1 December 1998 - Real's Raúl Sinks Vasco Da Gama

On 1 December 1998, Real Madrid won their second Intercontinental Cup, beating Vasco da Gama 2-1 in Tokyo with a late strike from Raúl González.

Champions League winners Madrid were making their third appearance in the competition, after winning it in 1960 and losing it in 1966 (both times against Peñarol). It was the first appearance for Vasco, who had won the Copa Libertadores the previous August.

A crowd of 54,514 gathered at Tokyo's National Stadium to watch the match, with Madrid taking a first-half lead thanks to an own goal--in attempt to head away a cross from Roberto Carlos, Vasco midfielder Nasa deflected the ball past his own goalkeeper in the 25th minute. Undaunted, the Brazilians pressed forward for an equalizer and were rewarded in the 56th minute. Madrid's German goalkeeper, Bodo Illgner, parried one shot, but knocked the ball into the path of Nasa's midfield partner Juninho, who placed it perfectly into the top right corner.

Both teams had several chances to take the lead, but were denied repeatedly by brilliant play from both keepers (and, in Vasco's case, a couple of near misses). Real Madrid forward Raul then struck the decisive blow in the 83rd minute when he outraced the Vasco back line to latch onto a long ball, beat two defenders, and slipped the ball past keeper Carlos Germano.

It was Vasco's only appearance in the competition, while Real Madrid returned twice more, winning it again in 2000.

30 November 1983 - Bilbao Bagged By Barça

On 30 November 1983, Barcelona won their first Supercopa de España, beating Athletic Bilbao 3-2 on aggregate. They have since gone on to become the competition's most successful club.

It was only the second Supercopa, which pits the previous season's Copa del Rey winner against the reigning La Liga title holder. But a similar competition, the Copa Eva Duarte, was played from 1947 to 1953m which Barcelona won three times, the most for any club (no other club won it more than once).

Bilbao had won the league the previous season, including two defeats of Barcelona along the way, while Barcelona had taken the honors in the Copa del Rey over Real Madrid. The two teams met Bilbao's Estadio San Mamés on 26 October for the first leg of the Supercopa, with Barcelona claiming a 1-3 victory.

In the second leg, played before a crowd of 18,000 at the Camp Nou, Bilbao forward Endika (pictured) scored in just the 2nd minute to set the stage for a comeback, but it proved to be the only goal of the match as the two defenses held firm and Barcelona took the silverware with an aggregate score of 3-2.

Barça have since won the Supercopa a total of 10 times, most recently in 2011, to become the competion's most successful club. Bilbao, meanwhile, went on to win a league and Copa del Rey double in 1984, making them that year's automatic Supercopa champions. Unfortunately for them, however, that remains their last major trophy.

29 November 1997 - So Close, And Yet So Far

On 29 November 1997, Iran qualified for their first World Cup in 20 years with a late goal against Australia in a playoff.

It was the second playoff of Iran's qualification campaign as, after finishing second in their Asian Football Confederation group, they lost a playoff after extra time to the other AFC group's second-place finisher, Japan. That loss sent them to the two-legged intercontinental playoff against Oceania champions Australia.

In the first leg, played at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Australia took a 19th-minute lead, but surrendered a goal in the 40th minute and the match ended as a 1-1 draw. They met at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the second leg one week later, where the match played out in similar fashion.

Australia went up 2-0 with goals from Harry Kewell (32') and Aurelio Vidmar (48') and appeared to have secured their place in the World Cup. But Iranian midfielder Karim Bagheri pulled one back in the 71st minute, then forward Khodadad Azizi got the equalizer four minutes later, beating goalkeeper Mark Bosnich. The match ended 2-2 and the aggregate score of 3-3 sent Iran to the World Cup on away goals.

There, they secured a dramatic 1-2 win over the United States, but were eliminated in the group stage with losses to Yugoslavia and Germany.