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.

29 April 1996 - The Return Of The Kaiser (Again)

On 29 April 1996, Franz ("Der Kaiser") Beckenbauer returned to Bayern Munich for a second stint as manager and collected another piece of silverware in his two months in charge.

Beckenbauer, who won four league titles and three European Cups with Bayern from 1964 to 1977, originally returned to the club for the second half of the 1993-94 season. After lifting them to the 1994 Bundesliga title, he stepped aside as manager, handing the reins to Giovanni Trapattoni. Beckenbauer remained with the club as president.

Otto Rehhagel was their manager for the 1995-96 season, but despite some success on the pitch, he had a difficult relationship with the team's players, who considered his tactics and style to be too old-fashioned. Bayern cut ties with him in April 1996, just as the team was preparing to contest the UEFA Cup Final.

Once more, they turned to Beckenbauer, who took over for the last two months of the season. His first match in charge was the UEFA Cup Final, which ended as a 2-0 victory over Bordeaux. Bayern proceeded to win one and draw one of their last four matches to secure a second-place spot in the Bundesliga. Beckenbauer stepped down once again, and once again turned the club over to Trapattoni.

21 September 2010 - Maybe There Was Something To That Conspiracy Theory After All

On 21 September 2010, former World Cup referee Byron Moreno was arrested in New York with ten pounds of heroin in his underwear.

Moreno had already become infamous for his performance at the 2002 World Cup when he refereed the Round of 16 meeting between Italy and co-hosts South Korea. The Koreans won the match in part due to several questionable calls that included Moreno's awarding them a controversial penalty, disallowing an Italian goal that would have won the game, and ejecting Francesco Totti with a second yellow card for diving. Afterward, both Totti and Italy manager Giovanni Trapattoni claimed that FIFA had rigged the match to ensure that South Korea reached the quarterfinals as a reward for co-hosting the tournament.

Although FIFA denied any impropriety and took no action against Moreno at that time, they issued a 20-game suspension later that year after he impacted the result in an Ecuadorian match by improperly extending stoppage time, then falsifying the information in his official report. In May 2003, shortly after his return from suspension, he retired.

Then, in 2010, after arriving at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport from Ecuador, he was arrested when authorities found several bags of heroin stuffed down his pants. He pleaded guilty to smuggling charges and received a prison sentence of two and a half years.

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.

29 April 1996 - The Return Of The Kaiser (Again)

On 29 April 1996, Franz ("Der Kaiser") Beckenbauer returned to Bayern Munich for a second stint as manager and collected another piece of silverware in his two months in charge.

Beckenbauer, who won four league titles and three European Cups with Bayern from 1964 to 1977, originally returned to the club for the second half of the 1993-94 season. After lifting them to the 1994 Bundesliga title, he stepped aside as manager, handing the reins to Giovanni Trapattoni. Beckenbauer remained with the club as president.

Otto Rehhagel was their manager for the 1995-96 season, but despite some success on the pitch, he had a difficult relationship with the team's players, who considered his tactics and style to be too old-fashioned. Bayern cut ties with him in April 1996, just as the team was preparing to contest the UEFA Cup Final.

Once more, they turned to Beckenbauer, who took over for the last two months of the season. His first match in charge was the UEFA Cup Final, which ended as a 2-0 victory over Bordeaux. Bayern proceeded to win one and draw one of their last four matches to secure a second-place spot in the Bundesliga. Beckenbauer stepped down once again, and once again turned the club over to Trapattoni.