14 June 2012 - Death By (Almost) A Thousand Passes

On 14 June 2012, Spain beat Ireland in the European Championship by the score of 4-0. And that wasn't even the most impressive stat.

It was the second match for both teams in Group C, with Spain, the defending European and World Cup champions, having drawn their first game with Italy and Ireland losing their first one to Croatia. They met at the PGE Arena in Gdánsk, where Spain wasted little time in setting the tone, taking a 1-0 lead with a goal from Fernando Torres in the 4th minute. Ireland managed to stem the tide for a while, but David Silva doubled the lead in the 49th minute, then Torres (70') and Cesc Fàbregas (83') completed the rout.

Spain's domination was reflected in the statistics, including possession (78% to Ireland's 22%) and shots (27 to 5, with 22 and 4 being on goal). But the most telling number was Spain's 859 passes--the most of any match in European Championship history. Xavi provided 136 of those, setting an individual Euro record.

The win sent Spain to the top of the group and they eventually reached the final, where they beat Italy 4-0 to repeat as champions.

15 February 1995 - The Lansdowne Road Riot

On 15 February 1995, a riot erupted at a friendly between Ireland and England in Dublin. A subsequent report laid the blame on English supporters and Irish authorities.

The supporters in question were members of Combat 18, an English neo-Nazi white supremacist group with a history of violence including football hooliganism.  They wasted little time in turning the friendly ugly, chanting "sieg heil" and giving Nazi salutes during the playing of the national anthems.

After a disallowed English goal, the away supporters in the higher stands ripped up benches and threw them down onto the home fans in the lower stands, prompting the referee to halt the game and send the teams off the pitch. Ireland manager Jack Charlton, a former English international, left to chants of "Judas."

The violence escalated, with rioting in the stands as the referee decided to cancel the remainder of the match. Most fans were evacuated, but those that remained clashed with police. A total of twenty people were injured.

Afterward, an inquiry found the English supporters, and Combat 18 in particular, responsible for the outbreak of violence. But the Irish authorities also shared some of the blame. They had been alerted before the match to the presence of Combat 18, but failed to take action (and even declined assistance offered by their English counterparts).

22 November 1967 - Make Your Own "Irish Famine" Joke

On 22 November 1967, Ireland beat Czechoslovakia in a European qualifier. It was their last win for almost five years.

Played in Prague, the match was the last one in the qualifying group, with only the top finisher advancing to the quarterfinals. Ireland were already eliminated but were hoping to play the role of spoiler for the hosts, who started the day one point behind group leader Spain (the Spanish had already completed all of their matches).

The Czechs took the lead in the 57th minute courtesy of an own goal from Irish center back John Dempsey, but Ray Treacy pulled the visitors level in the 65th minute. Then, with four minutes of normal time remaining, striker Turlough O'Connor scored the match winner. The win lifted Ireland off the bottom of their group table into third and kept Czechoslovakia in second behind Spain.

It turned out to be Ireland's last taste of victory for quite a while. They went winless in their next twenty games, including their qualification campaigns for the 1970 World Cup and Euro '72, before finally beating Iran 2-1 in a friendly on 18 June 1972. They did not win another competitive match until they defeated France 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier on 15 November 1972.

17 October 1990 - Turkey Gets Stuffed By Ireland

On 17 October 1990, Ireland beat Turkey in a European qualifier to launch their record unbeaten streak. But it didn't get them to the Euros.

It was the first match day of qualifying in Group 7, with Ireland hosting Turkey in Dublin. Playing before a crowd of 46,000 at Lansdowne Road, the Irish took an early lead with a goal from striker John Aldridge (pictured) in the 15th minute. Center back David O'Leary added another in the 40th minute to send Ireland into the break with a 2-0 lead. In the second half, Aldridge scored twice more (58', 73'), with a goal from striker Niall Quinn in between (60') to raise the final score to a dominant 5-0 for the hosts.

Ireland followed the win by drawing with England (1-1) and Poland (0-0), with the combination leaving them one point short of qualification for Euro 1992. They continued their unbeaten run for a record total of 16 matches before eventually losing to Spain in their last qualifier for the 1994 World Cup. They did qualify for the World Cup, though, and advanced to the Round of 16.

26 July 1948 - The Olympics Return

On 26 July 1948, Olympic football kicked off in London, ending a 12-year hiatus imposed by the outbreak of World War II.

The last Olympic games were held in Berlin in 1936, with Italy taking the gold medal in football. Tokyo was scheduled to host the 1940 games, with London following in 1944. But the eruption of World War II in 1939 forced the cancellation of the games for the duration (some countries suspended league play as well).

When the war ended in 1945, the Olympic organizers resumed their plans for a 1948 tournament and chose London as hosts, foregoing Tokyo because of Japan's role in the conflict. Although opening ceremonies were not until 29 July, the football tournament started three days early with a four-team preliminary round.

The Netherlands beat the Republic of Ireland 2-0 at Fratton Park in Portsmouth. Meanwhile, Luxembourg dominated Afghanistan 6-0 at the Goldstone Ground in Brighton, setting their record victory in the process. Unfortunately for both teams, their success did not carry into the first round, as the Dutch lost to Great Britain in extra time, 4-3, and Luxembourg fell to Yugoslavia 6-1 despite taking the lead in the tenth minute.

Great Britain advanced to the semi-finals before losing to Yugoslavia, who took silver after falling to Sweden in the final.

1 June 1921 - And Then There Were Two

On 1 June 1921, the clubs from the newly-created Irish Free State broke off from the Irish Football Association and formed their own separate association and national team.

Prior to the split, football in the whole of Ireland was governed by the IFA, formed in 1880 and headquartered in Belfast. But several clubs in the southern part of the island--partitioned off as the Irish Free State in 1920--felt that the IFA did not adequately represent their interests (the conflict predated the partition as evidenced by the formation of the southern Leinster Football Association in 1892).

Matters came to a head in 1921. Three Dublin-based clubs--Bohemians, St. James' Gate, and Shelbourne--withdrew from the IFA-controlled Irish League, but continued to play in the Irish Cup. Shelbourne reached the final that year, drawing with Belfast club Glenavon in Belfast, and asked for the replay to be held in Dublin. The IFA refused the request, so Shelbourne refused to play, forfeiting the cup.

That June, a group of representatives from several southern clubs met at Molesworth Hall in Dublin and agreed to form a separate governing body called the Football Association of Ireland and a new national team. Initially, both the FAI and the IFA claimed authority over the entire island, leading to the unusual situation in 1950 when four players played for both associations' national teams at that year's World Cup. That led FIFA to step in and limit the authority of the two groups, so the FAI governs the Republic of Ireland and the IFA controls Northern Ireland.

Since then, the FAI have gotten the better of their northern neighbors, compiling a record of four wins, two losses, and four draws.