12 November 1939 - A Fitting Mark For The Occasion

On 12 November 1939, forward Josef Bican commemorated his appearance for a third national team by scoring a hat-trick.

Bican, who was born in Vienna in 1913, made his first national team appearance for Austria in 1933. He went on to play for them a total of nineteen times--and scoring a total of nineteen goals--through 1936. The following year, he left Austria to play for Slavia Prague where he spent the majority of his career, scoring 395 goals in 217 matches between 1937 and 1948.

After moving to Prague, he switched his national team allegiance to Czechoslovakia. But after only three games (and eight goals), Czechoslovakia fell to the Nazis, who disbanded the team. They attempted to persuade Bican to turn out for Germany, but he declined, choosing instead to play for the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia which, while Nazi-controlled, remained ethnically Czech.

In his lone appearance for the Protectorate, Bican provided three goals in what turned out to be a 4-4 draw with Germany.

He rejoined the Czechoslovakian national team when they resumed play in 1946, making another eleven appearances for them until retiring from international football in 1949.

11 November 2011 - Maybe They Needed A Longer Break

On 11 November 2011, São Tomé and Príncipe played their first World Cup qualifier after an eight-year hiatus. They lost 5-0.

An African island nation located in the Gulf of Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe formed their football team in the 1970s and played their first match, a 5-0 loss to Chad, in 1976. They either did not enter or withdrew from World Cup qualification until 2002, when they lost to Sierra Leone in the first round of CAF qualification by the aggregate score of 2-4 over two legs.

They did even worse in 2006 qualification, losing to Libya in the first round 9-0 on aggregate. Afterward, they decided not to try for the 2010 World Cup ad withdrew from the qualifying process.

With eight years to recalibrate, São Tomé and Príncipe chose to compete for the 2014 World Cup, opening their campaign with a two-legged tie against Congo and promptly lost the first leg at home, 5-0, on 11 November. They did better in the second leg, playing to a 1-1 draw, but it was not enough as the 6-1 aggregate deficit eliminated them.

10 November 2007 - Cobh Rambles To The Top Flight

On 10 November 2007, Cobh Ramblers beat Athlone Town 0-1 to win the League of Ireland First Division title, securing promotion to the top flight.

Founded in 1922, Cobh joined the league in 1985 and had played only three seasons in the Premier Division, with their last spell in the top flight ending in 1995. But they started the 2007 season in excellent form, going on a 27-match unbeaten streak in the league that ran from 24 March to 28 September.

That run lifted them to the top of the table, one point clear of Finn Harps, when they arrived at Athlone Town for their last match of the season. They had beaten Athlone twice already by scores of 3-0 and 2-0, but had not yet played them away.

Athlone proved more resilient in front of their home fans, keeping the game scoreless until the 73rd minute, when a free kick into the box dropped at the foot of Cobh defender Kevin Murray, who poked it into the net for the match winner. It turned out to be the First Division winner, keeping them one point clear of Finn Harps, who won their own match.

Unfortunately for Cobh, their return to the Premier Division lasted only one season and they were relegated back to the First Division in 2008.

9 November 2003 - The Earthquakes Shake Up The Playoffs

On 9 November 2003, the San Jose Earthquakes staged the biggest comeback in MLS playoff history to beat the Los Angeles Galaxy in the semifinals.

As the league's only California teams, San Jose and Los Angeles had developed a strong rivalry, nicknamed the California Clásico and capped two years earlier when the Earthquakes, making their first appearance in the championship match, beat the Galaxy 2-1, handing LA their loss in three MLS Cup appearances.

By 2003, the Galaxy were fortunate to make the playoffs at all, finishing fourth out of five teams in the Western Conference while San Jose were in first. But when the teams met at the Home Depot Center on 1 November for the first leg of the semifinal, LA won 2-0. And when they reconvened at Spartan Stadium in San Jose eight days later, LA again took a two-goal lead with strikes from Carlos Ruiz (7') and Peter Vagenas (13'), giving San Jose an aggregate hill to climb that was four goals high.

The comeback started in the first half with Jeff Agoos (21') and Landon Donovan (35') finding the back of the net. Jamil Walker scored early in the second half (50'), but LA looked likely to hold on to their 4-3 aggregate lead. Then, in the 90th minute, Chris Roner scored to send the match into extra time.

At the time, the MLS Cup used the golden goal rule, which meant that the first goal scored in extra time would win the match. And San Jose's Rodrigo Faria (pictured) found it in the 96th minute (it was his only goal of the season). San Jose went on to beat Kansas City in the conference final, then defeated Chicago in the championship game.

In addition to being the biggest comeback in MLS playoff history, the 5-2 win in that second leg was the biggest victory in the California Clásico.

8 November 2005 - Votes Are Harder To Get Than Goals

On 8 November 2005, George Weah, the 1995 World Player of the Year, lost his bid to become president of Liberia.

The striker enjoyed a long and successful career in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East from 1985 to 2003, including lengthy and prominent spells at Monaco (1988-92), Paris Saint-Germain (1992-95), and Milan (1995-2000). He also made 60 appearances for the Liberian national team between 1988 and 2007.

A three-time African Player of the Year (1989, 1994, 1995), Weah's annus mirabilus came in 1995, when he finished his final season at PSG by winning the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue, as well as leading the UEFA Champions League in scoring. A few months later, he won the FIFA World Player of the Year Award and the Ballon d'Or. He remains the only African player to claim either award.

Upon his retirement from club football in 2005, he declared his intention to run for president of Liberia. Despite heavy criticism for lacking a formal education, Weah finished first among all candidates in the 11 October general election, which put him in a runoff against Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the second-place finisher. But Weah lost the 8 November runoff, taking 40.6% of the vote compared to 59.4% for Sirleaf. He initially claimed the election had been corrupted, but later withdrew the allegations.

He remained active in Liberian politics, running against Sirleaf again in 2011, that time as vice-presidential candidate, but Sirleaf won with 90.7% of the vote.

7 November 1984 - Rapid Slows Down Celtic's Travel Plans

On 7 November 1984, Celtic beat Rapid Wien 3-0 to advance in the European Cup Winners' Cup, but it didn't count.

The teams met in the tournament's second round, with Rapid winning the first leg in Vienna on 24 October, 3-1. Thirteen days later, Celtic hosted the second leg in Glasgow, where they drew level on aggregate with first-half goals from Brian McClair (32') and Murdo MacLeod (45'). Tommy Burns then added another goal in the 68th minute.

Four minutes later, Burns was involved in a incident that saw the referee eject Rapid's Reinhard Kienast. As the Austrian were protesting the decision, midfielder Rudi Weinhofer went down clutching his face, apparently hit by an object thrown from the stands. He had to leave the game, which left Rapid down to 10 men as they had already used all of their substitutes. Captain Hans Krankl threatened to lead his team off the pitch in protest, but the match eventually resumed after a 15-minute delay. It ended 3-0 to Celtic, which put them through 4-3 on aggregate.

Rapid protested the result, however, and a UEFA appeals panel determined that the injury to Weinhofer justified a replay which they ordered to be played at least 100 miles away from Glasgow. So the teams met at Old Trafford in Manchester on 12 December.

Rapid won that match 1-0 to advance 4-1 on aggregate and ended up going all the way to the final in Rotterdam, where they lost to Everton, 3-1.

6 November 1960 - Camp Nou Was A Fortress

On 6 November 1960, Barcelona recorded their Spanish-record 39th straight home league victory, beating Espanyol 4-1.

The record run started during in 1958 with a 3-0 win over Sporting Gijón at Camp Nou on 16 February, then extended through the entire 1958-59 and 1959-60 seasons (Barcelona won the league in both, as well as the 1959 Copa del Rey). Along the way, they were led in attack by their Brazilian forward Evaristo de Macedo (their leading scorer in 1958-59 with 20 goals) and Paraguayan-born striker Eulogio Martínez (their top scorer in 1959-60 with 23).

After setting the record against Espanyol, Barça's run ended two weeks later after they drew at home with Sevilla 2-2, followed by a 3-5 loss to Real Madrid in their next home game on 4 December.

Although Barcelona went on to finish the season in fourth place. Their mark of 39 straight home league wins, however, remains the best such streak in Spanish history.

Barcelona also holds the Spanish record for most consecutive away league wins with 12, set from May 2010 to February 2011.