8 November 1926 - The APOEL Of Cyprus' Eye

On 8 November 1926, APOEL FC was founded in Nicosia, Cyprus. The club have since become the most successful club in the country with a record 20 league titles.

The club's original name was POEL (ΠΟΕΛ in Greek), which stands for Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias ("Football Club of the Greeks of Nicosia"). In 1928, they added a track and field team and changed their name to APOEL, with the "A" standing for "Athlitikos."

In 1934, APOEL hosted a meeting of Cyprus football clubs which resulted in the creation of the Cyprus Football Association. APOEL won their first league title in 1936, then won the next four in a row. To date, they have won at least one title in each decade, their most recent one--the 20th--coming in 2009. They have also won 19 Cypriot Cups.

APOEL have enjoyed some success in Europe, playing over 100 matches in UEFA competitions, including the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Cup, and the UEFA Cup-Winners' Cup. In 1986, they were drawn to face Beşiktaş in the European Cup, but the Cypriot government barred them from playing against the Turks for political reasons. As a result, UEFA disqualfied APOEL from participating in any UEFA competition for two years (but later reduced the ban to one year).

APOEL are currently competing in the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League, where they have been grouped with Chelsea, Porto, and Atlético Madrid.

13 August 2003 - You Win Some, You Lose Some

On 13 August 2003, Manchester United introduced its new signings, Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazilian midfielder Kléberson.

United acquired Ronaldo from Sporting C.P., whom he had joined on a youth contract in 1997 at the age of 12. He joined Sporting's senior team in 2001 at the age of 16 and made 31 appearances for them, scoring five goals.

United manager Alex Ferguson said that he had been tracking Ronaldo for at least nine months, but had been particularly impressed with Ronaldo's play in Sporting's 3-1 defeat of United in a friendly held in Lisbon the week before his signing. The winger had also drawn the attention of Real Madrid, Juventus, and Chelsea, sparking a bidding war that drove the transfer fee up to £12.24 million, making Ronaldo the most expensive teenage signing in Britain to that point.

As if the record signing fee didn't create enough pressure on Ronaldo, Ferguson added to it by giving him United's famous No. 7 shirt, previously worn by United legends such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, and - most recently - David Beckham. Ronaldo rose to the challenge, however, and helped lead United to three consecutive Premier League titles (2007, 2008, 2009), one FA Cup trophy (2004), and one UEFA Champions League trophy (2008). He also claimed a number of individual honors, including the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2008.

In July 2009, Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid for a transfer fee of £80 million.

Kleberson, who was signed from Brazilian side Atlético Paranaense for £6.5 million, was less successful, making only 30 appearances for United before transferring to Turkish side Beşiktaş for £2.5 million.

2 August 1967 - Cracking The Istanbul Cartel

On 2 August 1967, Trabzonspor Kulübü was founded in the Turkish city of Trabzon.

The club formed from the merger of several rival Trabzon clubs, including fierce local rivals Idmangücü and Idmanocaĝi. The merger was not voluntary, but was forced by the Turkish Football Federation, who demanded the unification of all clubs within the same city in order to strengthen the teams and increase the competitiveness of Turkish football.

Originally admitted into the Turkish Second Division, Trabzonspor earned promotion to the top tier Süper Lig for the 1974-75 season. They were successful almost immediately, winning their first league title in 1975-76, becoming the first team outside Istanbul to do so. They finished either first or second for the next eight seasons.

Trabzonspor won their last league title in 1983-84, but remain one of Turkey's "Big Four" clubs, along with the Istanbul triumvirate of Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, and Beşiktaş J.K. They finished the 2008-09 season in third place.