Netherlands 6 (2) Yugoslavia 1 (0)

June 25^th 2000 – Euro 2000 Quarter Final

Netherlands: Edwin Van der Sar (Sander Westerveld 64) Paul Bosvelt, Jaap Stam, Frank de Boer, Arthur Numan, Marc Overmars, Philip Cocu, Edgar Davids, Boudewijn Zenden (Ronald de Boer 80) Patrick Kluivert (Roy Makaay 60), Dennis Bergkamp

Scorers: Kluivert 24, 38, 54, Govedarica 51 (o.g.), Overmars 78, 90 + 1  Manager: Frank Rijkaard

Yugoslavia: Ivica Kralj, Sinisa Mihajlović, Nisa Saveljić (Jovan Stanković 56), Miroslav Djukić, Slobodan Komljenović, Dejan Govedarica, Ljubinko Drulovic (Darko Kovacević 70), Dragan Stojković (Dejan Stanković52), Vladimir Jugović, Savo Milosević, Pedja Mijatović

Scorer: Milosević 90 + 2  Manager: Vujadin Boskov

Referee: José Maria Aranda (Spain)

Why you should watch this match: A classic Dutch team at their imperious best

It's been pointed out that every time I feature the Dutch, they're beaten. So how about a decent Netherlands team at their peak. At Euro 2000 they had home advantage, but progressed from a tough group comprising France, Czech Republic and Denmark with maximum points. This game was no slaughter of mediocre opposition, though. There was Real Madrid's centre forward Pedja Mijatovic, Lazio's right back Sinisa Mihajlovic and midfielder Dejan Stankovic, PSV Eindhoven's goalkeeper Ivica Kralj, Internazionale midfield Vladimir Jugovic, and whatever Aston Villa fans thought of Savo Milosevic's poor scoring record with them, at international level before this match he'd hit just under a goal every two games. Their qualification group wasn't as tough, but they'd played two thrilling games against Slovenia and Spain that I'm sure I'll get around to later.

Defence wasYugoslavia's problem. Only Denmark, who'd lost all three qualifying group games, let in more goals, and yellow cards earned by defenders Goran Jorovic and Slavisa Jokanovic meant they missed this match. Initially that looked a blessing in disguise as a solid Yugoslavian defensive unit mopped up everything thrown at them for twenty minutes, and had Mijatovic not planted his shot straight at Edwin van der Sar Yugoslavia would have taken the lead. It's shortly after this point that it became apparent that the Dutch had been coasting. Probing and passing, but coasting nonetheless, and they picked up the pace. Within five minutes of Mijatovic's missed opportunity there were four good Dutch opportunities. Kralj made two good saves from Dennis Berkamp, Patrick Kluivert headed over, and having burst through the defence Edgar Davids' shot cleared the bar.

A Dutch goal had been coming, but Bergkamp's forward pass seemed too far ahead of Kluivert. Kluivert, though, deadened the ball with one touch and prodded it past Kralj with his second. Picturing the fat lump not even 30 that wobbled around with the other malcontents, thugs and troublemakers at St James' Park five years later, it's easy to forget how good Kluivert was. This was his peak. He scored better than a goal every two games at Barcelona, and his international ratio for 2000 worked out at a goal a game. Kralj has to scramble for Zenden's shot moments later as well.

For the rest of the half it was all the Netherlands. They strung together batches of up to a dozen passes time and time again, and Yugoslavia's only possession came from the referee blowing for Davids being too strenuous in the tackle. Even then, they lacked the imagination to do anything but punt a high ball into the area or go for the 40 yard blast, easily stopped by van der Sar. The Dutch, meanwhile fired, high, wide or too near Kralj. When it came, the second goal was a copy of the first, except with Davids supplying the pass, and Kluivert letting it bounce before shooting.

It's difficult to imagine how Vujadin Boskov could have inspired his team at half time. But 2-0 down, they were being toyed with in the manner of a cat with a mouse. With only two shots on target how Mijatovic must have been regretting his all too casual shot while the game was goalless. Whatever was said, nothing appeared to have changed as another poor free kick was headed thirty feet up and out on meeting Davids' forehead. Frank de Boer's pass to Overmars turned that into a memorable counter attack that ended with Overmars prodding over the bar. 3-0 was inevitable and arrived when Dejan Govedarica beat Kluivert to Paul Bosvelt's low cross, only to stab the ball past his own keeper.

Kluivert completed his hat-trick a couple of minutes later when Zenden cut back to him in acres of space. Mihajlovic's penalty area elbow to Kluivert's face was missed by the referee, and Kluivert was eventually substituted, leaving the pitch to high-fives from team-mates and an ovation from the crowd. Seconds later his replacement Roy Makaay glanced a header inches wide. No change then.

With twenty minutes left. Yugoslavia gambled with Darko Kovacevic as a third forward, and he immediately forced a save from replacement Dutch keeper Sander Westerveld. Van der Sar had been injured in a previous match, and substituted as a precaution. For a short spell Dejan Stankovic providing from midfield looked the world class player he was, and Yugoslavia had a few pots at the Dutch goal. Mihajlovic had already placed the first decent Yugoslavian free kick just wide of the post, and he whipped another decent free kick across the area, but no-one connected. In the middle of that spell Philip Cocu forced a good save with a fearsome shot from 30 yards out. Five minutes later, keeping his eye on the ball, he ran full pelt into his own goalpost. It was a ghastly moment, and it's astounding to see him get up and carry on playing a few minutes afterwards.

Any thoughts Yugoslavia had about achieving the impossible were ended when Bergkamp passed across the edge of the penalty area to Overmars who intercepted and lifted the ball up with one touch and volleyed home with his second. Ten minutes earlier they'd previewed that move and Overmars placed his shot just wide. Having been competing, but quiet, Berkamp stepped up his game for the final fifteen minutes, torturing the Yugoslav defence, slicing a low free kick through them that Kralj seemed to push out with his shins while diving, and spotting Overmars from well inside the Dutch half and sending a fantastic long pass, sadly intercepted. Overmars did arrive first when Cocu's shot bounced back off the post, and scored the sixth. Consigned to the right wing until Zenden's substitution, there was no doubt where Overmars was most effective.

The Yugoslavian consolation goal in injury time was also a rebound. Mijatovic hit the crossbar, and there was Milosevic to slot home. There was no extensively choreographed celebration or huddle from his team, just Milosevic rubbing his had across his hair.

The Netherlands looked world beaters here, but Italy were tougher opposition, and when 120 minutes of football couldn't separate the teams on the night better Italian penalties saw them through to the final.

As ever, highlights above, but the whole match is easily available online. Here, for instance, with some East European commentary. Be warned that despite the spectacular football on display these guys aren't excited about anything. I can do without gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaalllllll, but surely the occasional lurch out of monotone was appropriate. A chuckle at Boskov holding his head in hands as Stankovic sends a shot twenty feet above the bar from thirty yards out is as good as it gets for these guys.

Man of the Match: Davids. He was only directly instrumental in one of the goals, but time and time again he made the tackle that won the ball and the pass that set the Dutch off on the attack. I wish I'd started a count of how many free kicks he gave away, surely a dozen, but wasn't booked. He probably would have been today.

Tranmere Rovers 4 (0) Southampton 3 (3)

February 20^th 2001 – F.A. Cup

Tranmere: John Achterberg, Steve Yates, Graham Allen, Dave Challinor (Stuart Barlow 45), Richard Jobson, Richard Hinds, Jason Koumas (Gareth Roberts 89), Sean Flynn, Des Hamilton (Nick Henry 45), Andy Parkinson, Paul Rideout.

Scorers: Rideout 59, 71, 80, Barlow 84 Manager: John Aldridge

Southampton: Paul Jones, Claus Lundekvam, Dean Richards, Kevin Gibbens, Wayne Bridge, Mark Draper, Chris Marsden, Hassan Kachloul, Jo Tessem, James Beattie, Marian Pahars (Imants Bleidells 46, Uwe Rosler 85)

Scorers: Kachloul 12, Tessem 26, Richards 45 Manager: Glenn Hoddle

Referee: Kevin Thorne

Why you should watch this match: The improbable comeback from lower division underdogs

Southampton's decline was so rapid, that we now accept them as a lower division club, so without consideration this could be just another league fixture. We forget that between 1966 and 2005 Southampton only spent three seasons outside the top division, and that's where they were in 2001, albeit struggling. The appointment of former England manager Glenn Hoddle was considered quite the coup in 2000, but his spiky manner alienated fans.

This result notwithstanding, Tranmere were just about to conclude by far the most successful period in the club's history. During ten years in the second tier of English football they reached the play-offs three times, the League Cup final in 2000, having reached the semi-final in 1994, and earned this fixture by taking a trip across the Mersey to record a surprise 0-3 victory at Premiership Everton.

Tranmere's success was in no small part due to John Aldridge. Aged 32, with other offers available, he opted to play in his home town, and while his highest profile was during three years at Liverpool, his 170 goals between 1991 and 1998 rank him second on Tranmere's all-time top scorers list. He became player-manager in 1996, and his reputation and contacts were such that he could attract players to the club that otherwise wouldn't have played for Tranmere. His managerial ambitions were limited by budget, although he developed an astute eye for players, bringing several through from Tranmere's youth system. Keeper John Achterberg was sourced from PSV Eindhoven's reserves and played 11 years for the club. Jason Koumas never quite developed into the player expected, but was highly touted at this stage of his career, having joined from Liverpool's academy, as had Andy Parkinson and Gareth Roberts. Even so, several of this team were on loan.

With both teams struggling in their respective divisions, there had been a 0-0 draw at Southampton (footage available here) and the opening half played out much as form would indicate, with Aldridge's choice in opting for a five man defence proving completely ineffective. The first goal was a beauty, but only because Tranmere let Hassan Kachloul run through their midfield after a one-two with Chris Marsden, allowing him to reach the edge of the area without a tackle being attempted. By the time the defence moved in his direction it was too late, and his chip curved around into the top corner of the net past Paul Jones. Moments later Kachloul hit the crossbar, and it was due to him that the score doubled before thirty minutes, as he collected a long ball ten yards outside the area, ran it forward and passed across for Jo Tessem to tap in.

When clear of Achterberg James Beattie hit wide proving why he'd always been moved on after a season or two. Goal three was a mess all round. Kachloul knocked a long free kick into the area that the defence failed to cope with. Tessem's initial header bounced back off the post and no-one challenged Dean Richards for the rebound. It was a scrambled goal, but Southampton were good value for a lead during a half in which Tranmere barely threatened.

With little to lose, Aldridge changed his plans for the second half. Dave Challinor had been struggling from a tackle, and was replaced by forward Stuart Barlow, as Tranmere switched to a 4-4-2 formation. The difference was initially defensive, as Southampton's chances were restricted, but Tranmere gradually began to work themselves into the game, earning a corner just before the hour. It was cleared to Parkinson on the edge of the area, and his long shot through a dozen players was deflected by former Southampton forward Paul Rideout into the net. Twelve minutes later another corner led to another goal as a poorly marked Rideout headed home the kick from Jason Koumas, and ten minutes after that Tranmere were equal. Parkinson crossed a ball into the area, and the defence were caught ball watching as Rideout ran in to head home.

Tranmere sealed their victory when Rideout was again first to a penalty area ball. His header was nodded down to Stuart Barlow by Richard Jobson, and Barlow curled his foot round a defender to score. Even so Richards could have evened the scores to send the game into extra time, but off balance as he slid in to meet to a low ball, he hit it wide and high from three yards out.

The dream ended in the following round when Liverpool came to Prenton Park and won 2-4 in another excellent match. It's been said by some that Tranmere's F.A. Cup heroics distracted them from the league, where they finished bottom of the division. Aldridge resigned. Hoddle had also left, not bothering to give Southampton a second thought when Tottenham came calling in March, but it proved for the best as Southampton climbed the table to finish a respectable tenth. Hoddle took Dean Richards with him to Spurs, but Richards retired in 2005 due to health concerns. When he died earlier this year at the tragically young age of 36 only the phrase 'long-term illness' was used.

Man of the Match: Rideout. He'd already won an F.A. Cup winners medal by scoring a dire game's only goal for Everton in 1995. He was in place every time he was needed, and it wasn't only a second half performance. Had Richards not just beaten him to the ball when Southampton were 0-2 up Rideout would probably have scored in the first half.

Mansfield Town 3 (2) Tottenham Hotspur 3 (1)

March 25^th 1978 – Football League Division Two

Mansfield Town: Rod Arnold, Kevin Bird, Barry Foster, Colin Foster, Michael Saxby, Ian Wood, Patrick Sharkey, Dennis Martin, Dave Syrett, Gordon Hodgson, Johnny Miller

Scorers: Syrett 28, 42, 85 Manager: Billy Bingham

Tottenham Hotspur: Barry Daines, Mickey Stead, Jimmy Holmes, Don McAllister, Steve Perryman, John Pratt, Glenn Hoddle, Neil McNab, Chris Jones, Colin Lee, Peter Taylor

Scorers: Jones 29, Hoddle 81 (pen), 90 Manager: Keith Burkinshaw

Referee: Peter Root

Why you should watch this match: Football as it was in the 1970s on pitches as they were in the 1970s

Be warned, this one's not for watching due to the classic football on display, but is worth seeing for assorted other reasons.

The more time distances us from this match, it's not only the score that appears improbable, but the very fixture itself. The only season Spurs spent outside the top division since 1950 is now a distant memory, but it coincided with the only season Mansfield Town ever spent above the bottom two divisions. Even then it was a top against bottom game. Spurs' rock bottom finish the previous season was a surprise, but in the days before the majority of the squad either deserted on relegation, or were offloaded due to financial considerations, they were too good for most of the teams they faced. The defence, though was suspect. Irish international Jimmy Holmes' was playing his final year, and my Spurs supporting friends at the time considered Don McAllister more concerned with keeping his hair in place than getting stuck in. Mickey Stead played fewer than 20 games for the club and would find his level at Southend. Glenn Hoddle and Barry Daines, who'd be a Mansfield player three years later, were playing their first full seasons.

Mansfield were surprise Third Division champions the previous year, but hadn't strengthened significantly, and there was no surprise in their spending most of the season as the division's bottom club. The manager who'd led them upwards, Dave Morris, decamped to Newcastle in February, leading to the appointment of former Northern Ireland player and manager Billy Bingham. For most Mansfield players this game was as good as it got. Several started at better clubs, but only Michael Saxby would return to this level, playing a handful of games for a mediocre Middlesbrough team in 1984. Between them keeper Rod Arnold, right back Kevin Bird and left back Barry Foster would play 1077 league games for the Stags.

The first obvious aspect of the highlights is the quality of the pitch. A springtime storm had left a quagmire and a slippery surface on which the players struggled to maintain balance and across which the ball barely trundled, even over patches that looked green. Official records have it that Patrick Sharkey was transferred to Colchester in summer 1978, but Mansfield fans will tell you he was last seen slightly north of the centre circle, a forlorn flapping arm the sole body part visible above the mud. It certainly hindered the Spurs game, yet Glenn Hoddle, the player whose game-changing skills one might imagine it affected most, flourished here.

According to reports, Mansfield were well worth their lead. They'd attacked down the wing, with Stead and Holmes unable to prevent crosses, but Daines looking comfortable. Their first goal was a simple one. Bird's long throw was nodded down by Dennis Martin and a completely unmarked Dave Syrett was in place to kick past Daines. The Spurs response was immediate, and both one of the funniest goals and best examples of goalkeeping you'll see. The Mansfield area resembled an ice rink, but despite this Arnold, slipping and diving, managed to parry three Tottenham shots. Unfortunately his final block fell to Chris Jones who kept his feet to fire home.

Martin could have restored the lead, but Daines saved his penalty after Steve Perryman tripped Gordon Hodgson in the box. Watch Daines skid like a seal across the goal line after the save. If that was unlucky, there was an element of good fortune about the goal that did put Mansfield ahead. As far as can be judged by the footage, Syrett's header looked to have been cleared off the line, but the officials ruled it a goal.

Perhaps stunned, Tottenham responded by pressing further forward in the second half, and playing Perryman as an extra midfielder. That gave Hoddle more space to perform and he launched a succession of telling passes that required concentrated defending. Their second equaliser was as fortunate as Mansfield's second goal. The referee failed to spot Peter Taylor's handball before he crossed, but did see Ian Wood deflecting the ball with his hand on the goal line. Hoddle dispatched the penalty with ease.

It was against the run of play that Mansfield again took the lead, albeit with a preposterous goal. Hodgson intercepted a pass just in his own half, spotted Syrett running forward and knocked a high ball in front of him. Daines ran well out of his area to clear the ball, but miskicked. The ball bounced back towards goal, and Syrett, who'd continued his run, tapped it in. Even then the mud slowed the shot to the point where the ball needed crutches to cross the line, coming to a dead stop just over it without reaching the net.

Mansfield defended doggedly and successfully throughout the second half against patently superior opposition, but they were denied their win by a ninetieth minute moment of pure quality. Spurs were awarded a free kick just outside the area, to the left. Hoddle clinically curled the ball around the wall and into the net to equalise again. The next season he'd be doing the same to first division defences, and 18 months later earned his first England cap. Take a look at the players congratulating Hoddle, a scrum of muddy shirts and faces. Given his position putting himself about as centre back one might assume Don McAllister to be the filthiest of them in those conditions, yet his shirt is clean and his coiffure perfect. It lends credence to the views of my late-1970s Spurs supporting friends.

Syrett's scoring record of 20 goals in 65 league games for a team regularly being humped for over half of them certainly doesn't look bad, so it's surprising that the one-time England youth international aged only 23 was transferred to a Walsall team heading for division four in March 1979. Injury ended his career five years later after spells with Northampton and Peterborough.

Mansfield's season wasn't a total disaster as they overhauled Hull City on the final week to avoid finishing bottom. The week before Spurs had relinquished top place for the first time since January, but were still promoted in the days before play-offs for finishing third. There's little chance of Spurs being relegated from the Premiership in the immediate future, while Mansfield Town currently look unlikely to return to the football league in the immediate future.

Man of the Match: Hoddle. "We kept screaming at the lads to take care of Hoddle," Bingham declared, "but the message didn't get through." He controlled the midfield throughout the second half and was responsible for the one moment of genuine quality in a thoroughly entertaining match.

Brazil 5 (2) France 2 (1)

June 24^th 1958 – World Cup Semi-Final

Brazil: Gylmar, Nílton de Sordi, Nílton Santos, Zito, Luis Bellini, Orlando, Garrincha, Didi, Vavà, Pelé, Mario Zagallo

Scorers: Vavà 2, Didi 39, Pelé 52, 64, 75 Manager: Vincente Feola

France: Claude Abbes, Raymond Kaelbel, André Lerond, Armand Penverne, Robert Jonquet, Jean-Jacques Marcel, Maryan Wisnieski, Raymond Kopa, Just Fontaine, Roger Piantoni, Jean Vincent

Scorers: Fontaine 9, Piantoni 82 Manager: Albert Batteux

Referee: Benjamin Griffiths (Wales)

Why you should watch this match: Brazil demolish the second best team at the 1958 World Cup

The French team was built around six players from Stadt de Reims, then dominant in the French league, and participants in two of the first five European Cup finals. In reaching the semi-final France had scored 15 goals in four matches, and Just Fontaine alone had bagged eight. They had lost a match, though, to Yugoslavia by the odd goal in five in the group stages. By contrast, the Brazilian team about to announce themselves on the world stage had only scored six goals, and scraped unconvincingly past a Welsh team missing their best player (John Charles) by a single goal in the quarter-final. There was, however, an impressive statistic not usually associated with Brazilian teams until the 1980s. This lot hadn't let in a goal, and unconvincing they may have been in attack, but they knew what they needed. The players themselves demanded the introduction of the tricky Garrincha on the wing and the 18 year old Pelé in the final group game, and it transformed them. So, the top goalscorers against the best defensive record. Something was about to give.

It was the French defence. Pelé served warning in the first minute and a poor pass from central defender Robert Jonquet slipped the ball to him again. Jonquet's recovering tackle was impressive, but this time the ball reached Didi, who lobbed it into the area where Vavà was waiting to drill it past an unprotected Claude Abbes. France remained unperturbed. They'd let in goals before, and the combination of Raymond Kopa and Just Fontaine were always good for clawing them back. So it proved again. Kopa's long pass split the defence as Fontaine ran through. Gylmar dived at his feet, but failed to gather the ball, so Fontaine ran on and slashed it into the net from the edge of the goal area.

The next fifteen minutes were back and forth. Brazil's amazing close intricate passing worked them to the penalty area time and again, but there were always enough defenders to prevent an effective conclusion. The French were more direct, but the Brazilian defence was far stronger than any they'd faced in the competition. The 13^th minute was eventful. Fontaine missed a golden opportunity from Maryan Wisnieski's good pass into the area, and Brazil were unlucky when later national manager Mario Zagallo's shot bounced down off the bar but was deemed not to have crossed the goal line.

It's apparent that France frequently gave the ball away whereas only rarely was a Brazilian pass misplaced or intercepted. That's the skill and elegance with which the 1958 Brazilian team is associated, but playing in South America, they also had to mix it with the best, and Vavà's appalling stamp on Jonquet's shin after 35 minutes changed the game. The iniquity of the no substitutions rule was never better highlighted than by the cultured defender having to spend 55 minutes limping around midfield unable to contribute. After the match it was discovered he'd fractured his leg in two places, although Jonquet's absence wasn't instrumental in Didi's low shot breaking the deadlock, and sending Brazil in with a halftime lead.

The second half was the Pelé show. He'd set his sights in the first half and sent a couple of volleys over the bar, and repeated the exercise in the early minutes of the second, but with Jonquet replaced by Jean Vincent in defence his natural precocious talents emerged in full. His first goal came shortly after Gylmar tipped Piantoni's shot uncertainly around his post. Abbes then made a worse mistake, tipping the ball straight to Pelé's feet when diving for a low cross. It's his second ever World Cup goal, and far from classic.

Before Pelé's second there was some amazing close control trickery from Garrincha before a quality pass to Pelé who let the ball run for Vavà. Abbes made a vital block. Garrincha was the inspiration for goal four as he twisted through the defence to cut back for Pelé from the byeline. A desperate tackle blocked his shot, but the ball deflected to Vavà, also tackled, and the ball deflected back to Pelé, who shot home with the outside of his foot. By this time Brazil were completely in control, and the ball only left the French half at ever greater intervals. Sympathetic refereeing spared further embarrassment when Raymond Kaelbel bundled Garrincha over in the area. Brazil were now showboating, playing nutmegs, backheels and passing via bouncing the ball off their opponents. They eventually scored a goal in keeping with their dominance. Didi knocked a ball to Pelé running towards the penalty area. He flicked it up and volleyed home on the run as it dropped.

France managed a couple more attacks, and the second provided a consolation goal. First Fontaine forced Gylmar to tip the ball over the bar, and then with a Brazilian off the pitch Piantoni kept running forward and his eventual shot skimmed under Gylmar. Brazil only needed to keep the French from the ball in the final ten minutes and they did just that. Didi even forced another save. This wasn't just a win, it was a rout of a very good side indeed. Having hit their stride, Brazil then demolished Sweden's best ever team, with 11 fit men throughout, in the highest scoring World Cup final.

So this was a great team at their peak, but consider Just Fontaine. How good was he? His 1958 tournament total was 13 goals. Pelé, acknowledged as the best player of his era and part of three World Cup winning teams, scored 12 World Cup goals over four tournaments. Fontaine scored four goals against defending champions West Germany in the 1958 third place play-off. Between 1953 and 1963 only two teams, never mind players, scored four or more goals against West Germany. Over fifty years on Fontaine's goals still place him fourth among the all-time World Cup scorers. He was overtaken by Gerd Müller in 1974 when Müller played in his second tournament, and the two players on 15 played in at least three tournaments. Fontaine scored 30 goals in 21 appearances for France and only three against Luxembourg could be considered against mediocre opposition. Never really recovering from a leg injury brought his career to a premature end aged 28, and off the pitch he formed the French players union in 1961. His achievements are largely forgotten these days, and they shouldn't be. He was a giant.

The footage above is the first part of the entire match, conveniently uploaded onto You Tube by someone calling themselves Sir Pele Forever. Watch part 2 here, and then follow on for the rest. While conveniently timecoded, the footage begins with the referee and linesman shaking hands with the team captains, so runs just under two minutes ahead of the timed incidents above for the first half, and thirty seconds ahead for the second.

Man of the Match: Pelé. I'm tempted to go for Garrincha, who tormented the French defence all game, but if the quality of Pelé's first two goals weren't exactly world class, his third was. He also tormented the defence and keeper all game, and some of his touches were amazing.

Real Madrid 2 (1) Bayern München 4 (3)

February 29^th 2000 – Champions League

Real Madrid: Iker Casillas, Aitor Karanka, Míchel Salgado, Roberto Carlos, Geremi, Fernando Hierro, Fernando Redondo, Guti (Steve McManaman 62), Nicolas Anelka, Fernando Morientes (Perica Ognjenovic 79) Raúl

Scorers: Morientes 24, Raúl 48  Manager: Victor Del Bosque

Bayern München: Oliver Kahn, Markus Babbel (Thomas Linke 62) , Sammi Kuffour, Bixente Lizarazu, Hasan Salihamidzic, Thorsten Fink, Stefan Effenberg, Lothar Matthäus, Mehmet Scholl (Michael Tarnat 86), Élber (Roque Santa Cruz 86), Paulo Sérgio

Scorers: Scholl 21, Effenberg 24, Fink 39, Sergio 66 Manager: Ottmar Hitzfeld

Referee: Kim Milton Neilson (Denmark)

Why you should watch this match: Real Madrid taken apart at home

UEFA introduced a second group stage to the Champions League in 1999, and this fixture formed part of that stage. Real Madrid cruised through their first group, only losing to runners-up Porto in Portugal. Bayern's qualification for the second stage was altogether closer, beating Rangers by a single penalty in the final game to ensure progress.

Bayern had emerged from a period of relative disappointment, both domestically and internationally in the late 1990s, having dominated German football in the 1980s. After a poor start to the 1991-1992 season manager Jupp Heynckes was sacked a year after he'd delivered a second consecutive title. Seven managers followed over six seasons, including two spells each for Franz Beckenbauer and Giovanni Trapattoni. Bayern won the championship twice, but also finished an unheard of 10^th in 1992. A 1996 UEFA Cup run largely engineered by the combative Otto Rehagel, sacked prior to the final, did provide their first European trophy since 1977, but a decision was made to appoint a manager for the long term with Ottmar Hitzfeld in 1998. He survived a second place finish in his first season to win three consecutive championships, and only lost the 1999 Champions League final to Manchester United's freak comeback.

Real Madrid were finding matters troublesome domestically. Instead of just having to contend with Barcelona, teams such as Valencia and Deportivo La Coruña had developed into viable title contenders. Real were actually performing more consistently in Europe than at home, and had won both previous matches in the group. An unexpected draw for Bayern in Rosenborg made a win in Madrid desirable, so Hittzfeld opted for an attacking formation and pressed from kick-off. After just a minute Iker Casillas was quickly off his line to prevent Paulo Sérgio firing home. After five minutes Sérgio beat Casillas, but the post as well, and Elber also came close. It was fully fifteen minutes before Real constructed any kind of chance, with Oliver Kahn tipping Roberto Carlos' fearsome shot over the bar.

There was a stroke of good fortune about Bayern's opener. Although intended for Mehmet Scholl, Sérgio's pass only reached him via Fernando Hierro's toe poke deflecting the ball. Scholl ran on alone, and adroitly chipped the ball over Casillas into the net. Stefan Effenberg's free kick from 25 yards sailed past an ineffective two man wall into the narrowest of gaps beyond the reach of Casillas three minutes later. Casillas was well prepared when Effenberg tried again in the second half.

Fernando Morientes immediately pulled a goal back. He'd come close earlier, sending Kahn scrambling across his goal, and when Raúl's shot was tipped onto the bar by Kahn, the ball bounced out for Morientes to head in. Bayern's two goal lead was restored when Real let them stroke the ball around outside the penalty area, with Thorsten Fink eventually running onto a backheel from Elber to place a belter of a shot past Casillas. 
 

Real were fired-up for the second half, and scored almost immediately. Hierro sent a free kick out to Carlos on the wing, and he volleyed it into the area on the run. No-one picked up Raúl effectively as he outpaced Sammi Kuffour to head the ball home. It was Real who set the pace during the second half, with Kahn making several vital saves, particularly from Raúl, and Bayern's final goal was against the run of play. Casillas tipped Effenberg's free kick round the post, and when Scholl kicked in the resulting corner absolutely no-one was marking Sérgio, who only needed to redirect the ball to make the score 2-4.

Bayern also beat Real at home, and both qualified from the group to reach the quarter-finals. Both won, to set up a semi-final meeting. This time the home team won each leg, but Nicolas Anelka, anonymous in this match, notched the vital away goal to send Real through to a final in which they beat Valencia. Bayern's revenge came in 2001 when they again beat Real home and away en route to winning the Champions League, also beating Valencia.

Man of the Match: Kahn. He made a couple of excellent saves in the first half, particularly from Roberto Carlos, and a world class one in the second from Raúl before either of them realised he was offside. Constantly called into action during the second half due to some decidedly dodgy defending, he was only beaten once.

Celtic 0 (0) Rangers 3 (2)

May 2^nd 1999 – Scottish Premier League

Celtic: Stewart Kerr, Enrico Annoni, Alan Stubbs, Scott Marshall, Stéphane Mahé (red card 31), Paul Lambert, Morten Weighorst (Colin Healy 69), Vidar Riseth (red card 90), Harald Brattbakk (Simon Donnelly 60), Henrik Larsson, Mark Viduka

Manager: Josef Vengloš

Rangers: Stefan Klos, Sergio Porrini, Colin Hendry, Lorenzo Amoruso, Tony Vidmar, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Jörg Albertz (Derek McInnes 85), Claudio Reyna, Neil McCann, Rod Wallace (red card 75), Gabriele Amato (Jonatan Johansson 73)

Scorers: McCann 12, 76, Albertz 44 (pen) Manager: Dick Advokaat

Referee: Hugh Dallas

Why you should watch this match: Celtic lose the plot as Rangers win the title

The Scottish league schedule in 1998 saw teams playing each other twice home and twice away. On their prior visit to Parkhead six months previously Rangers, then 10 points ahead of Celtic, were gubbed 5-1, with Lubomir Moravčík running riot for Celtic and Rangers' Scott Wilson dismissed after 21 minutes for a ludicrously unnecessary foul. Read about it here. The Rangers lead was now seven points, but only three further matches remained, so a win would confirm a tenth league championship in eleven years. Adding further spice was, that should it occur, it would be the first time that Rangers confirmed a championship at the home of their bitter rivals. To make matters worse Celtic had an extensive injury list with first choice keeper Jonathan Gould out, along with defenders Jackie McNamara, John Mjallby and Craig Burley, Marc Rieper and Regi Blinker, but most importantly, Moravčík. Scott Marshall, loaned from Southampton, played his only game in a Celtic shirt.

Celtic and Rangers fans have an understandable disdain for their rivals that in all too many cases escalates into hatred and violence. It's entirely unacceptable, but can be understood in the context of the bigotry rife in Glasgow and the manner in which both teams, despite their current whitewashing of history, actively encouraged their representation for generations in order to fill the terraces. Less comprehensible is how players not connected

to the social history of the city can become so carried away by the passion and vitriol. Witness Stephane Mahé, 30 when this game took place, brought up in Brittany and having spent most of his playing career to that point in France.

He was sent off in his first match against Rangers after a foul and a later handball perhaps harshly considered deliberate. This was entirely different. There's footage of the sendings off independent of the goals, itself an indication of the rivalry, here. Already booked for a tackle on Rod Wallace, Mahé's legs were pulled away during a tussle for the ball by Neil McCann. Mahé squared up to McCann, but contrary to some reports online didn't hit him. He proceeded to berate referee Hugh Dallas who produced a second yellow card and a red card. Instead of leaving the field, Mahé jostled Dallas and shouted at him while other players tried to push him back. When eventually persuaded to leave, Mahé was in tears and a report in The Herald claims he hit a policeman on his way down the tunnel.

Before that point a demoralised Celtic had conceded an early goal when Giovanni van Bronkhorst on the left wing passed low to Rod Wallace in the penalty area. Wallace spotted McCann's run, which is more than the Celtic defence had, and stretching in McCann redirected the ball into the net. Mahé had a shot on target, and Celtic's best chance of the game fell to Danish midfielder Morten Weighorst who took a pass from Mark Viduka and adroitly curled the ball past Stefan Klos, only to see it hit the post.

Already inflated passion was inflamed by the Mahé incident, and spilled over just before half time when Rangers were awarded a free kick near the corner flag. A Celtic supporter invaded the pitch and was prevented from reaching Dallas by Celtic players. Missiles rained down and Dallas was hit by a coin. Pictures beamed around the world showed him crouched on the ground with blood flowing from his forehead. “The atmosphere in this fixture is nothing short of poisonous at times”, notes the Andy Gray on the footage above. Amid all the madness a Celtic fan tumbled from the top tier of the stand onto the crowd below. He's filmed being carried away on a stretcher still waving his arms and singing! When van Bronkhorst took the free kick Dallas didn't shy from inflaming the Celtic fans further by awarding a penalty to Rangers. The free kick was aimed at the far post where Tony Vidmar was attempting to move as Vidar Riseth wrapped his arms around him and eventually threw him to the ground. Jörg Albertz had no problem converting the penalty, but before that another Celtic fan had rushed at Dallas, this time caught by stewards.

Celtic had little to offer in the second half, even when the numbers were evened. Wallace responded to Riseth's poor tackle by squaring up to him, prompting shoving all round. Wallace was dismissed, and the match was put beyond all doubt by McCann taking a long pass from Jonatan Johansson, eluding Marshall, who'd been unable to cope with McCann's pace the entire match, and setting off for goal. Alan Stubbs' efforts to catch up don't even merit the term 'half-hearted', so with only Stewart Kerr in his path, McCann slid the ball to his left and shot into an empty net from the edge of the goal area. The championship decided, there was still time for a final unsavoury incident, and Riseth was sent off for yet another thuggish tackle, this time on Vidmar.

The outpouring of breast beating in the press was predictable, as was the round of hand-wringing and shoulder shrugging at the Scottish F.A, an organisation where heads are so deep in the sand that only the toes remain above ground. The teams met again two weeks later in the Scottish Cup final, an altogether more subdued affair confirming a domestic treble for Rangers via a goal from Wallace. This a year after Rangers hadn't won a single trophy after nine straight league titles.

Man of the Match: McCann. He was up against an inexperienced marker, but was pulling him all over the pitch even before Celtic were reduced to 10 men. Simple though it looks, many forwards would have made a hash of his second goal in such inflammatory conditions.

Celtic 5 (1) Rangers 1 (0)

November 21^st 1998 – Scottish Premier League

Celtic: Tony Warner, Tom Boyd, Alan Stubbs, Johan Mjallby, Stéphane Mahe, Phil O'Donnell, Paul Lambert, Lubomir Moravčík (Mark Burchill 82), Vidar Riseth, Simon Donnelly (David Hannah 79), Henrik Larsson

Scorers: Moravčík 11, 49, Larsson 51, 57 Burchill 89    Manager: Josef Vengloš

Rangers: Antti Niemi, Sergio Porrini, Colin Hendry, Scott Wilson (red card 22), Arthur Numan, Barry Ferguson (Ian Ferguson 74), Andrei Kanchelskis (Tony Vidmar 61), Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Jörg Albertz (Gordon Durie 61), Stéphane Guivarc'h, Rod Wallace

Scorer: Van Bronckhorst 53     Manager: Dick Advokaat

Referee: Willie Young

Why you should watch this match: Celtic seem to have turned their season around

Glasgow clubs Celtic and Rangers were rivals from the formation of the Scottish league, with an appalling undercurrent of religious bigotry that regrettably survives to this day. Celtic fell from grace after World War II and, barring a lapse in 1954, Rangers were very much the top team in Glasgow for two decades. Celtic emphasised their return to parity by winning nine consecutive league titles between 1966 and 1974, eclipsing Rangers' previous record of five consecutive titles between 1927 and 1931. For ten years, Rangers fans simmered, before the nine titles in a row were equalled between 1989 and 1997.

Celtic fans desperately wanted to avoid Rangers winning a tenth consecutive championship, and in May 1998 by a margin of two points Wim Jansen guided Celtic to their first league title in ten years. There was no little irony in Jansen being a member of the Feyenoord team that defeated Celtic in the 1970 European Cup Final. 48 hours after the season ended, Jansen resigned, claiming irreconcilable differences with the board. His replacement was Josef Vengloš, a surprise and late pre-season appointment who made a disastrous start. Among managing only three league wins from ten games, Celtic lost home and away to Airdrie and Kilmarnock and were dumped out of the Champions League by Zürich. The one bright spot was Vengloš signing Lubomir Moravčík two weeks before this match, a player who'd not have figured on the radar but for a Czech manager. Costing a mere £300,000, extraordinarily cheap even in 1999, at 34 Celtic got a vastly experienced and skilled international midfielder whose partnership with Henrik Larsson, once it gelled, would make Celtic a force again. Defender John Mjallby, now a Celtic coach, was making his debut in this match.

Meanwhile, usual business had been restored at Rangers who'd only lost two games all season. Their wins included a 0-7 away humping of St Johnstone, to whom Celtic had lost home and away, and by mid-November they'd already accrued ten points more than Celtic. Also newly appointed in the summer, with far longer to source players, manager Dick Advokaat had brought a cosmopolitan look to Rangers. Best known as a left back for the Dutch national team, Giovanni van Bronckhorst was a more than competent midfielder in Scotland. Both goalkeepers wouldn't last long at the clubs. Finnish keeper Antti Niemi is more fondly recalled at Hearts, while Tony Warner was on loan from Liverpool and would find his home at Millwall.

Whatever might have been said afterwards, optimism surely wasn't high in the Celtic camp before the match, while the opposite must have been true of Rangers. With a UEFA Cup game against Parma three days later, they decided to rest captain and first choice central defender Lorenzo Amoruso and centre forward Jonatan Johansson, instead giving a first game of the season to Stéphane Guivarc'h, whose scoring record was as dismal in Scotland as it had been anywhere other than Guingamp and planting Scott Wilson in defence. Advokaat surely came to regret that. There was a moment of madness. Moravčík was ten yards inside the Celtic half when Wilson lunged from behind in a manner more suited to a kung-fu film, earning a straight red card and leaving Rangers to play well over an hour with ten men.

By that point they'd already been denied a good penalty claim when Alan Stubbs brought down Rod Wallace. Celtic raced upfield as play continued, and Phil O'Donnell crossed into the area. Larsson let the ball run behind him where Moravčík was waiting, and with all the time he needed Moravčík slotted it to Niemi's right. The score suggests complete Celtic dominance, but that's not the case. Warner was a busy man for thirty minutes, pulling off decent saves from Guivarc'h and Andrei Kanchelskis. Paul Lambert and Larsson also came close for Celtic

Celtic did dominate the second half, which produced four goals in a frenetic eight minutes. First an unmarked Moravčík headed home Tom Boyd's cross after a good long pass by Stubbs, then Simon Donnelly slotted through a pass to Larsson, who outpaced Colin Hendry and touched the ball past a diving Niemi with the outside of his boot. The above footage is obviously uploaded by a Celtic fan, who didn't bother clipping in van Bronckhorst's free kick, which bent around the wall and bounced in off the post. Larsson then headed home another cross from O'Donnell.

At that point the game was done as a contest, but still Celtic attacked. Vidar Riseth missed an open goal, and Niemi made a good save from a thunderous Moravčík shot. At the other end Guivarc'h took a good cross from van Bronckhorst and headed wide. Late substitute Mark Burchill took a pass from Larsson on the far left of the penalty area and shot past Niemi's right to complete the rout.

Every time I've written about Rangers or Celtic here or elsewhere it's resulted in a flood of paranoid comments accusing bias where none exists. In order to forestall it this time, tomorrow I'm heading back to Parkhead for the final league match of the season between Celtic and Rangers in May 1999.

Man of the Match: Moravčík. Before this game there were those who questioned playing Moravčík instead of then prospect Burchill. It was never mentioned again. Given a big stage Moravčík dominated it, tormenting Sergio Porrini when he played down the wing, and making pass after pass for others. Two good goals as well.

Udinese 3 (1) Hellas Verona 5 (3)

February 10^th 1985 – Serie A

Udinese: Fabio Brini, Dino Galparoli, Cesare Cattaneo, Manuel Gerolin, Edinho, Luigi De Agostini, Massimo Mauro, Antonio Criscimanni (Paulo Miano 67), Franco Selvaggi, Zico, Andrea Carnevale

Scorers: Edinho 45, Carnevale 53, Mauro 59 Manager: Luis Vinicio

Hellas Verona: Claudio Garella, Dominico Volpati. Luciano Marangon, Roberto Tricella, Silvano Fontolan, Hans-Peter Briegel, Pietro Fanna (Luciano Bruni 41), Luigi Sacchetti, Giuseppe Galderisi (Franco Turchetta 89), Antonio Di Gennaro, Preben Larsen-Elkjaer;

Scorer: Briegel 3, 63, Galderisi 9, Elkjaer 20, 61 Manager: Osvaldo Bagnoli

Referee: Paolo Casarin

Why you should watch this match: Hellas Verona turn their championship season around

This is of interest as the game that probably turned the season for Hellas Verona, pulling them out of a sticky patch and giving them the belief they could go on to win the title.

Hellas Verona are more commonly known as Verona outside Italy, and as Hellas within. This is to distinguish them from Verona's other team Chievo Verona, historically far less successful, but the city's top dogs since promotion to Serie A in 2000. Technically, today's team are not the same club as the 1985 team, but check elsewhere online for detailed information about that. Hellas had the occasional season in Serie B, but for the most part were Serie A regulars from the late 1960s. Until the millennium their longest second division spell spanned 1979 to 1982, but their return was celebrated with a fourth place finish, their highest ever to that point, and a run to the Coppa Italia final. They lost the final again in 1984, with Joe Jordan a late substitute in both matches, but Jordan was shipped back to Southampton before the start of the 1984-85 season.

Manager Bagnoli made two astute overseas purchases in summer 1984. Versatile German Hans-Peter Briegel arrived from Kaiserslautern, along with striker Preben Elkjaer, part of the very good 1980s Danish national team. They joined a squad lacking star names, but melded as a solid unit. On the first match of the season Napoli came to town parading their new signing Diego Maradona, and slunk home beaten 3-1. It wasn't until January 13^th that Hellas lost a Serie A fixture, and then oddly to Avellino, who just avoided relegation that year. The result came amid three draws, though, and Internazionale, who'd been tracking Hellas all season moved to the top of the table. The feeling at the time was that Hellas had enjoyed a good run, and natural order was now restored, but Hellas beat Ascoli at the end of the month to return to the top

Hellas arrived at Udinese's muddy shocker of a pitch with Internazionale still in close contention and with the home side for once enjoying years of relative stability rather than an annual battle against relegation (although by the end of the season it was close). It was a disastrous start for Udinese, conceding a free kick by the touchline not far outside the area with less than three minutes gone. Pietro Fanna lobbed a ball into the area, and no-one tracked Briegel as he headed home. Hellas went two up when Fabio Brini only parried Briegel's shot and Giuseppe Galderisi scored from the rebound as the Udinese defence claimed offside. Worse followed for Udinese after twenty minutes when Elkjaer's first goal came from a long hoof out of the defence as he ran across the halfway line. His marker failed to intercept the ball, and another defender made the mistake of falling to ground with a failed lunging tackle, leaving Elkjaer to sprint into the Udinese area and fire past a helpless Brini. Elkjaer knocked the ball into the net again, but was ruled offside.

Udinese salvaged a modicum of pride in first half injury time. Manuel Gerolin first hit the bar, and when Briegel fouled Zico, Edinho launched a rocket of a free kick. Claudio Garella was correctly placed and reached the ball, but such was the force it had been struck with he might as well have waved a dishcloth at it. Edinho began the second half in similar fashion when his free kick from thirty yards rattled the crossbar with Garella not moving. This time he was the one fouled, and he rolled around the mud in feigned agony for a full thirty seconds before jumping up to take the kick.

Garella was at fault for failing to hold Luigi De Agostini's shot from distance. He merely pushed it to the waiting Andrea Carnevale who gratefully scored Udinese's second. Briegel nearly slotted home from a corner before Massimo Mauro's big moment. Mauro took the ball on a weaving run through the Hellas team from one edge of the penalty area to the other before hefting in a pass that Carnevale might have connected with had he not been pulled down. The referee ignored the incident, and a minute later Mauro scored anyway. The ball was lifted over the wall from a free kick and Mauro let loose with a shot Garella parried. Again, it was back to an Udinese player and Mauro made no mistake the second time around to complete an improbable comeback to 3-3.

If there was a moment when the Hellas team were questioning themselves, it didn't last long. Udinese made a hash of clearing a ball upfield, it was sent back towards goal and Elkjaer ran on to it, and slotted it to Brini's left. With Udinese claiming a penalty, Roberto Tricella cooly took the ball to the touchline and sent it to Luigi Sachetti, who looked to have lost it. Antonio Di Gennaro ran back to retrieve the situation, turned and passed the ball to Luciano Bruni on the right wing just inside his own half. He launched a long ball to Briegel, who turned his marker, ran on beyond a chasing defender and prodded the ball past Brini as he came off his line. It was a fantastic team goal.

If Hellas thought it was all over, they received a rapid wake-up when Garella immediately had to stop from Franco Selvaggi at point blank range. It was a patchy game thereafter as Hellas played deeper and were in no hurry. The occasional counter attack produced a half-hearted shot, while Udinese's only real danger came from Mauro's constant probing and running. He moved to Juventus and is now a Turin councillor.

There was, of course, one player of undoubted world class in an Udinese shirt, so what was Zico's contribution? Not much. He tumbled for a few free kicks, left them to others, played a few nice passes, and that's about it. Briegel kept him quiet, ensuring the opportunities for Zico to have the ball were few in the first place, and robbing it from him rapidly if he did receive it. All in all, this was a game where Zico just wasn't up for it.

The win cemented first place for Hellas, and Internazionale slipped away over the following months with Torino looking the likeliest to overhaul them. Despite wobbles in the final games, it didn't happen and Hellas became champions for the only time to date. In Italy much is made of the fact that this was the only season when, following a match fixing scandal, referees were selected by random draw rather than allocation, and in Hellas, Torino and Sampdoria three of the top four clubs were unusually placed. This was no dawning of a great new era for Hellas, who finished 10^th the following season, became a yo-yo team in the 1990s, slipped to Serie B in 2002, and to Serie C in 2007 where they remain. They do have incredibly loyal fans, though, and despite their lowly position their crowd average is the second highest outside Serie A and better than some clubs there now.

First half goals and the entire second half can be downloaded here.

Man of the Match: Briegel. For a guy who was primarily a defender, he missed his calling in midfield. His strength and pace made him a constant threat until Hellas decided to sit back just after their fifth goal, and thereafter he played deeper and kept Zico well under control.