17 May 2000 - Turkish Delight

On 17 May 2000, Galatasaray won their first European trophy, defeating Arsenal on penalties to win the UEFA Cup Final.

Despite the presence of several prolific goalscorers--including three-time Süper Lig golden boot winner Hakan Şükür and Arsenal's Thierry Henry--and gifted playmakers like Gheorghe Hagi and Dennis Bergkamp, the first half was a dour affair that saw the referee issue four yellow cards (two to each team). The second half was little better, as both sides squandered chances and the referee issued four more cautions (three to Galatasaray and one to Arsenal).

Arsenal gained an advantage in extra time as Hagi received a straight red card for punching Tony Adams. The Gunners pressed forward for the match-winner and almost got it, but Galatasaray's Brazilian keeper Taffarel denied Henry's point-blank header.

In penalties, Galatasaray's first three shooters converted, while two of Arsenal's shots were denied by the woodwork. With the Turks leading the shootout 3-1, center back Gheorghe Popescu's kick beat David Seaman for the win.

Galatasaray went on to beat Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup that summer. Arsenal, meanwhile, returned to a European cup final exactly six years later, losing to Barcelona in the Champions League.

22 February 2007 - Rangers Ride The Comeback Trail

On 22 February 2007, Rangers stormed back from a 2-1 first leg deficit to defeat Hapoel Tel Aviv 4-0 in the second leg of the UEFA Cup Round of 32.

Playing before a crowd of over 46,000 at their home stadium, Ibrox, Rangers were determined to avenge their first leg upset loss, played one week previously at Tel Aviv's Bloomfield Stadium. Pride was not the only thing at stake, however--a loss or a draw with the Israeli club would elminate Rangers from the tournament.

As it turned out, the Glasgow side need not have worried. They dominated the second leg from start to finish, taking a 2-0 lead into the break with goals from their captain, midfielder Barry Ferguson (24'), and striker Kris Boyd (35'). The match proved just as one-sided after halftime, with Ferguson (pictured) scoring his second to extend the lead to 3-0 in the 73rd minute before 90th-minute substitute Charlie Adam capped the victory with a goal in the third minute of stoppage time. The only black mark on the day for Rangers was the 74th-minute sending off of their goalkeeper, Allan McGregor, after he fouled Hapoel's Luciano De Bruno.

The 5-1 aggregate win preserved Rangers' hopes of playing in the Final, held that year at Glasgow's Hampden Park, but they were eliminated from the competition by Spanish side Osasuna in the next round.

18 April 1955 - Once Again, Ganymede Gets Shafted

On 18 April 1955, a group including Switzerland's Ernst Thommen, Italy's Ottorino Barassi, and England's Stanley Rous founded the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, an annual football tournament for European club teams.

As reflected in its name, the tournament was designed originally to promote international trade fairs, with participation limited to teams from cities participating in such fairs. The rules limited each participating city to one team each.

Because the matches themselves were scheduled to coincide with the fairs, the tournament's first season ran for three years, from 1955 to 1958. That first season included teams from Barcelona, Basle, Birmingham, Cologne, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Lausanne, Leipzig, London, Milan, Vienna, and Zagreb, with the team from Barcelona (consisting primarily of players from F.C. Barcelona, along with one player from R.C.D. Espanyol) claiming the first title.

In 1971, UEFA took control of the tournament and rebranded it as the UEFA Cup, with Leeds United winning the first UEFA Cup trophy.

Starting in the 2009-2010 season, the tournament will again be rebranded, this time as the Europa League.