30 April 1977 - Austria Cranks Up The Heat

On 30 April 1977, six goals from striker Hans Krankl helped Austria to their record win, a 9-0 victory over Malta in a World Cup qualifier.

After finishing third in the 1954 World Cup, Austria had struggled, advancing only to the group stage in 1958, withdrawing in 1962, then failing to qualify for the 1966, 1970, and 1974 tournaments. But they started off their campaign for the 1978 World Cup by winning their first two games against Malta and Turkey by identical 1-0 scores.

For their third match, they hosted the return fixture against Malta in Salzburg. There, Krankl, who had scored the winner against Malta in the previous game, struck again with a goal in the 9th minute. He scored three more in the span of just over ten minutes (12', 18', 20') before Josef Stering added another in the 30th minute to give Austria a 5-0 lead at the break.

Things were little better for Malta in the second half, as both Krankl (53', 66') and Stering (69') again found the back of the net, along with Hans Pirkner (65'). The final margin of 9-0 remains Austria's biggest win.

They ultimately won their qualification group to reach the tournament, then won their first-round group, but were eliminated in the second group stage.

29 April 1965 - The Story Of VP Sathyan

On 29 April 1965, former India captain and 1995 AIFF Player of the Year V.P. Sathyan was born in the Kannur District.

A center back, Sathyan began his career in 1982 with Spirited Youth Club, but spent the majority of his career with Kerala Police where he won back-to-back Federation Cups in 1990 and 1991. In 1992, he joined Mohun Bagan, where he won another pair of consecutive Federation Cups in 1992 and 1993 (in the latter, he scored the only goal of the final).

In 1994, he returned to Kerala Police for two more seasons, then closed out his club career with a year at Indian Bank, which he later managed in 2001.

Along with his domestic success, he rose to prominence during his ten-year tenure with the Indian national team, serving as captain of the squad that won the gold medal at the 1995 South Asian Federation Games. It was that performance that led to him winning the All-Indian Football Federation's Player of the Year award.

Unfortunately, his life took a downward turn after football. In 2006, at the age of 41, financial pressures led him to take his own life by jumping in front of a train.

28 April 1970 - The Gunners Fire Back In Europe

On 28 April 1970, Arsenal rallied from a 3-1 first-leg deficit to win the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup over Anderlecht with an aggregate score of 3-4.

The tournament was an opportunity to salvage the seasons for the Gunners, who were almost done with a disappointing domestic campaign that would see them finish twelfth in the league after early exits in both the FA Cup and League Cup. For the first leg on 22 April, they visited Anderlecht, where the hosts dominated, taking a 3-0 lead before an 82nd-minute goal from Ray Kennedy brought the final margin to a slightly more respectable 3-1.

In London for the second leg, the situation was reversed. Arsenal went up 1-0 with a 25th-minute goal from Eddie Kelly, while their defense stymied the previously-prolific Belgian attack. Radford then struck in the 75th minute, followed by a goal from Jon Sammels one minute later. That was enough to push the final scoreline to 3-4 on aggregate, giving Arsenal their first European trophy.

The victory inspired the squad, who regained their domestic form the following season, winning both the league and the FA Cup.

27 April 1913 - The Change Of Scenery Made The Difference

On 27 April 1913, the Paterson True Blues won their third American Cup after beating Tacony FC 2-1 in a second replay.

Organized by the American Football Association, the American Cup was an annual tournament played from 1885 to 1924. The True Blues out of Paterson, New Jersey, one of the dominant American teams of the era, reached the tournament final seven times previously, winning it in 1896 and 1909. Philadelphia-based Tacony, meanwhile, had been there once before, winning it in 1910.

For the 1913 final, Tacony hosted the first meeting on 12 April, but it ended as a 2-2 draw after Paterson's Neil Clarke equalized in the dying seconds. They returned to Philadelphia a week later for a replay, with Clarke again scoring the tying goal in a 1-1 draw to force a third game.

They met again on 27 April, with the location moved to Morris Park, New Jersey. There, Tacony again took a 1-0 lead, but Paterson's Alec Lowe brought them level. Then a late Tacony handball led to a Paterson penalty converted by Jack Nielson that proved to be the deciding score.

26 April 2000 - Even A Modest Record Is Still A Record

On 26 April 2000, Andorra got their first win, beating Belarus 2-0 in a friendly. It remains their record margin of victory.

Dating back to 1996, the Andorran national team struggled through the early years, with their very first match being a 1-6 home loss to Estonia. They went on to lose 20 and win none of their first 23 matches, including defeats in all ten of their qualifiers for Euro 1996. Their only non-defeats were scoreless draws with Azerbaijan in 1998 and 2000 and the Faroe Islands in 1999.

But in April 2000, they hosted Belarus in a friendly and took  a 1-0 lead when midfielder Jesús Julián Lucendo scored with a penalty kick in the 57th minute. As if that was not shocking enough, they then extended their lead five minutes later with a goal from striker Juli Sánchez (pictured). It proved to be one more goal than they needed as the match ended 2-0 to give Andorra their first taste of victory.

Unfortunately, they followed that result with a string of eleven straight defeats before getting their second victory, another 2-0 friendly win at home, this time over Albania. To date, their only other win--and only one in a competitive match--is a 1-0 victory over Macedonia in a World Cup qualifier in 2004.

25 April 1868 - Celtic's Other Greatest Manager

On 25 April 1868, Willie Maley was born in Ireland. He went on to become Celtic's most successful manager.

He played for Celtic as a half back from 1888 to 1897, helping the club win their first three league titles. Then, in 1897, he became Celtic's first manager at the age of 29. He continued his winning ways, claiming another league title in that first season, followed by the Scottish Cup in 1899.

He managed Celtic until January 1940, making him the club's longest-tenured boss. During that span, they won a total of thirty trophies, including sixteen league titles and fourteen Scottish Cups. The total of 30 major trophies is also a club record, five more than his nearest challenger, Jock Stein.

Maley's final major honor was the 1938 league title, followed by a second-place finish in 1939. With the league officially suspended the following season for World War II, he retired three months short of his 71st birthday. He remained in Glasgow and died there in 1958 at the age of 89.

24 April 1954 - Wolves Hunger No More

On 24 April 1954, Wolverhampton won their first league title, beating Tottenham 2-0 in their final match of the season.

One of England's strongest teams at the mid-point of the twentieth century, Wolves had finished as runners-up three times before, in 1938, 1939, and 1950. They topped the table for most of the 1952-53 season, included as late as mid-April, but faltered at the end and finished third.

For most of the 1953-54 season, they were involved in a two-team battle for the title with West Bromwich Albion. On 24 April, Wolves were ahead of West Brom by two points, with each team having only one game left to play--West Brom at Porstmouth and Wolves hosting Tottenham at Molineux.

Playing before a crowd of 44,000, Wolves took the lead with a goal from center forward Roy Swinbourne (pictured) in the 18th minute. He then added a second in the 68th minute to seal the victory. As it turned out, they would have claimed the title even with a loss, as West Brom lost 3-0 (West Brom did not go empty-handed, however--they won the FA Cup a week later over Preston North End).

Wolves went on to win two more titles in 1958 and 1959, and finished as runners-up again in 1955 and 1960.