24 December 2010 - Leonardo Crosses Milan's Version Of The Rubicon

On 24 December 2010, Inter announced their new manager, taking former Milan hero Leonardo away from their rival club.

A World-Cup winning Brazilian international, Leonardo made 119 appearances for Milan from 1997 to 2001, then another five in the 2002-03 before calling an end to his playing career. While there, he won the 1999 Scudetto and the 2003 Coppa Italia.

In 2008, he returned to the club in the position of technical director, then took over as manager in June 2009 after the departure of boss Carlo Ancelotti to Chelsea. But he failed to lift the Rossoneri's fortunes and rumors of an early departure swirled throughout the season. Finally, in April 2010, the club confirmed that Leonardo would depart at the end of the season.

At the time of his departure from Milan, Inter had made a change of their own, replacing departing manager José Mourinho with former Liverpool boss Rafa Benítez. But that hire lasted only six months, as a split between Benítez and the Inter board, fueled in part by the new manager's inability to live up to the standard set by Mourinho, led to his dismissal in December 2010.

Inter then brought Leonardo in to fill the vacant position, making him the fifth manager to switch from Milan to their derby rivals. His time at Inter lasted even less than at AC Milan, however, ending with his resignation in June 2011. One month later, he joined Paris Saint-Germain as their director of football, where he remained until 2013.

16 April 1960 - A Long, Strange Trip Indeed

On 16 April 1960, Rafael Benítez Maudes was born in Madrid.

A midfielder, he played his youth football for Real Madrid Aficionados, the secondary reserve team for Real Madrid C.F. His senior career started in 1974, when he joined Real's primary reserve team, Real Madrid Castilla C.F. He played there from 1974 to 1981, making 247 appearances and scoring 73 goals. He subsequently played for Spanish sides A.D. Parla (1981-85; 124 appearances, 28 goals) and C.D. Linares (1985-86; 34 appearances, 17 goals) before injuries forced him to end his playing career at the age of 26.

Benítez stayed in football, however, joining Real Madrid's coaching staff from 1986 to 1994, working at first with the reserve squads, then advancing to assistant manager for the first team. After the 1993-94 season, he left Real to become manager of Real Valladolid in the Primera División, but was sacked after winning only two of his first 23 matches in charge. He then moved to C.A. Osasuna in the Segunda División, but was again sacked after achieving only one win in his first nine matches.

Benítez's fortunes soon turned, however, as the peripatetic coach led both C.F. Extremadura (1997-99) and C.D. Tenerife (2000-01) to promotion to the Primera División. In 2001, he moved to Valencia C.F., where he won La Liga twice (in 2002 and 2004) and the UEFA Cup (2004).

After his double-winning season in 2004, Benítez resigned from Valencia over disagreements with the sporting director and moved to Liverpool for the 2004-05 season. He led them to immediate success by winning the 2005 UEFA Champions League, followed shortly after by the FA Cup trophy in 2006.

In 2010, he left Liverpool, spending time with Inter (2010) and Chelsea (2011-12) before taking charge of his current club, Napoli, in 2013.

6 February 2007 - The Titanic Started In Liverpool, Too

On 6 February 2007, Tom Hicks and George Gillett started their short and tempestuous reign as Liverpool's owners.

The pair already had a porfolio of sports teams in hockey and baseball, with Hicks owning the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers baseball team, while Gillett owned the Montreal Candiens. They joined forces to acquire Liverpool, paying £5,000 per share for a total of £174.1 million (additional club debt of £44.8 million pushed the overall valuation of the club to £218.9 million). They also pledged to invest significant additional funds.

The deal, however, was leveraged and saddled the club with substantial debt, drawing the ire of the club's supporters. The two co-chairmen soon fell out with each other and Hicks also participated in public spats with manager Rafa Benítez and chief executive Rick Parry. Even though Liverpool continued to challenge for the title, including finishing as runners-up to Manchester United in 2009, Hicks and Gillett were constantly under pressure from supporters and the media.

The pressure mounted in the 2009-10 season, which ended with Liverpool in seventh, the first time they had fallen out of the league's top four since 2005. Their tenure came to an end in October of 2010, when, over Hicks's protests, the club's board of directors voted to sell the club to New England Sports Ventures for around £300 million.

Hicks filed suit against the club, claiming that the deal was far lower than it should have been, but lost. Speaking about Hicks and Gillett in a 2013 interview, Parry said "We all wish passionately that they hadn't owned the club."

8 January 2011 - The Return Of The King

On 8 January 2011, Kenny Dalglish took charge of Liverpool for the second time, replacing sacked manager Roy Hodgson.

A star striker for the club from 1977 to 1990, with 169 goals in 355 appearances, six league titles, and three European Cups, Dalglish, nicknamed "King Kenny," served as player-manager there from 1985 to 1990, then spent another season as the full-time boss. But in February 1991, despite a successful run, he stepped down, saying that the stress of the position was taking too great a toll.

He returned to management that October with Blackburn Rovers and led them to the Premier League title in 1995, then stepped down again. Short spells followed with Newcastle (1997-98) and Celtic (2000) before he returned to Liverpool in 2009 to work with their youth academy.

When manager Rafa Benítez left in June 2010, Dalglish helped choose Roy Hodgson to succeed him. But when the club fired Hodgson that January, they offered the post to Dalglish as caretaker, then made the position permanent later that May with a three-year contract.

Although he enjoyed some success, including winning the League Cup in 2012, poor form in the league led to his sacking in May 2012. He remains involved with the club, however, and currently serves as a director.

5 January 2013 - Ba Blazes For The Blues

On 5 January 2013, after signing with Chelsea the previous day, striker Demba Ba made his debut, scoring twice in a 5-1 FA Cup win over Southampton.

The club acquired the Senegal international from Newcastle on 4 January for an undisclosed transfer fee rumored to be just north of £7 million, signing him to a 3.5-year deal. At the time, he was on pace for his best scoring year ever, with 13 goals in 20 Premier League appearances for Newcastle in the first half of the 2012-13 season (he had scored 22 for Rouen in 2005-06, his first season as a professional, but had not gotten more than 16 in any season since).

Manager Rafa Benítez wasted no time in putting Ba to use, including him in the starting line-up for the third-round FA Cup match at Southampton while Chelsea's record £50 million signing Fernando Torres watched from the bench.

While the hosts went up 1-0 with a goal from Jay Rodriguez (22'), Ba brought Chelsea level in the 35th minute. Goals from Victor Moses (45'+1) and Branislav Ivanović (52') on both sides of the break pushed them ahead 1-3, then Ba scored again in the 61st minute to extend the lead to 1-4. A final goal from Frank Lampard from the penalty spot (83') capped the 1-5 victory.

Ba drew rave reviews for his performance, especially in comparison to the struggling Torres, but he was unable to maintain that form. He finished the season with only six goals for Chelsea in all competitions, then fell out of favor after Jose Mourinho replaced Benítez for the 2013-14 season. With the first half of the season complete, Ba has made a total of fourteen appearances in all competitions, with only three goals.

21 November 2012 - But What Had He Done For Them Lately?

On 21 November 2012, Chelsea sacked manager Roberto Di Matteo, who had won both the FA Cup and the Champions League with them the previous season.

Di Matteo, a former Chelsea player who had managed Milton Keynes Dons and West Brom, joined the club in June 2011 as an assistant to André Villas-Boas. When owner Roman Abramovich sacked Villas-Boas in March 2012, he elevated Di Matteo to fill the vacancy, but on a caretaker basis.

At the time, Chelsea were fifth in the Premier League table and had just lost to Napoli 3-1 in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16. Di Matteo was unable to improve their league position, finishing sixth, but led them to their first Champions League title with a win over Bayern Munich and took the FA Cup over Liverpool. As a result, Chelsea signed him to a two-year deal in June 2012.

Chelsea started the new season with seven wins and a draw in their first eight matches to claim the top spot, but slumped into third with two losses and two draws in their next four. They also struggled in the Champions League, with group-stage losses to Shakhtar Donetsk and Juventus. The latter, a 3-0 away defeat on 20 November, proved to be Di Matteo's last match in charge, as the club dismissed him the next day and replaced him with Rafa Benítez for the remainder of the season.

Di Matteo has yet to join another club, while Chelsea brought in José Mourinho for the 2013-14 season.

24 December 2010 - Leonardo Crosses Milan's Version Of The Rubicon

On 24 December 2010, Inter announced their new manager, taking former Milan hero Leonardo away from their rival club.

A World-Cup winning Brazilian international, Leonardo made 119 appearances for Milan from 1997 to 2001, then another five in the 2002-03 before calling an end to his playing career. While there, he won the 1999 Scudetto and the 2003 Coppa Italia.

In 2008, he returned to the club in the position of technical director, then took over as manager in June 2009 after the departure of boss Carlo Ancelotti to Chelsea. But he failed to lift the Rossoneri's fortunes and rumors of an early departure swirled throughout the season. Finally, in April 2010, the club confirmed that Leonardo would depart at the end of the season.

At the time of his departure from Milan, Inter had made a change of their own, replacing departing manager José Mourinho with former Liverpool boss Rafa Benítez. But that hire lasted only six months, as a split between Benítez and the Inter board, fueled in part by the new manager's inability to live up to the standard set by Mourinho, led to his dismissal in December 2010.

Inter then brought Leonardo in to fill the vacant position, making him the fifth manager to switch from Milan to their derby rivals. His time at Inter lasted even less than at AC Milan, however, ending with his resignation in June 2011. One month later, he joined Paris Saint-Germain as their director of football, where he remains at present.

16 April 1960 - A Long Strange Trip, Indeed

On 16 April 1960, Rafael Benítez Maudes was born in Madrid.

A midfielder, he played his youth football for Real Madrid Aficionados, the secondary reserve team for Real Madrid C.F. His senior career started in 1974, when he joined Real's primary reserve team, Real Madrid Castilla C.F. He played there from 1974 to 1981, making 247 appearances and scoring 73 goals. He subsequently played for Spanish sides A.D. Parla (1981-85; 124 appearances, 28 goals) and C.D. Linares (1985-86; 34 appearances, 17 goals) before injuries forced him to end his playing career at the age of 26.

Benítez stayed in football, however, joining Real Madrid's coaching staff from 1986 to 1994, working at first with the reserve squads, then advancing to assistant manager for the first team. After the 1993-94 season, he left Real to become manager of Real Valladolid in the Primera División, but was sacked after winning only two of his first 23 matches in charge. He then moved to C.A. Osasuna in the Segunda División, but was again sacked after achieving only one win in his first nine matches.

Benítez's fortunes soon turned, however, as the peripatetic coach led both C.F. Extremadura (1997-99) and C.D. Tenerife (2000-01) to promotion to the Primera División. In 2001, he moved to Valencia C.F., where he won La Liga twice (in 2002 and 2004) and the UEFA Cup (2004).

After his double-winning season in 2004, Benítez resigned from Valencia over disagreements with the sporting director and moved to his current home, Liverpool F.C., for the 2004-05 season. He led them to immediate success by winning the 2005 UEFA Champions League, followed shortly after by the FA Cup trophy in 2006.