian, striker Julio Baptista.

The match itself was never in doubt, as Hamburg keeper Sascha Kirschstein was sent off in the 10th minute for tripping van Persie. Gilberto converted the ensuing spot kick and Rosický added a second goal in the 53rd minute. Hamburg's Boubacar Sanogo pulled one back in the 90th minute, but it was too late for the undermanned side to complete a comeback and the match ended 1-2 in Arsenal's favor.

As if eleven nationalities weren't enough, Arsenal had two more nations represented on the bench with Sweden's Freddie Ljungberg and Cameroon's Alex Song.

12 September 1990 - The Role of "David" Will Be Played Today By The Faroe Islands

On 12 September 1990, the Faroe Islands shocked the international football community by defeating Austria 1-0 in a qualifying match for the 1992 UEFA European Championship.

Located between Scotland and Iceland in the North Atlantic, the Faroes are an autonomous province of Denmark, with whom they have been affiliated politically since the year 1380. Their current population is estimated to be just under 50,000.

The Faroe Islands national team started in 1930, but only joined FIFA and UEFA in 1988. Thus the match against Austria was their first match in a competitive tournament.

Although it was a home match for the Faroes, it was played in Sweden because the Faroe Islands had no grass pitch. The teams were deadlocked until the 61st minute, when Faroese midfielder Torkil Nielsen eluded an attempted tackle and shot the ball past the Austrian keeper into the bottom of the net from 17 yards out. The Islanders defense held strong to preserve the 1-0 win.

Despite the auspicious start to the campaign, the Faroes failed to qualify, managing only one other point (a 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland). They finished at the bottom of the group, behind Yugoslavia, Denmark, Northern Ireland and Austria.

The Faroe Islands continue to compete in FIFA and UEFA, but have yet to qualify for a major tournament.

11 September 1945 - Der Kaiser Starts To Roll

On 11 September 1945, former Bayern Munich star defender and West German national team captain Franz Beckenbauer was born in Munich.

Nicknamed "Der Kaiser," Beckenbauer started playing football at the age of 8 and signed with the Bayern Munich youth team in 1959 (despite supporting local rivals 1860 Munich). He debuted for Bayern's senior side on 6 June 1964 and stayed through the 1976-77 season, accruing a total of 461 appearances and 53 goals in all competitions. During that time, Bayern won four Bundesliga titles, four DFB Cups, three European Cups, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and one Intercontinental Cup.

In the meantime, Beckenbauer also enjoyed success with the West German national team, for whom he made 103 appearances, winning the 1972 European Championship and the 1974 World Cup. Beckenbauer's West Germany also finished as runners-up in the 1966 World Cup and in third place for the 1970 World Cup. He also claimed numerous individual honors, including the 1972 and 1976 Ballon d'Or awards.

Beckenbauer left Bayern in 1977 to play for the New York Cosmos (1977-80, 1983) and Hamburg (1980-82). He retired from playing in 1983 and turned to management, starting with the West German national side (1984-90). When West Germany won the 1990 World Cup, Beckenbauer became only the second person to win the Jules Rimet Trophy as both a player and manager (Brazil's Mário Zagallo was the first).

10 September 1985 - The Passing Of A Legend

On 10 September 1985, Scottish national team manager John "Jock" Stein died at the age of 62 after suffering a heart attack at the end of Scotland's 1-1 draw with Wales in a World Cup qualifier at Ninian Park in Cardiff. He died a short time later in the stadium's medical room.

Born in the Scottish lowlands mining town of Burnbank, South Lanarkshire on 5 October 1922, Stein signed his first professional contract as a center-half for Albion Rovers in 1942 while working part time as a coal miner. He made 200 league appearances for Albion from 1942 to 1950, then spent the 1950-51 season with Welsh side Llanelli Town before moving to Celtic in 1951. He made 148 league appearances for Celtic before ankle injuries forced him to retire in 1956.

Upon retirement as a player, Stein moved into management, starting with the Celtic reserve side. In 1960, he took over as manager of Dunfermline Athletic and led them to their first Scottish Cup victory in 1961 with a 2-0 victory over Celtic in the Final replay. He left Dunfermline in 1964 and spent the 1964-65 season in charge of Hibernian before returning to Celtic in 1965. He also managed the Scottish national side part-time in 1965.

Stein enjoyed his greatest success at Celtic, winning ten league titles, eight Scottish Cups, and six Scottish League Cups between 1965 and 1978. His crowning acheivement, however, was beating Inter Milan in the 1967 European Cup Final, thus becoming the first man to win the prestigious trophy with a British club.

Despite his successes, he was pressured out from Celtic in 1978 in favor of new manager Billy McNeill. Stein accepted the managerial position at Leeds United later that year, but left after only 45 days in order to manage the Scottish national side full time.

After his death, Stein was posthumously inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame and the Scottish Football Hall of Fame. Since the 1990s, the west end of Celtic Park has been named the Jock Stein Stand and a bust of Stein is located in the stadium's foyer.

9 September 2009 - A Man Who Can Keep His Own Laundry Clean

On 9 September 2009, Spain defeated Estonia in a World Cup qualifier. The win booked their place at the 2010 World Cup and secured a national team clean sheet record for keeper Iker Casillas.

Played before a crowd of 14,362 at the Estadio Romano in Mérida, the hosts posted a first-half lead with a goal from midfielder Cesc Fabregas in the 33rd minute. But Estonia kept the match close with a couple of narrow misses and maintained the one-goal deficit deep into the second half. Spain finally managed to extend their lead when substitute Santi Cazorla found the net in the 79th minute. Fellow substitute Juan Manuel Garcia Mata added a final goal in the 90th minute.

The win ensured that Spain would finish at the top of their qualification group and advance to the World Cup. By keeping Estonia scoreless, the match also counted as Casillas' record-breaking 56th clean sheet for Spain, one more than previous record holder Andoni Zubizarreta.