20 January 2010 - Apparently, You Don't Need To Shoot To Score

On 20 January 2010, Monaco secured an away victory at PSG despite not having a single shot on goal.

Playing before a crowd of 36,000 at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain were suffering through a poor run of form that dropped them down into tenth place in the table after losing two of their last three in the league. They had also just been eliminated from the Coupe de la Ligue by Ligue 2 side Guingamp. Monaco, meanwhile, had climbed to fifth after going unbeaten in their previous five league matches.

Still, PSG started as the stronger of the two teams on the day and had several early chances denied by the woodwork and a handful of fine saves from Monaco keeper Stephane Ruffier. Ruffier continued his excellent play in the second half to again deny a couple of PSG shots when disaster struck for the hosts. Monaco midfielder Eduardo Costa sent an innocuous cross into the box only to see it deflect into the goal off the leg of PSG keeper Apoula Edel. It turned out to be the only goal of he match.

By the final whistle, Monaco had managed to take 10 shots, but not a single one on goal. PSG, on the other hand, put nine of their 19 shots on frame, but all nine failed to get past Ruffier. But they got their revenge later that May, beating Monaco 1-0 in the Coupe de France Final.

28 January 2002 - Weah Has The Time Gone?

On 28 January 2002, former FIFA World Player of the Year George Weah ended his 19-year international career as Liberia bowed out of the African Cup of Nations.

Weah, considered my many to be the greatest player Africa has ever produced, was born in Monrovia in 1966. After starring for a handful of African sides, including Mighty Barolle, Invincible Eleven, Africa Sports, and Tonnerre Yaoundé, he joined the Liberian national team in 1988, the same year he moved to Europe to play for Arsène Wenger's Monaco side.

For the next 12 seasons, Weah established himself as one of the world's best strikers, playing for Monaco (1988-92), PSG (1992-95), and AC Milan (1995-2000). In 1995, he won a league and cup double with PSG, while taking them to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League as the tournament's top scorer. That year's performance earned him several individual awards, including the FIFA World Player of the Year, the Ballon d'Or, and his third African Footballer of the Year award (the previous two came in 1989 and 1994).

Despite his success at the club level, however, Weah never replicated it with Liberia. Like his namesake George Best, he is one of the most famous players never to appear at the World Cup--the closest he came was in 2002, when Liberia fell one point shy of qualification. His appearance on 28 January 2002 was his 60th for Liberia, who were eliminated from the Cup of Nations that day after falling to Nigeria, 0-1.

Weah retired in 2003 after playing for a series of different clubs including Chelsea (2000), Manchester City (2000), Marseille (2000-01), and Al-Jazira (2001-03). Afterward, he moved into politics, making an unsuccessful run for the Liberian presidency in 2005, followed by a successful campaign for the Liberian Senate in 2014.

17 August 1977 - Baby Bleu

On 17 August 1977, Thierry Henry was born in the Paris suburb of Les Ulis, Essonne. He would go on to be named a five-time French Player of the Year while also becoming the French national team's greatest goalscorer.

Henry made his professional start in 1994 with AS Monaco, after being brought in as a youth player by then-manager Arsène Wenger. He helped Monaco win Ligue 1 in 1997, then advanced to the Champions League semi-final in 1998. He left Monaco in January 1999, transferring to Juventus for £10.5 million, but failed to settle in Italy and moved to Arsenal seven months later, where he was reunited with Wenger.

At Arsenal, Henry blossomed into a world-class striker, winning the Premier League's Golden Boot in four different seasons. He also helped Arsenal win two League titles and three FA Cups. In 2006, Henry and Arsenal advanced to the Champions League Final, losing 2-1 to Barcelona. He moved to Barcelona in 2007, where he eventually won the Champions League in 2009.

Henry earned his first cap for France in 1997 and won the World Cup the following year. Before his international retirement in 2010, he scored a record 51 goals in 123 appearances for Les Bleus.

Henry moved to the United States in 2010 and played for the New York Red Bulls until his retirement in 2014.

18 November 2003 - DC Likes 'Em Young

On 18 November 2003, DC United signed United States U-17 international Freddy Adu to his first professional contract, making the 14-year, 169-day old Adu the youngest athlete to sign a professional contract for a team sport in the United States in over 100 years.

Born in Ghana in 1989, Adu emigrated to the United States in 1997, becoming a US citizen in 2003. While growing up in Maryland, he quickly displayed a talent for the game. As a 10-year old, he played with the US U-14 squad and began to draw attention from noted clubs including Inter Milan and Manchester United. In January 2002, he joined the US Soccer Federation's U-17 residential program at the IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

Despite the interest from Europe, Adu and his family decided he should stay close to home with MLS and DC United. He made his first appearance for DC as a second-half substitute in their season opener on 3 April 2004. He played in all 30 regular season matches, finishing with five goals and three assists, and also helped DC to the 2004 MLS Cup.

Though moderately successful, Adu's time in DC was marred by complaints over playing time and positioning and, in December 2006, he moved to Real Salt Lake. He has since changed clubs a number of times, including a stint at Benfica and loan spells with Monaco and Belenenses.

Before signing Adu, DC United had previously signed the league's youngest players in Bobby Convey (2000) and Santino Quaranta (2001), both of whom were 16 at the time they signed.

5 November 2003 - This One Goes To Eleven

On 5 November 2003, Monaco defeated Deportivo de La Coruña 8-3 in a Champions League group stage match at Stade Louis II. It remains the highest-scoring match in the tournament since the Champions League began in 1992.

Deportivo won the earlier meeting on 21 October by the narrow margin of 1-0 thanks to an 83rd minute goal from striker Diego Tristán. The rematch, however, was decided much earlier. The Spanish side fell behind 4-0 in the first half hour due to goals from Monaco midfielders Jérôme Rothen (2') and Ludovic Giuly (11'), plus a brace from striker Miladin "Dado" Pršo (pictured) (25', 29'), who was celebrating his 29th birthday. Tristán (39') and wingback Lionel Scaloni (44') pulled Deportivo within two just before the break, but left enough time for Pršo to complete his birthday hat-trick in the second minute of stoppage time.

At the half, Deportivo substituted goalkeepers, replacing José Molina with Gustavo Munua, but the change proved ineffective. Monaco kept applying the pressure with a 47th-minute goal from midfielder Jaroslav Plašil. Pršo added his fourth two minutes later, to stretch the lead to 7-2. Tristán scored his second in the 52nd minute, but Monaco midfielder Édouard Cissé found the net in the 67th minute to restore the 5-goal lead.

Monaco drew their final two group stage matches, but finished at the top of Group C and advanced to the Final, where they lost to Porto. Deportivo finished second in the group and were eliminated in the semi-finals, also by Porto.

1 October 1996 - With That Name, He Had To End Up There Sooner Or Later

On 1 October 1996, Arsène Wenger officially took charge as manager of Arsenal. He would go on to become recognized as one of the best managers in football, becoming the first (and to date only) non-British manager to win the English Double and the first Premier League manager to go a full season undefeated.

Wenger was born in Strasbourg, France on 22 October 1949. He enjoyed a brief and undistinguished playing career as a sweeper for FC Mulhouse (1973-75), ASPV Strasbourg (1975-78), and RC Strasbourg (1978-81) before moving into management as an assistant with AS Cannes in 1983.

He received his first full mangerial position with Ligue 1 side AS Nancy in 1984. He stayed there for only three seasons, the last of which ended with the club being relegated to Ligue 2. In 1987, he moved to AS Monaco, where he earned his first managerial honors, winning Ligue 1 in his first season. His Monaco side also won the Coupe de France in 1991.

Wenger left Monaco in 1994 after the club's board denied him permission to speak with Bayern Munich about their managerial vacancy. In 1995, he went to Japan to manage Nagoya Grampus Eight and in 1996 his side won both the Emperor's Cup and the J-League Super Cup.

He moved to Arsenal in 1996 after the London club sacked previous manager Bruce Rioch. His first match in charge was a 2-0 Premier League away win over Blackburn Rovers on 12 October 1996. Arsenal finished in third place that season, but secured Wenger's record-setting Double the following season, winning both the Premier League and the FA Cup in his first full season in charge.

He won a second Double in the 2001-02 season, then won the league again in 2003-04 without losing a match.

4 April 1991 - The Robins Find Their Batman

On 4 April 1991, former Tottenham star midfielder Glenn Hoddle (pictured second from the right) was appointed player-manager of Division Two side Swindon Town F.C. 

Prior to his term with Swindon, he had just finished a successful four-year term at AS Monaco in France playing under Arsene Wenger. (He spent a month with Chelsea in the interim, but made no senior appearances for the Blues before taking the post with the Robins).

Swindon Town was Hoddle's first managerial appointment. At the time he took charge, the Robins were 17th in the Division 2 table and in danger of relegation. Hoddle kept them up, but just barely, taking only 7 points of the 24 available during the remainder of the season and finishing in 21st place, only two points above the drop zone.

Under Hoddle, the Robins finished in 8th place the following season. The improvement continued in the 1992-93 season, when Swindon reached the playoffs and earned promotion to England's top flight, the recently-established Premier League.

Hoddle went on to manage Chelsea from 1993-96 (as player-manager from 1993-95, and solely as manager in 1996), then England from 1996-99. His tenure with English national team was controversial, despite qualifying for the 1998 World Cup, where England lost to Argentina on penalties in the second round in a match famous for David Beckham being sent off in the 47th minute. Hoddle was dimissed from the English side in 1999 after giving an interview with the Times in which he suggested that physical disabilities were the result of bad karma "from another lifetime."

Hoddle returned to management with Southampton (2001-01), Tottenham Hotspur (2001-03), and Wolverhampton Wanderers (2004-06), but has since retired from management.

In 2008, he established the Glenn Hoddle Academy in Jerez, Spain to aid former Premier League and Football League Championship players in their efforts to return to professional football.

13 February 1979 - Márquez Gets Off The Mark

On 13 February 1979, Rafael Márquez was born in Zamora and went on to make over 100 appearances for Mexico.

Originally a center back, Márquez started his professional career with Atlas in 1996, making 77 appearances in Mexico's Primera División over three years and helping them reach the final of the 1999 Verano tournament. His performances for Los Zorros attracted the interest of Monaco, who then signed him for a fee of €7 million.

In his first season with Monaco, he made a total of 31 appearances and won the Ligue 1 title. He stayed there for three more years, then moved to Barcelona in 2003. In seven seasons there, playing as a defensive midfielder, he won four league titles and became the first Mexican player to lift the Champions League trophy, winning it in 2006 and 2009.

He followed Barcelona with a difficult three-year spell in New York and, in 2013, returned to Mexico to play for León.

Along the way, he earned 115 caps with Mexico, twice winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup (2003, 2011) and one Confederations Cup (1999).

1 October 1966 - George Leads The Weah

On 1 October 1966, Liberian striker George Weah, the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year, was born in Monrovia.

He started his professional career in 1985 and spent his first three years with four different clubs in Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, and Cameroon before Monaco manager Arsène Wenger signed him in 1988. After three successful seasons there (47 goals in 103 league appearances), he moved to Paris Saint-Germain for another three-year spell.

In his final season at PSG, he was the top scorer of the 1994-95 Champions League, where his seven goals helped them reach the semifinals before losing to AC Milan. He then moved to Milan that summer. His combined performances for PSG and Milan that year won him both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award--he remains the only African player to win either of them.

Milan proved to be the longest stop of his career. He was there for four and a half seasons and won two league titles before moving to Chelsea on loan in 2000. Short spells with Manchester City, Marseille, and Al-Jazira followed, then he retired in 2003.

Since then, he has become involved in Liberian politics, running for president in 2005 and vice-president in 2011, though both campaigns were unsuccessful.



 

12 July 1973 - He Must Have Lived In An RV

On 12 July 1973, Italian striker Christian Vieri--who set a world transfer fee record in 1999--was born in Bologna.

In a career that spanned from 1991 to 2009, Vieri played for thirteen different teams in Italy, Spain, and France (technically, Monaco, but in the French league), generally staying no more than a single season at each one. The lone exceptions were Torino, where he made nine appearances in his first two seasons as a professional, and Inter, where he remained for an unprecedented six seasons, making 190 appearances and scoring 123 goals.

After winning the La Liga scoring title with Atlético Madrid in 1997-98, he moved to Lazio and won the 1999 Cup Winners' Cup. That attracted the interest of Inter president Massimo Moratti, who paid a then-record £32MM for his services. (Coincidentally, it was Lazio who broke the record in 2000 by giving £35.5 MM to Parma for Hernán Crespo).

He left Inter for Milan in 2005, but suffered a knee injury shortly afterward and made only 14 appearances before moving to Monaco in early 2006. He finished his career with Atalanta in 2009, having played there before in two different spells.

20 January 2010 - Apparently, You Don't Need To Shoot To Score

On 20 January 2010, Monaco secured an away victory at PSG despite not having a single shot on goal.

Playing before a crowd of 36,000 at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain were suffering through a poor run of form that dropped them down into tenth place in the table after losing two of their last three in the league. They had also just been eliminated from the Coupe de la Ligue by Ligue 2 side Guingamp. Monaco, meanwhile, had climbed to fifth after going unbeaten in their previous five league matches.

Still, PSG started as the stronger of the two teams on the day and had several early chances denied by the woodwork and a handful of fine saves from Monaco keeper Stephane Ruffier. Ruffier continued his excellent play in the second half to again deny a couple of PSG shots when disaster struck for the hosts. Monaco midfielder Eduardo Costa sent an innocuous cross into the box only to see it deflect into the goal off the leg of PSG keeper Apoula Edel. It turned out to be the only goal of he match.

By the final whistle, Monaco had managed to take 10 shots, but not a single one on goal. PSG, on the other hand, put nine of their 19 shots on frame, but all nine failed to get past Ruffier. But they got their revenge later that May, beating Monaco 1-0 in the Coupe de France Final.

28 January 2002 - Weah Has The Time Gone?

On 28 January 2002, former FIFA World Player of the Year George Weah ended his 19-year international career as Liberia bowed out of the African Cup of Nations.

Weah, considered my many to be the greatest player Africa has ever produced, was born in Monrovia in 1966. After starring for a handful of African sides, including Mighty Barolle, Invincible Eleven, Africa Sports, and Tonnerre Yaoundé, he joined the Liberian national team in 1988, the same year he moved to Europe to play for Arsène Wenger's Monaco side.

For the next 12 seasons, Weah established himself as one of the world's best strikers, playing for Monaco (1988-92), PSG (1992-95), and AC Milan (1995-2000). In 1995, he won a league and cup double with PSG, while taking them to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League as the tournament's top scorer. That year's performance earned him several individual awards, including the FIFA World Player of the Year, the Ballon d'Or, and his third African Footballer of the Year award (the previous two came in 1989 and 1994).

Despite his success at the club level, however, Weah never replicated it with Liberia. Like his namesake George Best, he is one of the most famous players never to appear at the World Cup--the closest he came was in 2002, when Liberia fell one point shy of qualification. His appearance on 28 January 2002 was his 60th for Liberia, who were eliminated from the Cup of Nations that day after falling to Nigeria, 0-1.

Weah retired in 2003 after playing for a series of different clubs including Chelsea (2000), Manchester City (2000), Marseille (2000-01), and Al-Jazira (2001-03). Afterward, he moved into politics, making an unsuccessful run for the Liberian presidency in 2005. He remains politically active, recently announcing his intention to stage another Presidential campaign in 2011.

17 August 1977 - Baby Bleu

On 17 August 1977, Thierry Henry was born in the Paris suburb of Les Ulis, Essonne. He would go on to be named a five-time French Player of the Year while also becoming the French national team's greatest goalscorer.

Henry made his professional start in 1994 with AS Monaco, after being brought in as a youth player by then-manager Arsène Wenger. He helped Monaco win Ligue 1 in 1997, then advanced to the Champions League semi-final in 1998. He left Monaco in January 1999, transferring to Juventus for £10.5 million, but failed to settle in Italy and moved to Arsenal seven months later, where he was reunited with Wenger.

At Arsenal, Henry blossomed into a world-class striker, winning the Premier League's Golden Boot in four different seasons. He also helped Arsenal win two League titles and three FA Cups. In 2006, Henry and Arsenal advanced to the Champions League Final, losing 2-1 to Barcelona. He moved to Barcelona in 2007, where he eventually won the Champions League in 2009.

Henry earned his first cap for France in 1997 and won the World Cup the following year. Before his international retirement in 2010, he scored a record 51 goals in 123 appearances for Les Bleus.

Henry recently moved to the United States and currently plays for the New York Red Bulls.

18 November 2003 - DC Likes 'Em Young

On 18 November 2003, DC United signed United States U-17 international Freddy Adu to his first professional contract, making the 14-year, 169-day old Adu the youngest athlete to sign a professional contract for a team sport in the United States in over 100 years.

Born in Ghana in 1989, Adu emigrated to the United States in 1997, becoming a US citizen in 2003. While growing up in Maryland, he quickly displayed a talent for the game. As a 10-year old, he played with the US U-14 squad and began to draw attention from noted clubs including Inter Milan and Manchester United. In January 2002, he joined the US Soccer Federation's U-17 residential program at the IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

Despite the interest from Europe, Adu and his family decided he should stay close to home with MLS and DC United. He made his first appearance for DC as a second-half substitute in their season opener on 3 April 2004. He played in all 30 regular season matches, finishing with five goals and three assists, and also helped DC to the 2004 MLS Cup.

Though moderately successful, Adu's time in DC was marred by complaints over playing time and positioning and, in December 2006, he moved to Real Salt Lake. He has since changed clubs a number of times, including stints at Benfica, who currently hold his contract, and loan spells with Monaco and current club Belenenses.

Before signing Adu, DC United had previously signed the league's youngest players in Bobby Convey (2000) and Santino Quaranta (2001), both of whom were 16 at the time they signed.

5 November 2003 - This One Goes To Eleven

On 5 November 2003, Monaco defeated Deportivo de La Coruña 8-3 in a Champions League group stage match at Stade Louis II. It remains the highest-scoring match in the tournament since the Champions League began in 1992.

Deportivo won the earlier meeting on 21 October by the narrow margin of 1-0 thanks to an 83rd minute goal from striker Diego Tristán. The rematch, however, was decided much earlier. The Spanish side fell behind 4-0 in the first half hour due to goals from Monaco midfielders Jérôme Rothen (2') and Ludovic Giuly (11'), plus a brace from striker Miladin "Dado" Pršo (pictured) (25', 29'), who was celebrating his 29th birthday. Tristán (39') and wingback Lionel Scaloni (44') pulled Deportivo within two just before the break, but left enough time for Pršo to complete his birthday hat-trick in the second minute of stoppage time.

At the half, Deportivo substituted goalkeepers, replacing José Molina with Gustavo Munua, but the change proved ineffective. Monaco kept applying the pressure with a 47th-minute goal from midfielder Jaroslav Plašil. Pršo added his fourth two minutes later, to stretch the lead to 7-2. Tristán scored his second in the 52nd minute, but Monaco midfielder Édouard Cissé found the net in the 67th minute to restore the 5-goal lead.

Monaco drew their final two group stage matches, but finished at the top of Group C and advanced to the Final, where they lost to Porto. Deportivo finished second in the group and were eliminated in the semi-finals, also by Porto.

1 October 1996 - With That Name, He Had To End Up There Sooner Or Later

On 1 October 1996, Arsène Wenger officially took charge as manager of Arsenal. He would go on to become recognized as one of the best managers in football, becoming the first (and to date only) non-British manager to win the English Double and the first Premier League manager to go a full season undefeated.

Wenger was born in Strasbourg, France on 22 October 1949. He enjoyed a brief and undistinguished playing career as a sweeper for FC Mulhouse (1973-75), ASPV Strasbourg (1975-78), and RC Strasbourg (1978-81) before moving into management as an assistant with AS Cannes in 1983.

He received his first full mangerial position with Ligue 1 side AS Nancy in 1984. He stayed there for only three seasons, the last of which ended with the club being relegated to Ligue 2. In 1987, he moved to AS Monaco, where he earned his first managerial honors, winning Ligue 1 in his first season. His Monaco side also won the Coupe de France in 1991.

Wenger left Monaco in 1994 after the club's board denied him permission to speak with Bayern Munich about their managerial vacancy. In 1995, he went to Japan to manage Nagoya Grampus Eight and in 1996 his side won both the Emperor's Cup and the J-League Super Cup.

He moved to Arsenal in 1996 after the London club sacked previous manager Bruce Rioch. His first match in charge was a 2-0 Premier League away win over Blackburn Rovers on 12 October 1996. Arsenal finished in third place that season, but secured Wenger's record-setting Double the following season, winning both the Premier League and the FA Cup in his first full season in charge.

He won a second Double in the 2001-02 season, then won the league again in 2003-04 without losing a match.

17 April 2004 - Adu A-Does It

On 17 April 2004, D.C. United's Freddy Adu became the youngest goalscorer in MLS history before a crowd of 31,419 at New York's Giants Stadium.

At 14 years, 320 days, the Ghanian-born U.S. international entered the match in the 54th minute, replacing Alecko Eskandarian. D.C. was trailing 3-1 when Adu put a six-yard shot past Metrostars goalkeeper Jonny Walker in the 75th minute. That was the last goal of the match, however, which ended 3-2 in favor of the MetroStars.

Despite the loss, D.C. went on to win the MLS Cup that year, with Eskandarian claiming the honors for the league's Most Valuable Player.

Adu stayed with United through the 2005-06 season, making a total of 87 appearances and scoring 11 goals. He then transferred to Real Salt Lake for the 2006-07 season, before moving on the Portuguese side Benfica. He is currently on loan with A.S. Monaco.

Photo copyrighted by Bill Kostroun - AP.

4 April 1991 - The Robins Find Their Batman

On 4 April 1991, Glenn Hoddle (pictured second from the right) was appointed player-manager of Division Two side Swindon Town F.C. A former star midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, where he had made 377 appearances (88 goals) between 1975-87, Hoddle was a skillful and creative player.

Prior to his term with Swindon, he had just finished a successful four-year term at AS Monaco in France playing under Arsene Wenger. (He spent a month with Chelsea in the interim, but made no senior appearances for the Blues before taking the post with the Robins).

Swindon Town was Hoddle's first managerial appointment. At the time he took charge, the Robins were 17th in the Division 2 table and in danger of relegation. Hoddle kept them up, but just barely, taking only 7 points of the 24 available during the remainder of the season and finishing in 21st place, only two points above the drop zone.

Under Hoddle, the Robins finished in 8th place the following season. The improvement continued in the 1992-93 season, when Swindon reached the playoffs and earned promotion to England's top flight, the recently-established Premier League.

Hoddle went on to manage Chelsea from 1993-96 (as player-manager from 1993-95, and solely as manager in 1996), then England from 1996-99. His tenure with English national team was controversial, despite qualifying for the 1998 World Cup, where England lost to Argentina on penalties in the second round in a match famous for David Beckham being sent off in the 47th minute. Hoddle was dimissed from the English side in 1999 after giving an interview with the Times in which he suggested that physical disabilities were the result of bad karma "from another lifetime."

Hoddle returned to management with Southampton (2001-01), Tottenham Hotspur (2001-03), and Wolverhampton Wanderers (2004-06), but has since retired from management.

In 2008, he established the Glenn Hoddle Academy in Jerez, Spain to aid former Premier League and Football League Championship players in their efforts to return to professional football.