28 November 1995 - Danny Plays A Blinder

On 28 November 1995, Ajax claimed their second Intercontinental Cup by defeating Grêmio on penalties, 0-0 (4-3), before a crowd of 47,000 at Tokyo's National Stadium.

Established in 1960, the Intercontinental Cup matched the reigning European champion against the reigning South American champion. The Cup was initially contested as a two-leg home and away tie, but switched to a single-match format in 1980.

Both Ajax and Grêmio had previously participated in the Cup, with successful results. Ajax's prior appearance was in 1972 and ended as a 4-1 aggregate win over Argentinian side Independiente. Grêmio's earlier match was a 2-1 extra-time win over Hamburg in 1983.

In the 1995 Final, the two teams were even at 0-0 at the end of extra time, despite the Brazilian side losing defender Catalino Rivarola to a red card in the 57th minute. In penalties, the shooters got off to a rough start with Ajax keeper Edwin Van der Sar saving the first shot from midfielder Dinho, while the next two shots, from Ajax forward Patrick Kluivert and Grêmio defender Francisco Arce, were off target. The remaining kicks were converted, however, with Ajax center back Danny Blind scoring the decisive shot. Blind was subsequently chosen as man of the match.

Starting in 2005, the Cup was taken over by FIFA and renamed the FIFA Club World Cup.

1 July 1976 - Striking Similarities

On 1 July 1976, two future Dutch internationals were born in the Netherlands - Patrick Kluivert in Amsterdam and Ruud van Nistelrooy in the city of Oss. In addition to sharing the same birthday, they share the same position - striker - and both were included on the FIFA 100, Pelé's March 2004 list of the greatest living footballers.

Kluivert was the first to rise to international prominence, debuting with the Ajax senior side in August 1994 at the age of 18. Ajax won the UEFA Champions League that season, with Kluivert coming off the bench to score the winning goal in the 85th minute in the Final against A.C. Milan. He joined Milan for a brief period in 1997-98, then transferred to Barcelona, where he made 255 appearances in all competitions, scoring 120 goals.

Van Nistelrooy, meanwhile, started his professional career at Dutch Second Division side Den Bosch, where he played from 1993 to 1997. He played the 1997-98 season with Herenveen in the Eredivisie, then moved to PSV Eindhoven, where he scored 75 goals in 91 appearances from 1998 to 2001, winning back-to-back Eredivisie titles in the last two seasons. He also secured individual honors as the Eredivisie top scorer in 1998-99 and 1999-2000 and was twice named Dutch Player of the Year (1999, 2000). He continued to enjoy success with Manchester United (2001-06) and Real Madrid (2006-present).

Although their time on the Dutch national team overlapped, with Kluivert playing from 1994 to 2004 and van Nistelrooy from 1998 to 2008, they never played together for the Oranje in a major tournament. Van Nistlerooy did not play in the 1998 World Cup or UEFA Euro 2000, while Kluivert was on the bench for the entire UEFA Euro 2004 tournament and was left out of the 2006 World Cup squad.

24 May 1995 - Milan Was Heard Later Yelling "Get Off Our Lawn!"

On 24 May 1995, Ajax won the UEFA Champions League Final, defeating A.C. Milan by the score of 1-0 before a crowd of 49,730 at the Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna.

The two sides stood in stark contrast - Milan was older, having only one player under the age of 26, while Ajax was young, with only two players over the age of 25. The Dutch side was experienced, however. They had just won the Eredivisie title without losing a match and had also gone unbeaten in their Champions League run to the Final, including two earlier wins over Milan in the group stage.

And while the teams battled to a scoreless stalemate in the first half, Ajax's youth was served in the second half by the introduction of 18-year-old forward Patrick Kluivert. He came on in the 69th minute, replacing Finnish midfielder Jari Litmanen. In the 85th minute, Kluivert started an attack that involved touches from every Ajax midfielder on the pitch, from Nigerian winger Finidi George to winger Marc Overmars, then to center mid Edgar Davids before midfielder Frank Rijkaard delivered the ball back to Kluivert in the penalty area. Kluivert slipped past two Milan defenders, then swept the ball past Milan keeper Sebastiano Rossi for the match's only goal.