OTD E0186 — 05 May 1918: Olympique de Pantin beat FC Lyon 3–0 in Paris to win the first Coupe Charles-Simon — the competition now known as the Coupe de France. This episode traces the FA Cup inspiration, Henri Delaunay’s 1902 trip to Crystal Palace, early French football’s federation chaos, Charles Simon’s wartime death, Jules Rimet’s support, the first 48-club tournament, and how a national cup was born while the Great War was still raging.

Ideas: [email protected]

OTD E0185 — 04 May 1976: QPR had finished their season top of the First Division and were champions as things stood with 15 minutes left at Molineux. Wolves led Liverpool 1–0. Then Kevin Keegan, John Toshack and Ray Kennedy scored, Liverpool won 3–1, QPR finished second by one point, Wolves went down, and Bob Paisley’s first Liverpool trophy became the launchpad for a dynasty. This episode traces QPR’s rise from 1967, Dave Sexton’s brilliant side, the 1975–76 title race, and the night everything changed.

Ideas: [email protected]

OTD E0184 — 03 May 1949: As Uruguay’s footballers ended a long strike and Argentina’s own player revolt reached settlement, Colombia spotted the opportunity. This episode traces the origins of El Dorado: Gaitán’s assassination, Dimayor’s rise, the split from Adefútbol, the player-rights crisis in Argentina and Uruguay, Adolfo Pedernera’s move to Millonarios, the arrival of Rossi and Di Stéfano, the 1949 title, the Ballet Azul, the Lima Pact, and the longer road that led Di Stéfano toward Real Madrid.

Ideas: [email protected]

OTD E0183 — 02 May 2016: Tottenham had to beat Chelsea to keep the title race alive, led 2-0 at half-time, and then watched Gary Cahill and Eden Hazard turn Stamford Bridge into the place where Leicester City became champions. This episode tells the story of Leicester’s 5000-1 miracle, the squad, the beloved King Power era, the season that slowly stopped looking impossible, the chaos of the Battle of the Bridge, and the longer rise-and-fall arc that now ends with Leicester heading for League One in 2026-27.

Ideas: [email protected]

OTD E0182 — 01 May 1958: CF Barcelona beat London XI 6-0 in the second leg of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final to win the first edition 8-2 on aggregate — nearly three years after the competition began. This episode traces the bizarre birth of the Fairs Cup in the postwar trade-fair world, the city selection rule, the long 1955-58 format, London XI’s all-star oddity, Barcelona’s unusual city-representative identity in the tournament, and how this unofficial but influential cup helped pave the road toward the UEFA Cup and Europa League.

Ideas: [email protected]

OTD E0181 — 30 Apr 1938: Preston North End beat Huddersfield Town 1-0 after extra time in the first fully televised FA Cup Final. It was a repeat of the 1922 final, again settled by a penalty, but this time the enduring image came from the BBC commentary box, where Thomas Woodrooffe vowed to eat his hat if there were a late goal. Seconds later, Preston got a penalty, George Mutch scored, and Woodrooffe had to make good on the promise.

Ideas: [email protected]

OTD E0180 — 29 Apr 1971: Juan Manuel Bazurko, a Basque missionary priest playing up front for Barcelona SC, scored the only goal in La Plata to hand tricampeón Estudiantes their first ever home defeat in Copa Libertadores. This episode traces Bazurko’s extraordinary path from the seminary to Ecuador, Barcelona SC’s Catalan roots, Alberto Spencer’s key role, Estudiantes’ dynasty, the taunting build-up in La Plata, and why La Hazaña de La Plata still lives in South American football memory.

Ideas: [email protected]

OTD E0179 — 28 Apr 1923: The new Empire Stadium staged its first match, the FA Cup Final, and nearly lost control of the whole thing. Bolton beat West Ham 2-0, but the day became immortal for the vast unticketed crowd, the delayed kick-off, and PC George Scorey’s grey horse Billie, which looked white in the photographs and gave football one of its great myths. This episode traces the FA Cup’s rise, Wembley’s birth, the chaos, the goals, and the stadium’s afterlife.

Ideas: [email protected]

OTD E0178 — 27 Apr 1974: Denis Law’s backheel for Manchester City at Old Trafford became one of English football’s most haunting moments. This episode traces Law’s path from City to Torino to United and back again, United’s decline after Busby, the survival stakes of the 1974 derby, the goal itself, the pitch invasion and abandonment, the myth that Law “relegated” United, and the longer Manchester arc from Docherty and Ferguson to City’s modern era.

Ideas: [email protected]

OTD E0177 — 26 Apr 1903: Athletic Club de Madrid was founded in Calle Cruz as a branch of Athletic Club by Basque students living in Madrid. This episode traces early Spanish club football before the federation era, why Bilbao’s football culture travelled to the capital, how the new club borrowed Athletic’s colours and crest, and how that branch eventually became Atlético Madrid — one of Spain’s great clubs, still carrying traces of its Bilbao origin.

Ideas: [email protected]