14 January 1971 - The Greek Who Manned The Gates

On 14 January 1971, goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidas was born in the Greek city of Arta. He went on to help the national team to glory in Euro 2004 while becoming their top appearances leader at his position.

He began his professional career in 1987 with his local club, Anagennisi Arta, but spent the majority of his career with Panathinaikos (1989-2004) and Olympiacos (2004-2011), winning a combined 11 league titles and nine Greek Cups. But in the summer before he moved to Olympiacos, he manned the posts for Greece during their memorable run at Euro 2004.

They opened the tournament with a 2-1 win over hosts Portugal, then slumped to a 1-1 draw with Spain and a 2-1 loss to Russia. Still, it was enough to finish second in the group and advance to the knockout round, where Greece captured the trophy with three straight shutouts over France (1-0), the Czech Republic (1-0, aet), and--in the final--Portugal (1-0). For his performance, Nikopolidis was named to the UEFA Team of the Tournament.

Nikopolidis went on to captain the national team and amassed a total of 90 caps before his retirement from international football in 2008, enough to rank him sixth on their all-time appearances list and first among goalkeepers.

13 January 1988 - Statistically, It Proved To Be A Little Misleading

On 13 January 1988, the United States beat Guatemala with a goal from left back Jeff Agoos, making only his second national team appearance.

The teams met in Guatemala City, where the United States had lost all four of their previous matches. The most recent loss had come just three days earlier when the hosts won 1-0. That match marked the international debut for Agoos (pictured), a star in the making at the University of Virginia. His performance on that day was unremarkable, however, and he was substituted for fellow dubutant John Diffley.

US manager Lothar Osiander included both Agoos and Diffley in the starting line-up for the rematch on 13 January, with Agoos providing the day's only goal to give the US a narrow victory in the friendly. And it turned out to be a very rare occurrence. Agoos went on to earn a total of 134 caps for the US--enough to place him third on their all-time appearances list--but he scored only three more times for them.

12 January 1980 - The Ayresome Park Collapse

On 12 January 1980, a portion of Middlesbrough's Ayresome Park collapsed, killing two people. It was the start of a terrible trend in football for the coming decade.

Boro season-ticket holders Irene and Norman Roxby were exiting the ground (pictured) by the South East corner after a 1-1 draw with Manchester United when a brick pillar crumbled, bringing two gates down with it. The Roxbys were crushed by the debris. Some witnesses to the event blamed it on a group of visiting Manchester United supporters, saying they rushed the gates after the match, triggering the collapse. In their defense, however, the United supporters claimed that the rush was sparked by efforts to get away from an over-excited police horse.

Subsequent reports revealed that Middlesborough's safety certificates for the stadium had not been kept up-to-date, though the club claimed that any violation was merely technical and that all safety requirements were either met or exceeded at the time of the incident.

The deaths of the Roxbys were soon dwarfed by larger football-related disasters, including massive losses of life at Moscow's Lenin Stadium in 1982, Bradford City's Valley Parade ground in 1985, Belgium's Heysel Stadium in 1985, and Hillsborough in 1989. The Taylor Report followed the latter in August 1989, recommending the elimination of standing areas in favor of all-seater grounds. That requirement ultimately doomed Ayresome Park, which made way in 1995 for Middlesbrough's new Riverside Stadium.

11 January 2009 - It Was A Mexican Standoff

On 11 January 2009, Guadalajara and Pachuca secured their spots in the Copa Libertadores after two own goals and a combined 36 penalty attempts in two shootouts.

They were two of the four semifinalists in Mexico's InterLiga competition, with Guadalajara matched up against Morelia and Pachuca paired with Atlas. The winners of the two matches then joined 2008 Apertura winners San Luis in the qualification stage of the Copa Libertadores.

Guadalajara fell behind to Morelia after conceding an own goal from striker Carlos Ochoa in the 57th minute, but midfielder Marco Fabián drew them level eight minutes later. Morelia then went down to 10 men after a second yellow for defender Fernando Salazar, but Guadalajara could not take advantage before time expired. They won the shootout 4-2, though, as Morelia's first attempt went wide and Guadalajara keeper Luis Ernesto Michel saved their last attempt.

In the day's other match, Pachuca raced to a 3-0 lead in the first half, but found themselves level after conceding three--including one own goal--in the second half. Atlas striker Jorge Achucarro scored the 88th-minute equalizer, but he did not fare as well in the ensuing shootout, as his first attempt was saved by Pachuca keeper Miguel Calero (pictured). With the shootout level at 7-7 after ten kicks each, the shooters started to cycle through again. And, again, Calero saved Achucarro's shot to win the match.

10 January 1915 - That Was 15 More Than They Needed

On 10 January 1915, Inter recorded their largest margin of victory, beating Vicenza 16-0.

The meeting came in the semifinal group of the Northern Italian championship, with both Inter and Vicenza having won their qualification groups in impressive fashion--Vicenza won eight of their ten qualification group matches and Inter won nine of theirs (while compiling an astounding goal differential of +52).

Those results sent the teams into the same semifinal group, where Inter steamrolled Vicenza in Milan. Their 16-0 scoreline remains a club record. Vicenza did better in the return fixture, holding Inter to a scoreless draw, but Inter still managed to top the group and advance to the Northern Italy final group, where they finished third behind Genoa and Torino.

9 January 2007 - Baptista Catches Fire

On 9 January 2007, Liverpool and Arsenal played a 9-goal thriller in the Carling Cup 5th Round, including a missed penalty.

The quarterfinal meeting paired the Premier League's third- and fourth-place teams, with hosts Liverpool sitting one point higher than Arsenal. But the Gunners were confident having beaten Liverpool 1-3 at Anfield in the FA Cup the previous week (they had also won 3-0 in the league back in November).

It was a day to remember for Arsenal striker Julio Baptista, who--after several years of rumors linking him to the club--had finally joined the Londoners at the start of the season on loan from Real Madrid. Despite his reputation as a prolific scorer, he started the day with only one goal to his Arsenal account. That changed in the 40th minute. After a pair of early goals from Arsenal's Jérémie Aliadière and Liverpool's Robbie Fowler, Baptista broke the deadlock with a 25-yard free kick.

Then, after Alex Song put Arsenal ahead 3-1 with what appeared to be a handball off a corner kick in the 45th minute, Baptista quickly struck again before the break, delivering the ball to Aliadière on the wing then receiving it back to tap into an open net. He had a chance for a hat-trick early in the second half when Aliadière earned a penalty, but Liverpool keeper Jerzy Dudek parried Baptista's shot.

He eventually completed his hat-trick in the 60th minute and added a fourth in the 84th minute, while Liverpool got goals from Steven Gerrard (68') and Sami Hyypia (80') to finish the day at 3-6. Arsenal went on to reach the final, where they lost to Chelsea, while both Baptista and Aliadière moved away from Arsenal at the end of the season.

8 January 1996 - The Death of Norrie McCathie

On 8 January 1996, Dunfermline Athletic defender Norman "Norrie" McCathie died of carbon monoxide poisoning. He was 34 years old.

He joined Dunfermline from Cowdenbeath in August 1981 and went on to make a club record 576 appearances, including 497 league appearances. Although they were relegated to the third tier in 1983, they secured back-to-back promotions in 1986 and 1987 and spent four of the next five seasons in the top flight. In 1991, a McCathie penalty kick in the League Cup semifinals against Airdrie won him the right to captain the side in the final, but they lost to Hibernian, 2-0.

Known as much for his exuberance off the pitch as for his tenacity on it, McCathie--who was a part owner of two local pubs--was a favorite among Dumfernline supporters, many of whom considered him to be the living personification of the club.

But in 1996, two days after he played in a loss to St. Mirren, friends of McCathie's became alarmed when he missed training. They went to his home and found his body, along with the body of his girlfriend, 26-year old Amanda Burns, both dead from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Dunfermline, who by then were back in the second tier, went on to win promotion that year, playing in McCathie's memory. And in 1998, the club named a stand in his honor.