8 January 1978 - A Revolution In Paris

On 8 January 1978, Paris Saint-Germain turned the tide in their budding rivalry with Marseille. And they did it by a record margin.

While the contest, known as Le Classique or the Derby de France, has become one of the country's most heated rivalries, it started as a very one-sided affair. First played in 1971, Marseille won the first three in a row and seven of the first eleven while losing only once (a 2-0 loss in the Coupe de France in March 1975). By the time Marseille arrived at the Parc des Princes in January for the twelfth match of the series, they had taken three of the last four.

Playing in front of a crowd of 33,386, the visitors looked to continue their run of success, going ahead with a 12th-minute penalty from striker Sarr Boubacar. But PSG rallied to take a 2-1 lead into the break with goals from François Brisson (29') and Mustapha Dahleb (44').

In the second half, an own-goal from Marseille defender Marius Trésor (46') extended PSG's lead to 3-1, then a brace from striker François M'Pelé (pictured) (49', 82') took it to 5-1. The four-goal margin was the largest win of the derby and remains the record, though it was later matched by Marseille's 4-0 win in November 1986 and PSG's 1-5 win in February 2017.

Since then, the rivalry has been relatively balanced across all competitions, with a total of 38 PSG wins to 32 for Marseille.

6 January 2012 - Apparently, You Can Go Home Again

On 6 January 2012, Arsenal confirmed the return of striker Thierry Henry, the club's all-time leading goalscorer, on loan.

Henry played for the Gunners from 1999 to 2007, making 369 appearances and scoring 226 goals. While there, he won two league titles (including the undefeated "Invincibles" run in the 2003-04 season) and three FA Cups before leaving for Barcelona in a deal worth €24M. He continued to collect silverware in Spain, with a record six-trophy haul in 2009 that included the La Liga title, the Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League.

Arsenal, however, had failed to win any trophies after Henry's departure. Halfway through the 2011-12 season, as a rocky start left them struggling to capture a Champions League qualification spot, they looked to Henry, who had by then moved to the New York Red Bulls.

He joined them in January for a two-month loan. On 9 January, he made his first appearance, coming on as a substitute to score the only goal in a FA Cup win over Leeds United. He went on to make another six appearances and scored again in his final match, a 1-2 away win over Sunderland, before returning to New York.

5 January 2010 - Benny's Back In Black (And Red)

On 5 January 2010, DC United hired their former captain, Ben Olsen, as an assistant manager. Seven months later, he took full charge of the club.

A tenacious midfielder, Olsen joined DC United for the 1998 season after three years at the University of Virginia (where his first coach was then-DC manager Bruce Arena). He was named the league's Rookie of the Year as DC finished as runners-up to Chicago in the MLS Cup and won both the CONCACAF Champions League and the Copa Interamericana.

The following year he won the first of two MLS Cups and was the tournament's most valuable player. He won his second MLS Cup in 2004 and a US Open Cup in 2008. Injuries dogged his career, however, forcing his retirement in 2009 after 221 league appearances.

His retirement was short-lived as he returned to DC United in 2010 as an assistant to new manager Curt Onalfo. But a poor start to the season led the club to sack Onalfo in August 2010 and appoint Olsen as the interim manager, then confirmed his permanent status that November, making the then-33-year old the league's youngest manager.

After a difficult finish in 2010 and another rough season in 2011, Olsen guided the team to an improved record in 2012, reaching the MLS playoffs for the first time in five seasons and making it all the way to the conference finals before falling to Houston. 

4 January 1866 - The Man Who Managed Manchester

On 4 January 1866, Ernest Mangnall, who managed Manchester United to their first two titles, was born in Bolton. He also later managed Manchester City.

After an amateur career as a goalkeeper for Bolton, Mangnall moved into management with Burnley, starting in 1900. The club had been relegated into the Second Division at the end of the previous season and Mangnall narrowly missed out on getting them back into the top flight, delivering a third-place finish in his first season, four points away from the last promotion spot. But two seasons later, they ended dead last in the division and had to be re-elected to the league.

In October 1903, Mangnall left Burnley for Manchester United. They were in the Second Division at the time, but he guided them to a second-place finish in 1906 and promotion to the First Division. He led them to their first league title in 1908, the FA Cup in 1909, then to a second league title in 1911.

He moved to Manchester City in September 1912, after losing to them in his last match in charge of United, and remained there until his retirement in 1924.

3 January 2004 - Goodnight, Sweet Prince

On 3 January 2004, Everton star defender Thomas "T.G." Jones, known as "the prince of centre-halves," passed away at the age of 86.

Regarded as a calm and composed player with excellent footwork and vision, Jones spent the first two years of his professional career with Wrexham before signing with Everton in 1936 for a fee of £3,000. He became a regular starter in his second season and, in his third, helped the Toffees win the league title--the last one before the league went on hiatus for the duration of World War.

Having established himself as a Welsh international in 1938, he continued to make wartime appearances for Wales during the break. When league play resumed in 1946, he rejoined Everton and remained there until 1950, making a total of 178 appearances and serving as team captain in his last season.

After leaving Everton, he joined non-league Welsh side Pwllheli as player-manager from 1950 to 1956. Additional managerial stops at Bangor City and Rhyl followed before his retirement in 1968.

2 January 2011 - Xavi Shares The Record

On 2 January 2011, Xavi made his 549th appearance for Barcelona, tying the club record set by Migueli in 1988. 

The midfielder joined the club as a youth player in 1991 at the age of 11, then started his professional career there in 1997. One year later, he cracked the first team, making a total of 27 appearances in the 1998-99 season.

His record-tying match was at home against Levante. The visitors were coming off an 8-0 mauling by Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, so few people expected them to trouble the hosts, who had camped out at the top of table since late November.

But it turned out to be a scrappy match, with a scoreless first half. Barça eventually took the lead with a 47th-minute goal from forward Pedro, who then extended it with a second strike in the 59th. Ten minutes after that, Levante striker Christian Stuani scored to halve the deficit, but they could not find another and the match ended as a 2-1 Barcelona win. After the final whistle, the club surprised Xavi with a ceremony to recognize his accomplishment.

He later took sole possession of the appearances record, extending his tally to 767 across all competitions before leaving the club in 2015.

1 January 2005 - In Fairness, They All Were Probably Still Hungover

On 1 January 2005, Newcastle bought defender Jean-Alain Boumsong from Rangers in a deal widely regarded as one of the worst January transfers in history.

A French international, Boumsoung had played for Le Havre (1997-2000) and Auxerre (2000-04) before moving to Rangers on a free transfer in the summer of 2004. Although he signed a 5-year deal with the Glasgow club, his strong performances there attracted the interest of Newcastle manager Graeme Souness, who lodged an £8M bid that December, with the clubs finalizing the deal on the first day of 2005.

Although his time at St. James' Park started well, he struggled in the 2005-06 season, often shouldering the blame for defensive lapses that led Newcastle to concede 42 goals en route to a seventh-place finish. By the end of that season, new manager Glenn Roeder, who had replaced Souness in February 2006, sold the center back to Juventus for just £3.3M, taking a loss of almost £5M on the deal (though the agreement included performance-incentives).

Boumsong stayed with Juventus for one season, then played three seasons for Lyon before joining Panathinaikos in July 2010. For his time on Tyneside, a 2008 Times poll rated him the Premier League's worst January transfer. Since then, however, polls have dropped him down behind more recent transfers, including Andy Carroll's £35M move from Newcastle to Liverpool in 2011 and Chelsea's £50M purchase of Fernando Torres from Liverpool.