6 January 1953 - The Coming Of Kaltz

On 6 January 1953, longtime Hamburg player Manfred Kaltz was born in the West German city of Ludwigshafen. Despite being a full back, he was a prolific goalscorer, including knocking a few home for the other team.

He joined up with Hamburg's youth team in 1970, then signed a professional contract in 1971. He remained there for thirteen seasons, making 568 league appearances. Along the way, he won domestic and European honors including one Bundesliga title (1979), one German Cup (1976), and the Cup Winners' Cup (1977).

Kaltz was active in the Hamburg attack, known in particular for his arcing right-footed crosses called "bananenflanken" ("banana crosses"). He also was a regular scorer--usually from the penalty spot--providing 76 goals. Unfortunately for Hamburg, however, he also set a Bundesliga record for own goals with six.

In 1989, he left Hamburg for a short spell in France with Bordeaux and FC Mulhouse, but returned in 1990 to play one last season with Hamburg before retiring in 1991. In all, he made a total of 581 league appearances, which places him second on the Bundesliga's all-time list behind Frankfurt's Karl-Heinz Körbel (602).

13 September 2006 - Footballers Of The World, Unite!

On 13 September 2006, Arsenal defeated Hamburg 1-2 in their opening UEFA Champions League group stage match before a crowd of 51,258 at Arena Hamburg. The match was notable for the fact that, for a 42-minute period, the Arsenal side was comprised of 11 different nationalities.

Arsenal's starting eleven included ten different nationalities. The only duplicate was the Ivory Coast, due to the presence of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboué in defense. Toure suffered a thigh injury, however, and was replaced by Justin Hoyte in the 28th minute. At that point, the Gunners on the pitch were Jens Lehmann (Germany), Emmanuel Eboué (Ivory Coast), Johann Djourou (Switzerland), Justin Hoyte (England), William Gallas (France), Tomáš Rosický (Czech Republic), Gilberto Silva (Brazil), Cesc Fàbregas (Spain), Alexander Hleb (Belarus), Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), and Robin van Persie (Netherlands). That combination lasted until the 69th minute, when van Persie was substituted in favor of a second Brazilian, striker Julio Baptista.

The match itself was never in doubt, as Hamburg keeper Sascha Kirschstein was sent off in the 10th minute for tripping van Persie. Gilberto converted the ensuing spot kick and Rosický added a second goal in the 53rd minute. Hamburg's Boubacar Sanogo pulled one back in the 90th minute, but it was too late for the undermanned side to complete a comeback and the match ended 1-2 in Arsenal's favor.

As if eleven nationalities weren't enough, Arsenal had two more nations represented on the bench with Sweden's Freddie Ljungberg and Cameroon's Alex Song.

23 August 2005 - The Little Mouse That Roared (Into The Champions League)

On 23 August 2005, Swiss side FC Thun beat Malmö 3-0 at Thun's Stadion Lachen. The match was the second leg of the third qualifying round for the 2005-06 UEFA Champions League.

Thun had won the first leg in Sweden on 10 August, 0-1, and needed only a draw to advance. Rather than sit back and defend, however, Thun attacked the Swedish side and claimed an early lead with a 25th-minute goal from Brazilian center back Tiago Bernardi (pictured). Forward Mauro Lustrinelli, a Swiss international, added a brace (40', 65') to complete the rout and put Thun into the group stages.

Thun's qualification was particularly impressive given the club's small stature. They had only recently been promoted to the Swiss top flight in 2002 and, at the time of their qualification, had an annual budget of only €2 million. They were thus the smallest club ever to qualify for the Champions League.

Unfortunately, their success ended in the group stages. Drawn against Arsenal, Ajax, and Sparta Prague, Thun managed one win, one draw, and four losses, to finish third in the group. That finish sent them out of the Champions League, but into the Round of 32 for the 2005-06 UEFA Cup where they lost to Hamburg 1-2 on aggregate.

In 2008, Thun were relegated to Switzerland's second tier, the Swiss Challenge League, where they currently compete.