‘May 19 Incident’, ‘Maracanazo’ and ‘Battle of Old Trafford’ head football matches that have gone down in infamy – and inspired Escape to Victory
- – Several games have become known by names, such as the ‘Battle of Buffet’ in Manchester United’s long-running feud with Arsenal
- – Fifa World Cup changed the rules after ‘Disgrace of Gijón’ between West Germany and Austria
Given how often teams play each other per season and how that has mounted up over the years it is perhaps surprising how few specific matches are known by deliberate names.
Some scorelines do the job, although “the 5-1” could easily refer to England vs Germany as it does to the 1989 Manchester Derby at Maine Road.
Then again, Spurs fans would point to the semi-final win over Arsenal on their way to winning the League Cup in 2008, while Barcelona supporters would be glad to remember their Clasico win over Real Madrid at Camp Nou in October, 2018.
Numbers leave too much room for manoeuvre, it seems, which is why some games take on names of their own.
The May 19 Incident – China vs Hong Kong, World Cup Qualifying 1985
The Hong Kong team travelled to the Workers’ Stadium in Beijing in 1985 to play a qualifier for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. It was a game that lives in the memory for a number of reasons, not least the unfancied visitors having “their finest hour in international soccer”, as the Post match report described it.
