On 7 July 1991, the United States won the inaugural CONCACAF Gold Cup, beating Honduras on penalties, 0-0 (4-3).
Played in the Californian cities of Pasadena and Los Angeles, the 1991 Gold Cup included eight teams from North and Central America. As hosts, the US qualified automatically, while Honduras earned their place as runners-up to Costa Rica in the Central American qualifying tournament, the UNCAF Nations Cup.
The teams were split into two groups of four. In Group A, Honduras dropped only a single point thanks to a 1-1 draw with Mexico, but topped the group on goal differential. They then advanced to the final with a win over Costa Rica. Meanwhile, the US won Group B with victories in all three matches, then beat Mexico 2-0 in the semifinal.
The final was played before a crowd of 39,873 at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. There, the two teams battled to a scoreless stalemate at the end of extra time to send the match into a penalty shootout. Honduras went into the shootout with their reserve goalkeeper, Wilmer Cruz, who had replaced their starting keeper, Belarmino Rivera, in the 119th minute.
After five kicks each, the teams were level at 2-2, so they moved into sudden death. After seven kicks each, they were still level, with each side having made one and missed one of their intervening kicks. US defender Fernando Clavijo then converted the next attempt--the Americans' eighth--to take the lead. Juan Carlos Espinoza stepped up for Honduras, but rifled his shot over the bar as the US claimed the victory.
It was the first major trophy for the US, who have since won the tournament a total of five times. Honduras, who won the CONCACAF Championship in 1981, have yet to return to the Gold Cup Final.
On 6 July 2009, over 80,000 people gathered at the Bernabéu to meet Real Madrid's newest star, Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo. The event was the culmination of an effort that took over two years and £80 million to complete.
Rumors of Real Madrid's interest in Ronaldo surfaced in March 2007, but Manchester United were unwilling to part with him and signed him to a five-year extension worth £31 million. But while winning the Premier League with United in 2007, 2008, and 2009, as well as the 2008 Champions League, the winger began to reciprocate the interest from the Spaniards. And on 11 June 2009, the two clubs reached a deal. Real Madrid paid an £80 million transfer fee to United, while Ronaldo received a 6-year deal worth €11 million per year. The signing was part of a second Galácticos wave that included Kaká, Karim Benzema, and Xabi Alonso.
To welcome Ronaldo to Madrid, the club hosted a presentation at the Bernabéu. 80,000 people showed up to watch Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez hand Ronaldo the number 9 shirt that had once been worn by club legends Hugo Sanchez, Ronaldo, and Alfredo di Stéfano.
Ronaldo went on to score 33 goals in his first season as Real Madrid finished second in the league to Barcelona.
On 5 July 1900, a new club rose from the ashes of Thames Ironworks FC. Calling themselves West Ham United, the new club went on to win three FA Cups and two international trophies while launching the careers of some of football's biggest stars.
Built from the remains of Old Castle Swifts FC, Thames Ironworks served as the works team for the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. The team was successful, winning the London League in 1898 and the Southern League's second division in 1899, but disbanded in June 1900 over disputes about the club's administration and financing. On 5 June 1900, the club was relaunched as West Ham United.
West Ham were elected to the Football League in 1919 and rose to the top tier in 1923. That year, they reached the FA Cup Final, but lost to Bolton Wanderers 2-0. They eventually won their first FA Cup in 1964, led by Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst. That team went on to win the Cup Winners' Cup in 1965, while Moore and Hurst helped England to World Cup glory in 1966.
Two more FA Cups followed in 1975 and 1980, and they were one of the three winning finalists in the 1999 Intertoto Cup. Meanwhile, they launched the careers of such luminaries as Trevor Brooking, Paul Ince, Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, and Frank Lampard.
Since their election to the Football League in 1919, West Ham have moved regularly between the top two tiers of English football. They most recently finished seventh in the Premier League.
On 4 July 2007, striker Fernando Torres completed a move from Atlético Madrid to Liverpool, becoming the Anfield club's most expensive signing at the time.
Up to that point, Torres had spent his entire career with Atlético. From 2001 to 2007, he made a total of 249 appearances in all competitions, scoring 91 times. His most prolific season there was in 2003-04, when he scored 21 goals, 19 in the league. During that season, he also made his first appearance for Spain's senior side.
His scoring prowess drew the attention of Liverpool manager Rafa Benítez, who completed the signing in July 2007. Neither club announced the fee, but it is believed to have been close to £20 million, setting a new club transfer record. Torres proceeded to enjoy the best season of his career, scoring a total of 33 goals in all competitions as Liverpool finished fourth in the Premier League and reached the semifinals of the Champions League.
After three and a half seasons at Anfield, Torres moved to Chelsea for an undisclosed fee reported to have been approximately £50 million. The move opened the door for Liverpool to break their transfer fee record on successive days with the signing of strikers Luis Suárez (£22.8 million on 30 January 2011) and Andy Carroll (£35 million on 31 January 2011).
On 3 July 1947, forward Rob Rensenbrink was born in Amsterdam. He went on to star for Anderlecht and the Netherlands, winning the 1976 Onze d'Or.
He started his career in 1965 as an amateur with his hometown club DWS, then signed a professional contract with Brugge in 1969. In two seasons there, he scored 24 goals in 55 league appearances and won his first silverware, the 1970 Belgian Cup, before moving to Anderlecht in 1971. At Anderlecht, he continued the success that began in Brugge, winning four more Belgian Cups (1972, 1973, 1975, 1976) and two league titles (1972, 1974). He also enjoyed European success, twice winning both the Cup Winners' Cup (1976, 1978) and the UEFA Super Cup (1976, 1978). In 1976, he won the inaugural Onze d'Or, chosen by the readers of French magazine Onze Mondial.
He earned his first cap for the Netherlands in 1968, but labored under the shadow of Johan Cruyff, who played in Rensenbrink's preferred left forward position. To accommodate both of them, coach Rinus Michels played Rensenbrink on the left wing for the 1974 World Cup with the Netherlands finishing as runners-up to West Germany.
By 1978, Cruyff had retired, so Rensenbrink moved up to the now-vacant forward spot. The Dutch again advanced to the final, where Rensenbrink nearly gave them the win--in the last few seconds, with the match level, he fired from a narrow angle and just missed the goal, instead striking the post. Argentina went on to win the match in extra time.
He retired in 1982 after brief spells with the Portland Timbers (1980) and Toulouse (1981-82).
On 2 July 2010, Uruguay's Luis Suárez saved his team from World Cup elimination with a deliberate handball. Uruguay went on the win the match before getting knocked out in the semi-finals and finishing fourth, their best showing in the tournament since their previous fourth-place finish in 1970.
The handball came in the last minute of extra time in Uruguay's quarterfinal match against Ghana. The teams were level at 1-1, having traded goals from Sulley Muntari (45'+2) and Diego Forlán (55'). Right before time expired, there was scramble in front of Uruguay's goal. The ball fell to Ghana striker Dominic Adiyiah, who headed it toward the net. It would have gone in had Suárez not--very visibly--swatted it away with his hands.
The referee saw the deliberate handball and awarded Ghana a penalty kick while ejecting Suárez from the match. As Suárez marched down the tunnel, Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan fired the ball off the bar and out of bounds. The whistle blew seconds later to send the match into a penalty shootout which Uruguay won, 4-2.
Uruguay advanced to the semifinals, where they lost to the Netherlands, then lost to Germany in the third-place match. Suárez, meanwhile, made a high-profile move that summer from Ajax to Liverpool and established himself as a Premier League stars before moving to Barcelona. Although he drew heavy criticism for his handball, he showed no remorse, saying after the match that "The Hand of God belongs to me now."
On 1 July 2006, two football legends played their last match for Brazil, finishing as the national team's first and second most-capped players.
The occasion was Brazil's game against France in the World Cup quarterfinals. The Seleção line-up that day included right back--and captain--Cafu and left back Roberto Carlos. Roberto Carlos earned his first cap in 1992. He did not play in the 1994 World Cup, but won the 2002 World Cup with Brazil. Cafu, meanwhile, first played for Brazil in 1990 and was a member of both the 1994 and 2002 World Cup-winning sides. In 2006, they were part of a defense that had conceded only a single goal in the tournament up to that point, in a 4-1 group stage victory over Japan.
Unfortunately for Brazil, they conceded another goal--the only one of the match--against France. It came in the 57th minute as striker Thierry Henry connected with a Zinedine Zidane cross and slammed it into the roof of the net. France won 1-0 and Brazil were eliminated.
Afterward, both Cafu and Roberto Carlos drew criticism for the loss. Some commentators claimed that Cafu had passed his prime and should not have been included in the team for the tournament. Others blamed Roberto Carlos for failing to mark Henry on the goal. Both players then retired from the national team, though Cafu continued to play club ball until 2008. Roberto Carlos remains active and currently plays Russian Premier League club Anzhi Makhachkala.
The match was Cafu's 142nd for Brazil, making him their most-capped player. It was the 125th for Roberto Carlos, placing him in second. They are both well ahead of the closest active player, Lucio, who currently has 105.
On 7 July 1991, the United States won the inaugural CONCACAF Gold Cup, beating Honduras on penalties, 0-0 (4-3).
