ON THIS DAY – 1954: Wunder von Bern

FOOTBALL – It was 4 July 1954. West Germany played against Hungary for the FIFA World Cup Final. Although he was not fully fit in time, Ferenc Puskás was back in the Hungarian lineup for the final match. In the 6th minute Ferenc Puskás scored the 0-1 for Hungary. One minute later Zoltán Czibor scored the 0-2. Exactly 11 minutes after the 0-2 it was 2-2 with goals of Max Morlock and Helmut Rahn. Six minutes from the end Helmut Rahn scored his second goal of the game. West Germany had beaten the mighty Magyars and won the 1954 World Cup.

ON THIS DAY – 1998: Owen wonder goal (and a red card)

FOOTBALL – The Last 16 match between England and Argentina at the 1998 FIFA World Cup was full of drama. A fabulous run and ditto finish by the 18-year-old Michael Owen sent English hearts soaring, only to be dampened by a quite astonishing red card challenge by David Beckham. Argentina won the tense affair after a penalty shootout.

ON THIS DAY – 1992: Denmark win Euro 1992

FOOTBALL – Denmark’s overall triumph at Euro 1992 may have ranked as one of the genuine upsets in major football competitions open to national teams. The Danish Dynamite had not even qualified for the final tournament in neighbouring Sweden, however replaced Yugoslavia, which was caught up in a civil war. The Danes only barely scraped through the group, then stunned titleholders Holland in a penalty shootout. They carried their momentum into the final, in which they coasted to a 2-0 victory against Germany.

ON THIS DAY – 2010: End of the match Isner – Mahut

TENNIS – The legendary battle between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon 2010 is to date the longest tennis match ever played. The match lasted a total of 11 hours and five minutes, and set multiple records. The match began on 22 June 2010 at 6:13 pm British Summer Time, and was only settled on 24 June 2010 at 4:48 pm. Inbetween, the match was interrupted several times. Eventually, John Isner won the match in 183 games. The final score was 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3) and 70-68.

ON THIS DAY – 1986: The Hand Of God: Diego Maradona

FOOTBALL – One of the most famous moments in football history came  in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup, in a match between England and Argentina, which was played on 22 June 1986 in Mexico City. Chasing a loose ball, the diminutive Diego Maradona somehow leapt over England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. The referee thought that Maradona had used his head and declared the goal valid. Argentina won 2-1. In the ensuing press conference, Maradona famously claimed that it was ‘partly his head and partly the hand of God’.

ON THIS DAY – 1976: The Antonin Panenka Penalty

FOOTBALL – It is quite rare to have a part of the game named after you, but such is the case with Czechoslovakia’s Antonin Panenka, whose penalty kick in the final of the European Championship in 1976 (36 years ago to the day) has reached legendary status. Leading 4-3, it was Panenka’s chance to decide it. The outcome was unexpected. In the next few days, you can read much more about penalties at this website.

ON THIS DAY – 1993: ‘Ball Of The Century’

CRICKET – It is Day Two of the First Test of the 1993 Ashes Series. The venue: Old Trafford, Manchester. The batsman: England’s Mike Gatting. The bowler: Australia’s Shane Warne. The outcome: something that is referred to as “The Ball Of The Century” or simpler even “That Ball”. Today, 19 years ago.

ON THIS DAY – 1999: United’s lightning strikes twice

FOOTBALL – 13 years ago, the 1998/1999 UEFA Champions League final in Camp Nou offered one of the most dramatic finishes in the history of the competition. With Bayern Munich leading Manchester United 1-0 at full-time, United substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær each scored in the first minute of extra time to complete the most thrilling of comebacks.

ON THIS DAY – 2005: Liverpool’s crazy comeback

FOOTBALL – On this day, seven years ago, the 2004/2005 UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul became one of the most surreal contests in the history of the competition. AC Milan played Liverpool. At the half, AC Milan had a 3-0 lead. However, in a six-minute span from the 54th minute to the 60th minute Liverpool netted three times, making it 3-3. Liverpool won the trophy after winning the penalty shootout by 3-2.