12 August 1990 - And The Game Hasn't Been The Same Since

On 12 August 1990, striker Mario Balotelli, the first black player to score for Italy, was born in Palermo.

His parents were Ghanaian immigrants who, when Balotelli was three years old, placed him in foster care at the recommendation of social services because they could not afford medical care. From that point on, he was raised by the Balotelli family and, at the age of 18, he became an Italian citizen.

He started his professional career in 2006 with Lumezzane, but made only two league appearances there before moving to Inter in 2007. In three seasons there, he helped the club to three Scudettos, but fell out with manager José Mourinho, who had replaced Roberto Mancini for Balotelli's last two seasons. In 2010, the striker followed Mancini to Manchester City, where he remained for two and half years, winning the 2011 FA Cup and the 2012 Premier League title, before moving back to Italy with AC Milan.

Balotelli earned his first cap for Italy in 2010 and scored his first international goal in November 2011—the first for a black player. Since then, he has scored ten goals in 25 appearances, including both goals in Italy's 2-1 quarterfinal win over Germany at Euro 2012.

Despite his talent, Balotelli has drawn heavy criticism for a lack of discipline both on and off the pitch, including disputes with teammates and a scuffle with Mancini while at Manchester City. One of his most memorable incidents, however, was nearly setting his house on fire while shooting off fireworks inside.

1 July 2012 - Spain Completes A Record Hat-Trick

On 1 July 2012, Spain successfully defended their title as European champions, crushing Italy 4-0 in the final.

After a long history of near-misses and a reputation for failing to live up to expectations, Spain finally won a major tournament when they beat Germany in the Euro 2008 final, then followed that by lifting the World Cup trophy over the Netherlands in 2010.

In their first match of Euro 2012, they faced Italy in the group stage and played to a 1-1 draw. Both teams eventually advanced, with the defending champions winning the group and Italy just two points behind in second.

Making their way through the knockout rounds, the two teams faced off again in the final, played before a crowd of over 63,000 at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev. But it was no repeat of the previous match, as Spain took control early and never let up, getting goals from David Silva (14'), Jordi Alba (41'), Fernando Torres (84'), and Juan Mata (88'), with the latter two coming on as late substitutes.

The match set several milestones--it was the largest margin in Euro final history and the first time a team had won three consecutive major international tournaments. It was also the 100th international victory for Spanish goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas.

5 June 1938 - Getting The Tough Job Out Of The Way Early

On 5 June 1938, holders Italy opened the World Cup with an extra-time win over Norway, the closest match they had in their successful bid to defend their title.

They had gone to extra time in the 1934 final before beating Czechoslovakia 2-1 in Rome with a 95th-minute goal from Angelo Schiavo. The Norwegians, meanwhile, were playing in their first World Cup match, having chosen not to participate in the 1930 or 1934 tournaments.

The two teams met in the first round at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, where the crowd of 19,000 watched the defending champions go up 1-0 after only two minutes with a goal from Pietro Ferraris (it wasn't the day's first goal, though, as France's Émile Veinante scored in the first minute of their game against Belgium, which started at the same time).

Italy kept their slim lead until the 83rd minute, when Arne Brustad scored the equalizer for Norway and sent the match into extra time. There, Silvio Piola struck in the 94th minute to put the Italians back in front and set the final margin at 2-1.

The win sent Italy into the quarterfinals, where they beat France 3-1. The ensuing 2-1 win over Brazil in the semifinals had the same margin as the Norway game, but Italy were up 2-0 until Brazil got a consolation goal three minutes before the final whistle to make the game seem closer than it really was. Then, in the final, Italy beat Hungary 4-2 to finish as the first two-time champions in World Cup history.

19 March 1976 - A Born Defender

On 19 March 1976, four-time Serie A Defender of the Year Alessandro Nesta was born in Rome.

He started his career at Lazio, joining their youth academy in 1985. They tried him at striker and midfielder before establishing him at center back. In 1993, he signed a professional contract and became an established starter during the 1995-96 season, making a total of 28 appearances.

By 1997, he had become Lazio's captain and led the team to the 1998 Coppa Italia, followed by the 1999 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 2000, he won a second Coppa Italia that was paired with the club's first league title since 1974. That season also saw him win the first of four consecutive Serie A Defender of the Year awards.

In the summer of 2002, he moved to AC Milan in a deal worth €31M. In ten seasons there, he won another pair of Scudettos (2004, 2011), a Coppa Italia (2003), two Champions League titles (2003, 2007), and the FIFA Club World Cup (2007).

Along the way, he made 78 appearances for Italy between 1996 and 2006, though he missed the 2006 World Cup Final due to injury.

Nesta currently plays in MLS for the Montreal Impact, having joined them on a free transfer in the summer of 2012.

13 October 1977 - Di Natale's Natale

On 13 October 1977, striker Antonio Di Natale was born in Naples. He went on to become one of Italy's top scorers, leading Serie A in back-to-back seasons.

He started his professional career in 1996 with Empoli, at that time in Serie B, but made only one appearance in that first season, then spent the next two on loan. In 1999, he finally broke into Empoli's first team, making 30 appearances in all competitions and scoring seven goals. His best season there was 2001-02, when his 16 league goals helped them get promoted to Serie A and earned Di Natale his first cap with Italy.

After the 2003-04 season, with Empoli relegated back to Serie B, he stayed in the top flight by moving to Udinese and immediately helped them to a fourth-place finish. His breakout season came in 2009-10, when he scored 29 goals to claim the Capocannoniere and the 2010 Italian Footballer of the Year award. He claimed the scoring title a second time in 2010-11 with 28 goals.

In 2012, he signed a two-year extension with Udinese to keep him at the club until 2014.

18 August 1985 - Many Great Things Have Humble Beginnings

On 18 August 1985, the United States women's team played their first match, losing to Italy 1-0 in the opening game of the Mundialito.

The Mundialito (Spanish for "Little World Cup") was an invitational women's international tournament held in Italy from 1984 to 1988. The 1985 edition consisted of four teams--Italy (the defending champions), England, Denmark, and the United States.

The US squad had been put together earlier that summer by head coach Mike Ryan and included goalkeeper Kim Wyant, midfielder Sharon McMurtry, forward Tucka Healy, and winger Denise Boyer. Discussing the experience years later, all four players remarked on the physical nature of the game and the competitiveness of the Italian team, who went on to win 1-0 after a missed penalty by McMurty.

Italy reached the final where they lost to England, while the US finished in fourth after a 2-2 draw with Denmark, a loss to England, and a loss to Denmark in the third-place match. They did better in the next two tournaments, however, finishing as runners-up in 1986 and claiming third place in 1988.

9 August 1973 - Inzaghi Crosses The Line

On 9 August 1973, Italian striker Filippo "Pippo" Inzaghi was born in Piacenza. He went on to become one of the country's most prolific scorers.

He signed his first professional contract in 1991, joining his hometown club, Piacenza Calcio, but made only three appearances before moving to Leffe in 1992. A series of other moves followed, including stays at Verona, another turn at Piacenza, Parma, and Atalanta before he joined Juventus in 1997.

In his first season with Juve, he scored a career-high 27 goals in 47 appearances across all competitions as the club won Serie A and reached the Champions League final. After four seasons in Turin, he moved to AC Milan, where he proceeded to win two more league titles (2004, 2011) and two Champions League trophies (2003, 2007). Meanwhile, he also won the World Cup with Italy in 2006.

Known for playing on the edge of the offside line, his style of play once prompted Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson to say "That lad must have been born offside." He retired in 2012, having scored a career total 288 goals in 623 club appearances (with another 25 goals for the national team). Seventy of those goals came in UEFA club competitions, ranking him second overall in that category just behind Raúl González (77).

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.

25 June 2010 - Ciao, Cannavaro

On 25 June 2010, Italy defender and captain Fabio Cannavaro announced his retirement from international football. With 136 appearances, he remains Italy's record cap-holder.

Cannavaro made his national team debut over thirteen years earlier in a January 1997 friendly against Northern Ireland. By 1998, he was regular starter, playing every minute for Italy in that year's World Cup before losing out to eventual winners France on penalties in the quarterfinals. They again lost to France in the Euro 2000 Final, but Cannavaro earned personal glory as one of the defenders named to the Team of the Tournament.

After disappointing early exits in the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004, Cannavaro captained Italy to World Cup glory in 2006, anchoring a defense that surrendered only two goals--an own-goal and a penalty--before beating France in a Final shootout. As a result of that performance, he finished as runner-up to France's Zinedine Zidane in voting for the tournament's Golden Ball winner.

Cannavaro missed Euro 2008 due to injury and considered retiring from the national team later that year, but decided to return to help Italy defend their World Cup in 2010. Unfortunately, their campaign was a disaster, as they finished at the bottom of their first-round group after draws with Paraguay and New Zealand, followed by a loss to Slovakia on 24 June. Cannavaro announced his international retirement the next day.

He continued to play at the club level until a knee injury ended his career in July 2011.

22 June 2004 - Yes, It Was A Very Unusual Result

On 22 June 2004, Sweden and Denmark played to a 2-2 draw, getting just the result they needed for both to advance in the Euros at the expense of Italy.

It was the final matchday of Group C. Italy started the day two points behind Sweden and Denmark, having drawn against both, while both had already beaten Bulgaria, Italy's opponent. In the event of a Sweden-Denmark draw, a win for Italy would only pull them level on points. As a tiebreaker, the rules looked to goal differential, then goals scored, but only as compared among the tied teams.

A draw between Sweden and Denmark would give all three teams the same goal differential, making goals scored the deciding factor. Denmark's match with Italy was scoreless, while Sweden-Italy finished 1-1. So a scoreless result between Sweden and Denmark would put Italy through, while a score draw of 2-2 or higher would eliminate the Italians.

Italy raised the possibility of such a result before the games, but Sweden co-manager Lars Lagerbäck dismissed any possibility of a fix, saying "Machiavelli might have been Italian and Italians might like to think in a Machiavellian way, but it would not be possible to play for a 2-2 draw against Denmark and I don't think it will end 2-2 – that is a very unusual result."

But 2-2 is what they got. Denmark took a 28th-minute lead from Jon Dahl Tomasson, then Sweden's Henrik Larsson equalized with a 47th-minute penalty. The Danes reclaimed the lead with another goal from Tomasson (66'), but Sweden again drew level, this time with a strike from Mattias Jonson (89'). Italy  beat Bulgaria 2-1, but that was their last contest of the tournament.

2 June 1962 - Chile Beats Italy, Literally

On 2 June 1962, Chile used a few punches, one bloody nose, and a couple of goals to beat Italy in a World Cup match.

Known as "the Battle of Santiago," the match was played before a crowd of 66,057 at the Estadio Nacional and was the second group stage match of the tournament for both teams. Anti-Italian sentiment was running high in Chile because a pair of Italian journalists had disparaged both the city of Santiago and its women before the tournament even started (worried about their own safety, the two men had to flee the country before the match).

But the first sign of trouble on the day was sparked by Italy. Midfielder Giorgio Ferrini, caught up in a tangle while trying to gain control of the ball, grew frustrated and kicked out at Chilean forward Honorino Landa, prompting Ferrini's own quick ejection after only five minutes. He refused to leave and had to be dragged off the pitch by policemen. During the confusion, Italian forward Humberto Maschio appeared to punch Leonel Sánchez in the face.

Sánchez later punched defender Mario David in the face, but was not booked. David retaliated with a flying kick to Sánchez's head that did result in an expulsion, bringing Italy down to nine men in the 41st minute. Sánchez again escaped punishment after punching Maschio in the face, leaving him with a bloody nose.

Fights continued to break out across the pitch as Chile used their two-man advantage to win 2-0 with goals from Jaime Ramírez (73') and Jorge Toro (87'). BBC commentator David Coleman later described the match as "the most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football, possibly in the history of the game."

Although Italy won their next game, it was not enough to get them into the next round. Chile, meanwhile, advanced to the semifinals before losing to Brazil, then won the third-place match against Yugoslavia.

17 April 1990 - Bologna's Attacking Angel

On 17 April 1990, Bologna's all-time leading goalscorer and 1934 World Cup hero Angelo Schiavio passed away. He was 84 years old.

Schiavio spent his entire career with Bologna, joining them in 1922 at the age of 16. Although he made only six appearances in that first season, he soon established himself as an important member of the first time. In just his third season, Bologna won their first league title, with Schiavio providing 16 goals in 27 matches. They repeated as champions in 1929, getting 30 goals from Schiavio in just 26 games.

He made his national team debut for Italy in 1925 and was the team's top scorer in their bronze-medal winning 1928 Olympic campaign with four goals.

Italy did not participate in the 1930 World Cup, but hosted the second tournament in 1934. There, Schiavio scored a hat-trick in their opening match against the United States, which Italy won 7-1. He did not score again in that tournament until the final, when his 95th-minute strike put Italy ahead of Czechoslovakia 2-1 and captured the trophy. It was the last of his 15 international goals.

He retired in 1938, having scored a club-record 242 goals for Bologna.