On This Day

Football League 100,000th Goal: The Milestone Nobody Can Claim (1929)

The Football League 100,000th goal was scored on Saturday 5 October 1929 and nobody knows who scored it: the 65th goal of the day, and no name attached.

Manchester United 1-6 Tottenham: Mourinho’s Return to a Silent Old Trafford (2020)

Manchester United 1-6 Tottenham, 4 October 2020: Jose Mourinho comes back to an empty Old Trafford, and the Premier League Sunday that produced 25 goals.

The end of the East Germany national team: the day a footballing country stopped existing (1990)

East Germany national team, 3 October 1990: the side ceased to exist with the country. Its last match was Belgium 0-2 East Germany, three weeks earlier.

Carles Puyol’s Barcelona debut: 34 minutes at right back (1999)

Puyol Barcelona debut, 2 October 1999: just 34 minutes at right back at Real Valladolid, the first of 593 matches and a decade as captain at the Camp Nou.

Pele’s farewell match: one half for each club (1977)

Pele farewell match, 1 October 1977: one half for the New York Cosmos, one for Santos, and a free kick that was the last goal of his professional career.

Cameroon win Olympic gold with a comeback against nine-man Spain (Sydney 2000)

Cameroon Olympic gold, 30 September 2000: two goals down to Spain in Sydney, level by the 58th minute, and winners on penalties with a 16-year-old in goal.

Chelsea 13-0 Jeunesse Hautcharage: The 21-0 European Record (1971)

Chelsea 13-0 Jeunesse Hautcharage, 29 September 1971: Osgood scored five at Stamford Bridge and the tie ended 21-0, a European record Chelsea still share.

Wayne Rooney’s Manchester United debut: a hat-trick against Fenerbahce (2004)

Rooney Manchester United debut, 28 September 2004: a hat-trick against Fenerbahce at Old Trafford in a 6-2 win, aged 18 years and 340 days. The record.

Fabrizio Ravanelli scores all five in Juventus 5-1 CSKA Sofia (1994)

Ravanelli five goals, 27 September 1994: Juventus 5-1 CSKA Sofia. He scored every one to overturn a tie Juventus were losing, weeks before UEFA rewrote it.