25 June 2006 - The Battle Of Nuremberg

On 25 June 2006, referee Valentin Ivanov issued a FIFA-record four red cards and sixteen yellows in a World Cup Round of 16 match between the Netherlands and Portugal.

Both teams arrived at the Frankenstadion in Nuremberg as dark-horse contenders for the trophy. Portugal had won all three of their matches in the group, while the Netherlands won their first two, then drew with Argentina in their third game.

Despite their reputations for playing with style and creativity, the match quickly devolved into a brutal battle of attrition, with two Dutch players--Mark van Bommel and Khalid Boulahrouz--receiving cautions after only seven minutes. The next went to Portuguese midfielder Maniche in the 20th minute, but he scored three minutes later to give his team a 1-0 lead.

The first red card of the day went to Portuguese midfielder Costinha, who received a second yellow in the first minute of first-half stoppage time.

In the second half, Ivanov issued another eleven yellows, resulting in ejections for Boulahrouz (63') and Giovanni van Bronckhorst (90+5') for the Netherlands and Deco (78') for Portugal. The total of twenty cards remains a record high for any FIFA-sponsored competition.

Portugal held on to win the match 1-0 and eventually advanced all the way to the semifinals before falling to France.

16 July 2004 - For Lippi, The First Time's The Charm

On 16 July 2004, Juventus manager Marcello Lippi took charge of the Italian national team and guided them to World Cup glory two years later.

The 56-year old manager had been well-traveled, coaching eleven different teams in Italy since the start of his managerial career in 1982. But his greatest success had come with Juventus, where he won five Serie A titles, the Champions League, and the Intercontinental Cup in two spells from 1994 to 1999 and 2001 to 2004 (spending one season at Inter in between).

He replaced Giovanni Trapattoni at Italy after the Azzurri suffered an embarrassing group-stage exit at Euro 2004. He quickly righted the ship, guiding them to the top of their World Cup qualification group with an impressive record of seven wins, two draws, and only one loss. They continued their impressive form in the tournament itself with a march to the final that included an extra-time win over hosts Germany in the semi-finals. In the final, they beat France in a memorable penalty shootout to claim their fourth World Cup trophy.

Lippi resigned after the tournament, but was recalled for the 2010 World Cup after the dismissal of his successor, Roberto Donadoni. Unfortunately, he could not recapture the magic from his earlier spell and Italy exited the competition after going winless in the group stage, leading to Lippi's second resignation.

8 July 2006 - Germany Ends On A High Note (But Not The Highest Note)

On 8 July 2006, hosts Germany ended the World Cup with a win. But it was in the third-place match.

The three-time champions entered the tournament as favorites, having finished as runners-up in 2002. And they lived up to that tag as one of only four teams to win all three of their first-round matches (with Portugal, Brazil, and Spain), followed by a 2-0 win over Sweden in the Round of 16 that was more comfortable than the scoreline suggested. They advanced over Argentina on penalties in the quarterfinals, but then suffered a shocking loss to Italy in extra time to drop down to the third-place game (Italy beat them 2-0 with goals in the 119th and 120th minutes).

There, they faced Portugal, who had similarly needed penalties to get out of the quarterfinals over England, then fell to France 1-0 in the semis.

Playing before a crowd of 52,000 in Stuttgart, the two teams remained scoreless through the first half due in part to outstanding play from goalkeepers Ricardo and Oliver Kahn. It was the first appearance in the tournament for Kahn, who had been dropped as started in favor of Jens Lehmann, but got the nod over Lehmann for the third-place match, He also took over as captain in place of the injured Michael Ballack.

The Germans quickly took charge in the second half, with a brace from midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger (pictured) (56', 78') sandwiched around an own goal from Portugal substitute midfielder Petit (60'). Portugal pulled one back with a goal from Nuno Gomes in the 88th minute and the day ended as a 3-1 win for Germany.

The match was Kahn's last international appearance, with his total of 86 caps putting him in a tie for fifteenth on Germany's all-time appearances table.

30 June 2006 - Try To Calculate That Cards-Per-Minute Ratio

On 30 June 2006, Argentina left back Leandro Cufré achieved the dubious distinction of receiving a red card after a match in which he hadn't even played.

The match in question was a World Cup quarter-final, which Argentina lost to Germany on penalties, 1-1 (4-2). It had been a tense affair, with referee Ľuboš Micheľ issuing a total of seven yellow cards, four to Argentina and three to Germany. The first one--to German striker Lukas Podolski--came in just the third minute, while Micheľ showed four of them after the 88-minute mark.

After goalkeeper Jens Lehmann ended the shootout by saving the attempt from midfielder Esteban Cambiasso, the two sides clashed near the touchline. According to a BBC report, "[p]unches and kicks were thrown between both sides," but the only player to receive a card was Cufré, an unused Argentina substitute for the match. He kicked German defender Per Mertesacker in the knee to become the first player to receive a  post-match red card in World Cup history.

Afterward, FIFA fined Cufré 10,000 Swiss francs and suspended him for four matches.