04 Feb 1957: Coupe de France, Toulouse. Stade de Reims — European Cup finalists only months earlier — are stunned 2–0 by SC Union El Biar, an amateur club from the suburbs of Algiers. Guy Buffard scores a 4th minute free kick, Roland Almodovar adds a second, and Reims miss a penalty as they pepper the goal in vain. El Biar return home to a hero’s welcome so wild fans climb onto the wings of the plane — then reality intrudes as violence hits back in Algiers. A cupset that became legend.

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03 Feb 1935: Old Chamartín. Madrid FC (Republic-era name) deliver the biggest league Clásico win ever: 8–2 vs Barcelona. Sañudo scores four, Lazcano a hat trick, and Barça even demand a ball change at halftime over “strange bounces.” But the season’s twist is cruel: Madrid finish 2nd, one point behind Betis — and Barça revenge it with a 5–0 at Les Corts. Where does 8–2 sit in the Clásico “top 10” lore?

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02 Feb 2011: Ibagué. In the pre-Libertadores play-off, Deportes Tolima stun Corinthians 2–0 (agg. 2–0) — goals by Danny Santoya and Wílder Medina — eliminating a Brazilian giant before the group stage. Corinthians had Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos, and the Libertadores was their obsession. Two weeks later, Ronaldo announces his retirement, and “Tolima Day” becomes folklore. Then comes the twist: Corinthians’ redemption in 2012 — their first Libertadores title, and the Club World Cup soon after.

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01 Feb 1937: Buenos Aires, Estadio Gasómetro. Argentina and Brazil finish level atop the South American Championship, so a play-off is forced. The match turns into chaos: fights, stoppages, a long delay… then extra time. A 19-year-old, Vicente de la Mata, scores twice to win the title — and many later call it the birth of the Argentina–Brazil rivalry. From Pelé’s debut in 1957 to Messi’s first trophy in 2021, the 2021 “pitch invasion” qualifier, and Brazil’s first-ever home WCQ loss in 2023.

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31 Jan 1968: European Cup QF, 1st leg. German champions Eintracht Braunschweig shock Juventus 3–2 — but defender Peter Kaack lives a football nightmare: three goals, including two for Juve (one official, one by his own account). Braunschweig then hold Juve until the 88th minute in Turin before a late penalty forces a play-off at Bern’s Wankdorf (Miracle of Bern), refereed by 1966 final ref Gottfried Dienst. Juventus win it 1–0. Sliding doors.

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30 Jan 1974: Burnley. Jimmy Hogan passes away — the English coach who carried the Scottish combination game across Europe. From Dordrecht’s classroom tactics to Hugo Meisl’s Vienna and MTK Budapest, Hogan helped lay the foundations of the Danubian School, Austria’s Wunderteam and Hungary’s Golden Team. Why he was rejected at home (khaki socks), and how his ideas echo today in possession football.

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29 Jan 2019: Abu Dhabi, Asian Cup semi-final — Qatar vs UAE, the “Blockade Derby.” Qatar’s anthem booed, shoes and bottles thrown… and Qatar win 4–0 to reach their first final, then beat Japan to take the title. How a political crisis turned a match into a proxy — and how the rivalry kept echoing into World Cup qualifying.Ideas: [email protected]

28 Jan 1900: 10:40am in Leipzig’s Mariengarten — the DFB is founded by delegates representing 86 clubs. We trace German football’s pioneer years (Konrad Koch, Walther Bensemann, improvised pitches, and brutal “Ur Länderspiele”), then the sprint to the first German championship in 1903, FIFA membership by telegram in 1904, and the first official international in 1908 (a 5–3 loss to Switzerland). From wars, bans and splits to Bundesliga, the Miracle of Bern, and decades of finals — plus: where Germany sits today.

Tips: [email protected]

27 Jan 1994: Barbados need a two-goal win to qualify… so they score an own goal on purpose to force extra time—because the Caribbean Cup’s “golden goal” counted as TWO in the table. Then Grenada try to score an own goal too, and Barbados end up defending both nets at once. We reconstruct the rule, the math, the final 2–2 chaos, the sudden-death winner, and why the rule was never used again—plus other football “glitch” matches where incentives hijacked the game.

Tips: [email protected]

26 Jan 1992: Ghana’s giants meet Ivory Coast’s first-time finalists in Dakar — and the AFCON final ends 0–0. Then it keeps going: a marathon shootout where all 11 outfield players — and both goalkeepers — must score, before Anthony Baffoe’s second kick is saved to hand Ivory Coast their first title, 11–10 on pens. We trace the rivalry, the captaincy disruption, and why Ghana still haven’t won AFCON since 1982.

Ideas: [email protected]