June 20 – England Rocked by Romania

YOU won’t catch us saying this often, but we believe that today in 2000 Kevin Keegan should’ve taken the advice of good ol’ George W. Bush, when the former president told us of an old Texan saying:

“Fool me once, shame on… you. Fool me….er… You can’t get fooled again,” he spluttered.

England, however, were indeed fooled again Westlife-style on a bad day, as they failed to learn from their mistakes in their Euro 2000 opener against Portugal and went crashing out of the tournament, against grasping defeat from the jaws of victory.

After the Luis Figo-inspired capitulation to Portugal in their opening game, England bounced back with an always welcome win over Germany, meaning a draw in their final game would secure a place in the last-eight.

Being a Kevin Keegan side, England obviously didn’t set out for an attritional 0-0 draw in the style of Rome in 1997, and soon found themselves a goal down when Cristian Chivu scored in the 22nd minute after a torrent of early Romanian pressure.

England then pressed, winning a penalty five minutes before half-time. Alan Shearer, who announced that he would be retiring from England duty after the tournament, converted and just before half-time Michael Owen showed us that electric pace that has since long-gone, as he latched onto a Paul Scholes through-ball and slotted home.

England were 2-1 up at the break and as long as they didn’t repeat their defensive horror show from a week earlier, they would home and dry.

You know where this going don’t you? It only took three second-half minutes for Romania to equalise, after Nigel Martyn, who had until then performed heroically in the England goal after David Seaman injured himself in the warm-up, failed to gather a cross and saw his clearance fall to Dorinel Munteanu who drilled it past the Leeds stopper.

Next up was some textbook Keegan tactical naivety. Push for the win or shut up shop and protect the point? Er… neither. An uncertain England were given the run around by Romania who looked to punish their hesitancy. Keegan saw an injury to Michael Owen as a chance to bring on Emile Heskey, rather than shore up the midfield.

With only a minute left it happened. The English villain this time came in the shape of Phil Neville, who was caught out by Viorel Moldovan and brought him down in the area. Ioan Ganea stepped up to convert the spot-kick and England had another heart-breaking exit to content with.

After 63 caps and 30 goals England captain Alan Shearer’s international career had ended with a wimper and Kevin Keegan was undergoing more soul searching.

“There was plenty of determination,” he said. “If it was about endeavour and honesty we would have won the tournament,” said Keegan in a moment of clarity.

“But you don’t win it with honesty alone. We have spent three matches chasing a football.” There’s the rub, as they used to say in Denmark.

We’ll be back tomorrow with another journey down memory lane, but if you can’t wait until then see what else happened today here and why not follow us on Twitter by clicking here.

June 19 – Pele’s First World Cup Goal

ONLY one man in the history of football has three World Cup winner’s medals on his mantelpiece: Edson Arantes do Nascimento.

Because he played his club football in Brazil and later the USA but never in Europe, most people associate Pele with the World Cup more than any other competition and for most people that was the only time they saw him play. Because of that, and the fact that he won it three times, no player is more closely associated with the biggest sporting event in the world than the brilliant Brazilian.

He was just 17 when he arrived in Sweden to play in the 1958 tournament and although his name was already known in football circles, it was the World Cup that really made him a household name.

It was on this day that he announced his arrival to the world when he scored his first ever World Cup goal. His strike was the only goal in a 1-0 win over Wales that gave Brazil a passage into the semi-finals.

At 17 years and 239 days he was the youngest goalscorer in World Cup history, but he wasn’t finished yet. In his next game against France Brazil were leading 2-1 when Pele made more history by netting a hat-trick.

In the final he bagged two more as hosts Sweden were swept aside 5-2. Brazil had won their first World Cup and the world had a new hero.

As for Wales, the team Pele’s first goal defeated, they were, along with Northern Ireland, participating in their first World Cup finals and both team did better than England by making it to the quarter-finals. Wales’s match against Brazil was their last game to date at a World Cup, having not qualified for one since.

Check out the story of another World Cup match from this day right here, and check us out again tomorrow for more football history.

June 18 – Galactico Beckham

“Never, never, never. Nobody at Real has ever spoken about Beckham and I don’t want to start now. We are very happy with our current team and will never, ever sign Beckham.” Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, April 30, 2003.

On this day in 2003, just six weeks after Perez’s emphatic denial, David Beckham signed for the Spanish giants in a £25m deal.

Becks was one of the golden generation of Manchester United players that came through the academy alongside the likes of Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers, and became the heartbeat of the team that dominated English football in the 1990s.

It was once unimaginable that Beckham would ever leave Old Trafford – he was a key figure for the club both on the field where many a striker benefited from his exceptional crosses from the right wing, and off it where United made a fortune in exploiting his marketability around the world.

But it was precisely this aspect of his life that began to rile Sir Alex Ferguson. While Becks was doing his utmost to cultivate his media presence alongside his celebrity Spice Girl wife and appearing in adverts for everything from aftershave to motor oil, Fergie expected his players to concentrate on the job in hand, namely playing football.

Rumours began to emerge that all was not well in the relationship between the manager and one of his star players and once the press got hold of the story, it was never going to die.

Much was made of the infamous incident when Fergie kicked a boot in a fit of pique after a bad game which hit Becks in the face, although is was probably just a freak accident.

Things began to get worse for Becks when his club took on Real Madrid in the Champions League. Fergie left Becks out of the starting line up for both legs of the tie, although he came on during the second leg at Old Trafford and was the best player on the pitch, even scoring despite Madrid turfing United out of the competition.

After that it seemed the writing was on the wall for Beck’s United career, despite repeated denials that Madrid were interested in him.

His potential transfer became the biggest issue in Spanish football as both Barcelona and Real Madrid battled for his signature.

Eventually Madrid won and Becks became the latest Galactico signing for Perez. The president who had to vehemently denied moving for Beckham said at the press conference: “Beckham is here because we believe in him as a footballer. David, welcome to the dream league. We love Beckham because he makes us the best team on and off the pitch.”

Meanwhile Beckham himself seemed to adopt the classic Brit-abroad approach to speaking to the Spanish people by sticking to the most basic of pronoucements. “I have always loved football,” he said.

“Of course I love my family. I have a wonderful life, but football is everything to me and joining Real Madrid is a dream come true.

“I would like to say thank you to everyone coming and joining me in my arrival. Gracias – hala Madrid!”

He must have though his move was a ticket to a hat-full of trophies as Real were the dominant force in Spain and in Europe at the time while Barcelona were in disarray and struggling in mid table.

If only. Madrid imploded while Barca rallied and Beckham won nothing with the club until the unlikely La Liga triumph in 2007 under Fabio Capello.

Have a look here to read about one of England’s best performances in the modern era, and come on back tomorrow for more footballing history hijinx.

June 17 – The Game of the Century

EVERYONE knows that semi-finals are where it’s at. Whereas finals are often tense, nervy affairs where both sides are glad to be there and fail to produce a good match, semi-finals have a habit of being a real hot-bed of entertainment – there’s no loser medals or day out in the sun here, just the long walk home.

Today in 1970 saw one of the greatest football matches ever played. While most will immediately think of either Gordon Banks’ save from Pele or Brazil’s superlative team-goal finished off by Carlos Alberto in the final, the best game of the tournament was undoubtedly the semi-final between Italy and West Germany.

The West Germans were looking to erase the memories of losing the final four years earlier, having already sent their 1966 conquers home and faced up to Europe’s other powerhouse, defending European Champions Italy.

Playing in the blazing heat of the Aztec Stadium, the two sides offered a distinct clash of cultures, with the ying of the steely determination of the Beckenbauer-led Germans meeting it’s yang with Italy’s classy forward play.

It was Italy that drew first blood, as Inter striker Roberto Boninsegna netted after eight minutes with an unstoppable half-volley.

This inspired West Germany to attack, but the Azzurri soaked up the pressure and were on the brink of the final when defender Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, who plyed his trade at AC Milan, scored in injury time to level the contest and send it into extra-time. German commentator Ernst Huberty could barely contain himself, shouting “Schnellinger, of all people!”

In a breathless extra-time period both sides threw caution to the wind, as Gerd Muller put West Germany ahead, only for the Italians to claw it back through Tarcisio Burgnich and then have Luigi Riva give them the lead again just before half-time in extra-time.

Like a pair of punch-drunk brawling street punks, the two footballing giants continued to trade blows in the final period. Beckenbauer played the extra-time period with his arm in a sling after dislocating his shoulder, as Muller again equalised with his tenth goal of the tournament, but a minute later an unmarked Gianni Rivera headed home a cross from Boninsegna to put Italy 4-3 up.

Television producers were still showing replays of Muller’s goal when the Milan legend scored the winner, but most Italian’s probably couldn’t care less as they had booked their place in the World Cup final.

At the final whistle the 22 players on the pitch, exhausted after a two-hour battle in the blazing Mexican heat, fell into each others arms and then dropped to the floor exhausted as the crowd paid tributes to both sides and the Herculean display of football they had been privileged to watch.

In the other semi Brazil had coasted to a 4-1 win in a South American battle against Uruguay and this had a telling affect when the final was played, as a physically and emotionally drained Italian side were unable to get anywhere near the Selecao, going down 4-1.

The semi-final however, has gone down in footballing folklore as ‘the game of the century’ and the match has been celebrated by a plaque at the Azteca Stadium that reads: “The Azteca Stadium pays homage to the National Teams of Italy (4) and Germany (3), who starred in the 1970 FIFA World Cup, the “Game of the Century”. June 17th 1970.”

They truly don’t make them like that anymore, so enjoy the footage of one of the sport’s classic match-ups. The same can’t be said for today’s other story, as England sunk to a new low, so read about that here and join us tomorrow for more.

June 16 – War of the WAGS

THERE was a fixture clash of gargantuan proportions today in 2007. Colleagues, friends and families from across the footballing spectrum were all forced to chose sides as some of England’s finest footballers prepared for the biggest day of their lives.

This was all for nothing so trivial as a simple football game though, as in what Sky Sports would surely have dubbed as ‘The Battle of the Brides’ three England footballers were summoned to the chapel by their respective WAGs.

England trio Steven Gerrard, Gary Neville and Michael Carrick were all marching down the isle today, taking advantage of an international tournament-free summer – although Steve McClaren ensured they’d have the next summer off as well – by getting hitched.

This presented a logistical nightmare for their England team-mates. Wayne Rooney opted for his fellow scouser Gerrard’s ceremony, but not wanting to upset his club captain Gary Neville, hopped on helicopter with Coleen to show their faces.

As well as being Rooney’s second choice, poor old Neville was also snubbed by his best man, as David Beckham was unable to repay the favour when Neville was his best man due to club commitments at Real Madrid.

England captain John Terry had snuck a march on his team-mates, getting hitched the day before. Prior to his wedding he had sent out an ‘invitation pack’, that stated: “You undertake to John, Toni and OK! magazine that you will not photograph or otherwise record any part of the wedding and/or reception.” How romantic.

The preceding 12 months had seen WAG culture boom in England, after they had come to the fore in the German spa town of Baden-Baden during the 2006 World Cup. The likes of Cheryl Cole, Victoria Beckham, Abigail Clancy and Alex Curran all swanned round the town, shopping bags in hand before partying until the early hours and being snapped by paparazzi who splashed them all over the tabloid press back home.

Still, none of these weddings could match the size and scale of the original WAG, Victoria Beckham. Matching gold thrones, flocks of white doves, countless outfit changes and a cake featuring a naked sculpture of the pair were just some of the delights on offer at Posh and Becks’ gaudy cheese-fest eight years earlier.

If you can stomach it, see snaps from some of England’s greatest footballers marriages below, otherwise click here for some proper footy action from today here. Normal service will be resumed tomorrow with a look at some high octane World Cup action.

June 15 – England Sail Past Dogs of War

IT is perhaps hard to think of it now, but back in 2002 Sven-Goran Eriksson was looking like the man England had been searching for for 30 years.

The Swede stepped in to take control after Kevin Keegan had overseen a dodgy start to the 2002 World Cup qualification campaign and while some top names in football including former England boss Glenn Hoddle were suggesting the 2002 tournament was perhaps already beyond England, Sven picked up the pieces and calmly masterminded the wins needed to get England to the finals – not least that night in Munich.

Once there, and buoyed by a jingoistic win over old foes Argentina, people began to believe this might be England’s year, particularly as many of the big names were knocked out early.

Could England go from being within a last-minute David Beckham free kick of not qualifying, to actually winning the tournament?

After coming through in second place in the group stage, England were drawn against Denmark for the second round match on this day, with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.

Unusually for England, the match was a cake walk, with none of the trademark sloppy defending, heart-breaking near misses or penalty shoot-out misery.

In fact it took just five minutes for England to go ahead after a header from Rio Ferdinand was fumbled into the net by Danish keeper Thomas Sorensen.

Fifteen minutes later England doubled their lead when Nicky Butt, enjoying the form of his life in an England shirt, flicked on a Trevor Sinclair cross to Michael Owen who slotted home from close range for his first goal of the tournament.

It got even better just before half time when Emile Heskey latched on to a David Beckham ball and blasted the ball into the back of the net for 3-0. It was his last competitive goal for England until he netted against Kazakhstan just a few weeks ago.

England were cruising and, with it seemingly ‘job done’ the second half drifted to its conclusion with no more goals.

Eriksson was pleased with the result saying: Eriksson added: “Three nil is maybe too much but we won and we’re in the quarter-finals. In the second half we defended very well. Denmark had the ball a lot but didn’t create very much.”

Captain Beckham was keen to point out it had been a better performance than the 0-0 draw against Nigeria in the last group match. “We have done our job, played some great football, and in the second half we just made sure of it.

“I was pleased for Emile and Michael. It was nice for Michael to get his first goal of the competition. The whole team came in for a bit of stick after the last game. One person described it as awful but we have done a good job today.

“I’m not bothered if we get Brazil or Belgium. I want to play the best team and the best players. Both are good teams. Whoever we get we are in the quarter-finals and happy.”

The result did nothing to dampen the build up of expectation among England fans that this time they really could go all the way – stoked up by the media of course. The BBC’s Phil McNulty reported after the match: “The road to glory is open – and England’s journey is gathering an ominous momentum as the serious World Cup business begins.”

Of course, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Daivd Seaman would eventually rain on the parade when England again failed at the quarter-final hurdle.

England enjoyed another great victory on this day in 1996 when a bit of magic from Gazza sent Wembley wild.

June 14 – Germany Have Their Revenge

SUMMER of 1970 was a good time to be an England fan. Reigning world champions, Sir Alf Ramsey’s team were favourites to defend their crown as they headed out to Mexico. Many said they were an even better team than the one which triumphed at Wembley in 1966 and hopes were high that England would bring the cup home once again.

After a classic match with Brazil in the group stage, two wins in their other two matches ensured the Three Lions would be facing West Germany on this day in the quarter-final – the same team they had beaten four years earlier in the final.

Before the match Sir Alf’s team was dealt a major blow when Gordon Banks, first choice keeper and hero of the Brazil game for his incredible save from Pele, was ruled out with food poisoning.

Ramsey was heard to remark: “I still can’t believe it. Of all the players to lose, it had to be him.” He was right to be concerned – it would prove a decisive factor in the game.

In the match itself England were playing beautifully and seemed to have the game within their grasp after Alan Mullery and Martin Peters both scored to give them a 2-0 lead with just 25 minutes remaining.

But then disaster: Peter Bonetti, deputising for Banks in goal, let a speculative shot from Franz Beckenbauer to creep into the net, and suddenly the West Germans had a foothold back in the game.

They were hungry for revenge for the 1966 final and now their tails were up.

Ramsey reacted by bringing off Martin Peters and Bobby Charlton, thinking the game won, and wanting to save their legs for the semi-final. It proved a crucial mistake that handed the initiative back to Germany. Free from having to shadow Charlton, Beckenbauer was able to exert more influence on the game and with just eight minutes to go, his side forced an equaliser from Uwe Seeler.

Just like in ’66 England and West Germany would go into extra time, but this time it was the Germans who took control, and in the second period Gerd Muller volleyed home the winner from close range.

West Germany had pulled off a stunning comeback against the World Champions and England were out, their reign as holders of the Jules Rimet cup was over.

Bobby Charlton never played for England again, his final cap was his 106th – a record at the time, not that that provided any consolation.

Germany were knocked out in the semi-final by Italy, who themselves were beaten 4-1 in the final by Brazil.

Also on this day, Exeter City received a visit from their most famous fans. Read that here, and come back tomorrow for more from us to help fill the football shaped void that stretches before us all for the summer.

June 13 – ZZ Tops England

THE usual cycle for England in an international tournament goes thusly: wild pre-tournament optimism is heightened by a strong early performance by the Three Lions, who then start to believe the hype before meeting their match against a decent side who knocks them out, usually in an extremely heartbreaking manner.

Today in 2004 Sven’s men managed to just about cram this whole process into 90 minutes in their opening Euro 2004 game, as they took on France in Lisbon.

After cruising through the qualification process England were given a tough draw, with Croatia and Switzerland joining defending champions France in Group B.

As usual, in the run-up to the tournament, England expected, as St Georges’ flags found their way onto windows and cars across the land, bookmakers installed England as one of the favourites and the tabloid press began to gush over their boys’ chances.

When the talking stopped and England walked onto the pitch to face Henry, Zidane, Vieira et al, it seemed as though the press and public’s blind optimism might not be too misplaced, as a superb first-half ended with Frank Lampard heading home a David Beckham free-kick to give England a deserved lead.

Wayne Rooney became the second-youngest player to turn out in European Championship match and he was up against Lilian Thuram in the French defence, 15 years his senior and winning his 100th cap for Les Blues. The old head had been doing a good job for the French, as they had entered the game having not conceded for 11 matches, despite having Manchester United flop Fabian Barthez in goal. Lampard’s first-half strike ended a 1,077-minute spell without conceding.

England continued to impress in the second-half and the fearless Rooney was hacked down in the area by his future Manchester United team-mate Mikael Silvestre and England were duly awarded a penalty.

Up stepped David Beckham, undeterred by his spot kick miss in England’s final qualifying game with Turkey, but again he fail to score from 12 yards, as Barthez saved from the England captain.

This proved to be the pivotal moment of the match, as England paid the price for not putting the French to bed. Whether it was tiredness, complacency or just a severe case of bottling it, the match was turned upside down in injury time.

First it was up to Emile Heskey to make a gaff, as he committed a foul on the edge of the area and the peerless Zidane stepped up and curled the free-kick past David James in the 91st minute.

Disappointing, but a draw with a very good France side is no embarrassment. Seconds later though, the draw went out of the window, as Steven Gerrard sold David James short with a dodgy backpass and Henry was brought to ground by the England ‘keeper.

Zidane again came to fore and remarkably vomited as he prepared to take the penalty, but composed himself to slot it home and show fellow Galactico Beckham how it was done.

Having grasped defeat from the jaws of victory, Sven was looking on the bright side: “If we had lost 3-0 and not created a chance it would be different. The players are professional. They know they did an excellent job tonight. They did everything we asked of them and hopefully it will not be too difficult to lift them up.”

And lift them Sven did, but only to his customary quarter-final, where penalty heart-ache against hosts Portugal would follow.

See which other footballing genius was in the thick of it today by clicking here and don’t go changing as we’ll be back to do it all again tomorrow.

June 12 – Keegan Goes Gung-Ho

“YOU go 2-0 up and you’ve got to fancy your chances of going on to win.”

As much as we miss the musings of Kevin Keegan, we have to say here at OTFD Towers, we have to say that we’re far more comfortable with the England team being in the hands of Fabio Capello.

That’s largely due to games like the one today in 2000, as England opened their Euro 2000 campaign by galloping to a 2-0 lead over Portugal, only to end up on the losing side.

David Beckham, still licking his wounds from his World Cup dismissal two years earlier, was the architect behind England’s blockbusting opening to the tournament, as he crossed for Manchester United team-mate Paul Scholes and then Liverpool’s Steve McManaman to both convert and put England two goals to the good in the first 20 minutes.

Enter Keegan’s tactical nous. His gung-ho attitude to the match had put England in the driving seat, so he obviously thought ‘why change?’ England were practically sporting a 4-1-5 system, with an aging Paul Ince sitting for the Three Lions and it didn’t take long for the five Portuguese midfielders to out-flank him.

Four minutes after McManaman’s goal Luis Figo sauntered through the midfield with more time on his hands than Phil Spector, before doing joining that not-very-exclusive club of ‘players that have beaten David Seaman from distance’, letting fly from 25 yards.

England continued to attack and Rui Costa was the next beneficiary of England’s slack defending, given all the time in the world to plonk the ball onto Joao Pinto’s head and the game was level.

The half-time team-talk failed to bring about any discernable tactical shift from Keegan and England were caught out again in the 59th minute and Portugal took the lead through Nuno Gomes and England were off to a losing start.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, David Beckham was seen making an obscene gesture to a section of England fans that were abusing the midfielder, but he would later escape punishment from UEFA.

Portugal’s Paulo Sousa, however, was loving it: “I was even laughing on the bench when I saw their defenders heading back towards their own penalty area rather than trying to tackle Figo or Rui Costa,” he chortled.

The Three Lions’ entertaining brand of defensive incompetence was all too-evident when they faced Romania in their final group game, threw away another lead and crashed out of the tournament as Keegan stood on the sideline failing to do anything than yell “keep believing”.

This led Keegan to reflect: “We know our strengths – passion and commitment – but they alone are not enough. You have to be able to pass a football and show some invention.”

Now you’re getting the idea Kev, we all thought. But despite this apparent moment of clarity from Keegan, five months later he was handing in his notice in the Wembley toilet.

While we sit around and wait for KK to get backing to the game – surely he’s due another shot at the Newcastle job by now? – check out what else was going down today here and unless we’re the subject of an £80m move to sunnier climbs, we’ll be right back at you tomorrow for more of the same.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s tale of England woe, you might want to check out the second OTFD book – England: On This Day, which is now available for pre-order here. And while you’re at it, snap up the first one here.

June 11 – Fair’s Fair at Newcastle

HERE at OTFD we really are starting to wonder how Mike Ashley ever got his hands on his vast fortune in the first place. His decision making seems about as good as that of the Newcastle defence this season yet somehow he amassed enough cash to buy the club in the first place. It is a mystery.

Still, they do say a fool and his gold are soon parted, and what better club to start parting with it than Newcastle United? This once great club has become a byword for a joke, a shambles and generally a right old horlicks of a mess.

Every time you think they have sunk as low as they can, something else happens. This week, we had the most laughable attempt to sell a football club since, well, since the last time Ashley tried to sell it when he simply flew off to the Middle East and started hawking it around to anyone who would listen, which, as it turned out, wasn’t anyone.

Now Ashley has turned to the internet, and all you have to do is send your offer in to admin@nufc.co.uk and the club could be yours – provided you meet his ludicrously optimistic asking price. £100m? He’s dreaming.

It’s all a far cry from the glory days of the club, the very last of which came exactly 40 years ago today in 1969 when they won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup – the forerunner to the Uefa Cup.

The final was a two-legged affair and the Magpies had given themselves every chance of winning it after a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Hungarian champions Ujpest Dozsa at St James’ Park two weeks earlier.

The second leg in Hungary was held today and by half time the Georgies were beginning to get worried as Ujpest had gone in 2-0 up.

Just when it seemed like defeat might be snatched from the jaws of victory, captain Bobby Moncur decided enough playing around, and scored just minute after the restart. Preben Arentoft added anouther four minutes later and then any hopes the Hungarians had of coming back were dashed when substitute Alan Foggon, who had only been on the pitch for two minutes, scored to give Newcastle a 3-2 victory on the night, 6-2 on aggregate.

Since then Newcastle have won precisely nothing. Just some of the English clubs to have won major silverware since then include Wimbledon, Swindon Town, Oxford United and Luton Town.

Bobby Moncur remains the last Newcastle captain to hold any trophy aloft. He recently told the Times: “I would never have imagined that the Fairs Cup would be the last thing we’d win for 40 years.”

“We didn’t realise what it meant. If you mention my name to people now, they associate it with the last Newcastle captain to win a trophy, which is pretty boring after a while. When he was playing, I wanted Alan (Shearer) to be the man to take that title from me. He got quite close.”

Close indeed, but no cigar.

That’s all for today folks, but Scotland fans be sure to click here to read about one of the most celebrated goals ever scored in a blue shirt.