21 July 1970 - At Least They Didn't Go Home Empty-Handed

On 21 July 1970, FIFA awarded the inaugural Fair Play Trophy to Peru for not receiving a single card during the World Cup.

The tournament was Peru's first World Cup since 1930, when they lost both of their matches. They did better in 1970, beating Bulgaria and Morocco before losing to West Germany in their final group-stage match. That was enough to send them into the quarterfinals, where they lost to Brazil on 14 June.

The tournament ended on 21 June with Brazil beating Italy in the final. Later that day, as part of the awards ceremony, FIFA recognized Peru's spotless disciplinary record with a new honor called the Fair Play Trophy.

Since then, the trophy has been awarded at every World Cup, given to the team with the fewest cards. Spain won the most recent Fair Play Trophy in 2010. In addition to a trophy, the winners get a certificate, a medal for each player and team official, and $50,000 worth of equipment for their youth programs.

4 July 1926 - The Blonde Arrow Is Loosed

On 4 July 1926, two-time Ballon d'Or winner and five-time La Liga top scorer Alfredo di Stéfano was born in Buenos Aires.

Nicknamed "the Blonde Arrow," di Stéfano's twenty-one year professional career saw him win league trophies and scoring titles in three different countries. He debuted with River Plate in 1945 and won the league in his first season, followed by a second in 1947 when he was also the Primera División's top scorer. In 1949, Millonarios lured him to Colombia, where he added another three league championships (1949, 1951, 1952) and two scoring titles (1951, 1952) to his list of accomplishments.

In 1953, he moved across the Atlantic to play for Real Madrid (he had intended to sign for Barcelona, but a stall in contract negotiations allowed Real Madrid to steal him away in a move that intensified the already heated rivalry between the two clubs). There, he reached his greatest heights, winning five consecutive European Cups along with eight La Liga titles between 1954 and 1964. By the time he left, he was the club's all-time top scorer, with 305 goals in 392 appearances in all competitions (he currently sits in second, behind Raúl, who has 323). He also won the Ballon d'Or in 1957 and 1959.

He played two seasons for Espanyol before retiring in 1966, then moved into management, including multiple spells in charge of Boca Juniors, Valencia, and Real Madrid before his full retirement in 1991.

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.

27 June 1977 - The Rise Of Raúl

On 27 June 1977, Raúl González was born in Madrid. He went on to become Real Madrid's all-time leader in goals and appearances.

The striker joined the club's youth squad in 1992 after spells at San Cristobal (1987-90) and Atlético Madrid (1990-92) and made his professional debut with the first team on 29 October 1994. Only 17 years and 124 days old at the time, he set his first club record as the youngest player to appear for the club (though it was broken later that season). He made a total of 30 appearances that season, scoring 10 goals.

It was a sign of things to come; over the next fifteen seasons, Raúl made a total of 741 appearances and scored 323 goals, both club records. Along the way, he won six league titles, three Champions League trophies, and two Intercontinental Cups. He also twice won the Pichichi as La Liga's top scorer.

(He was also once Spain's top scorer, with 44 goals in 106 caps between 1996 and 2006, but David Villa has since overtaken him.)

In 2010, with age and injury combining to diminish his role in Madrid, Raúl left for Schalke, where he spent two successful seasons, including winning the German Cup in 2011. He currently plays for Qatari club Al Sadd.

16 June 2010 - But It's Not How You Start, It's How You Finish That Matters

On 16 June 2010, Spain started the World Cup with a shocking 1-0 loss to Switzerland. But it turned out to be their only loss of the tournament.

The reigning European champions, Spain carried a lot of expectations into the World Cup, with many people considering them the heavy favorites to win the tournament. Few thought that Switzerland would present much of a challenge to them, even though they had advanced to the Round of 16 in 2006 and won their qualification group.

But when the two teams met in Durban, the Swiss provided one of the tournament's biggest upsets. Although Spain dominated possession (67% to 33%) and outshot Switzerland 22 to 6, the day's only goal came from Swiss midfielder Gelson Fernandes (pictured) in the 52nd minute, when he reached the ball after a goalmouth scramble and fired it home just before Spanish keeper Iker Casillas could knock it away.

Not content to sit on their lead, Switzerland pressed forward and almost doubled their lead with a shot that hit the post. Spain, meanwhile, almost found an equalizer, but were denied by the bar.The 1-0 final was Switzerland's first-ever win over Spain.

Spain apparently took the loss as a wake-up call, going on to win every one of their remaining matches to lift the cup, while Switzerland followed the victory with a draw and a loss to exit the tournament at the end of the group stage.

14 June 2012 - Death By (Almost) A Thousand Passes

On 14 June 2012, Spain beat Ireland in the European Championship by the score of 4-0. And that wasn't even the most impressive stat.

It was the second match for both teams in Group C, with Spain, the defending European and World Cup champions, having drawn their first game with Italy and Ireland losing their first one to Croatia. They met at the PGE Arena in Gdánsk, where Spain wasted little time in setting the tone, taking a 1-0 lead with a goal from Fernando Torres in the 4th minute. Ireland managed to stem the tide for a while, but David Silva doubled the lead in the 49th minute, then Torres (70') and Cesc Fàbregas (83') completed the rout.

Spain's domination was reflected in the statistics, including possession (78% to Ireland's 22%) and shots (27 to 5, with 22 and 4 being on goal). But the most telling number was Spain's 859 passes--the most of any match in European Championship history. Xavi provided 136 of those, setting an individual Euro record.

The win sent Spain to the top of the group and they eventually reached the final, where they beat Italy 4-0 to repeat as champions.

15 May 1929 - The New World Order Begins Now

On 15 May 1929, England suffered their first defeat to a team from outside the British Isles, losing to Spain 4-3 in Madrid.

Since their first official international in 1872, England spent the next 36 years playing only Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. That changed in June 1908, when they played a pair of matches against Austria, winning 6-1 and 11-1. They followed that with another 20 matches against Continental competition and won all but one, a 2-2 draw with Belgium in November 1923.

Spain, meanwhile, played their first match in 1920 and struggled for the first few years. But in the months leading up to their meeting with England, they had notched a pair of impressive victories, beating Portugal 5-0 and France 8-1.

The two teams met in Madrid for the friendly, where England looked likely to continue their dominance, taking a 2-0 lead with both goals coming from West Brom's Joe Carter (19', 22'). Spain, however, powered back to level with strikes from Gaspar Rubio and Jaime Lazcano (reports conflict as to the timing of those goals).

England reclaimed the lead through Joe Bradford, but Lazcano (pictured) again equalized just a few minutes from the final whistle, prompting a mini pitch invasion by the home supporters. Then one minute later, amateur Severino Goiburu put Spain ahead for the first time and they held the lead for the 4-3 victory.

30 March 1986 - Ramos Arrives

On 30 March 1986, Real Madrid back and reigning La Liga Best Defender Sergio Ramos was born in Sevilla.

He started his professional career with Sevilla's B team in 2003 and joined the first team the following year, making 39 appearances. His strong performance that season led to him being named the 2005 La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year and attracted the interest of Real Madrid, who signed the then-19-year old center back that summer for €27M (funded in part by the €20M sale of forward Michael Owen to Newcastle).

Despite joining a team full of Galácticos, Ramos jumped right into the starting line-up, with more than thirty league appearances in each full season since moving to Madrid. There, he won back-to-back La Liga titles in 2007 and 2008, as well as the 2011 Copa del Rey.

He has also enjoyed success with Spain, winning two European Championships around the 2010 World Cup in which he started every match.

5 July 1953 - The Rarest Of Hat-Tricks

On 5 July 1953, László Kubala made his first appearance for Spain, despite having already played for both Czechoslovakia and Hungary.

A support striker, Kubala was born in Hungary and started his career there with Ganz TE (1944) and Ferencváros (1945-46). In 1946, he moved to Czechoslovakia to play for Slova Bratislava. While there, he got his first cap, appearing for Czechoslovakia in a 3-4 win over Austria in October 1946. It was the first of six matches he played for them in 1946 and 1947.

But in 1948, he returned to Hungary to play for Vasas and made three appearances for the Hungarian international team that year.

He left Hungary in 1949 after it became a Communist state and eventually arrived in Spain, along with a number of other Eastern European refugees. He signed with Barcelona in 1951 and remained there for ten years. After obtaining Spanish citizenship, Kubala made his debut for Spain in a 1-0 loss to Argentina. He proceeded to earn a total of nineteen caps through 1961 and later managed the team from 1969 to 1980.