27 December 1966 - The Death Of Guillermo Stábile

On 27 December 1966, Argentina star player and manager Guillermo Stábile died at the age of 61.

A center forward, he joined Huracán as a youth player in 1920, then played there professionally from 1924 to 1930. In that time, he scored 102 goals in 119 appearances, winning the Primera División title in 1925 and 1928.

In the summer of 1930, he participated in the inaugural World Cup, getting his first cap against Mexico in Argentina's second match of the tournament. He scored a hat-trick en route to a 6-3 victory, followed by a brace in the next game against Chile as Argentina topped their group. He scored two more against the United States in the semifinals, then netted in the final against Uruguay. Although Argentina lost that match 4-2, Stábile's eight goals made him the tournament's top scorer.

His performance attracted the attention of Genoa, where he played from 1930-34 before moving to Napoli for the 1934-35 season. he returned to Genoa briefly in 1935, then closed out his playing career with Red Star Paris, serving as player-manager from 1937 to 1939 when he left to manage Argentina.

As manager, he guided the national team to six South American Championships between 1941 and 1957 and the Panamerican Championship in 1960. While in charge there, he also took the reins of several different clubs, including San Lorenzo (1939-40), Estudiantes de la Plata (1940-41), Hurancán (1940-49), and finally Racing Club (1949-60), whom he led to three league titles.

In 1960, he stepped down to become the director of Argentina's national school of football, holding that post until his death in 1966.

13 December 2009 - The Title Nobody Wanted

On 13 December 2009, Banfield won Argentina's Torneo Apertura despite losing 2-0 to Boca Juniors. It was the first national honor in the club's 114-year history.

Banfield--founded in January 1896 by English expatriates in the Argentine city of the same name--entered the Apertura's last weekend with a 2-point lead over second-place Newell's Old Boys. Of their 18 previous matches, Banfield had won 12, drawn 5, and lost only 1, an impressive record due largely to the presence of their Uruguayan striker, Santiago Silva, who had racked up a league-best 14 goals. A win against Boca Juniors would secure the title, while a draw would guarantee at least a play-off.

Newell's Old Boys, meanwhile, had a potent Uruguayan striker of their own in Joaquín Boghossian, whose 11 league goals made him the third-best scorer. They were home to San Lorenzo and needed a win to have any hope of claiming what would have been their sixth title.

As a riveted public watched the two matches sharing a split screen on Argentina television, but to an anticlimactic conclusion. Both title challengers fell with identical 2-0 scorelines, keeping Banfield at the top of the table for their first national title.