13 May 2012 - Invincibles In Italy

On 13 May 2012, Juventus completed the Serie A season as undefeated champions with a 3-1 win over Atalanta.

They had finished the previous season in disappointing fashion, taking seventh place in the final table. That prompted the sacking of manager Luigi Delneri, who had held on to the post for a little over a year. The club replaced him with former Juventus midfielder Antonio Conte, who had played there from 1991 to 2003 and who had ended the 2010-11 season by guiding Serie B side Siena back to the top flight.

Juve made one other significant change over the summer, signing former Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo as a free agent.

Led by the combination of Conte on the touchline and Pirlo on the pitch, Juventus battled with Milan in a tight race for the Scudetto and finally claimed the title with an away win over Cagliari on 6 May. By that point, they had won 22 and drawn 15 of their 37 matches over the course of the season. One week later, with the championship firmly in hand, they completed their unbeaten season with the home win over Atalanta. It was the first time any team went undefeated over the course of a 38-game season and only the third undefeated Serie A season overall (Perugia did it over the course of 30 games in 1978-79 and Milan did it over the course of 34 games in 1991-92).

Counting a draw on the last day of the 2010-11 season, the win stretched Juve's overall unbeaten league streak to 39. They extended it to 49 through the first 10 games of the 2012-13 season before finally losing to Inter on 3 November. Though impressive, it still fell short of the overall Italian league record of 58, set by Milan over the course of the 1990-91 to 1992-93 seasons.

29 August 1976 - So I Guess That's Really 62.5 Caps

On 29 August 1976, former US international midfielder and current Colorado Rapids manager Pablo Mastroeni was born in Mendoza, Argentina.

At the age of 4, he moved with his parents to Phoenix, Arizona. Although his father had hoped that Mastroeni would someday play for his native Argentina, young Pablo decided at 9 years old that he wanted to play for the US.

He got his wish in 2001, when US manager Bruce Arena called him up for World Cup qualifiers against Honduras and Costa Rica. He earned his first cap on 7 June 2001 in a match against Ecuador and made his first start in the opening match of the 2002 World Cup as the US upset Portugal, 3-2.

Mastroeni has made 63 appearances for the United States, but is probably best known for receiving a 45th-minute red card in the 2006 World Cup after roughly tackling Italy's Andrea Pirlo.

He has spent his club career in the MLS, first playing for the Miami Fusion (1998-2001), the Colorado Rapids (2002-2013), and the LA Galaxy (2013). In 2014, he took charge of the Rapids as interim manager following the departure of former boss Oscar Pareja.

28 January 2008 - A Record That Will Never Be Broken

On 28 January 2008, Francesco Totti was named Italian Footballer of the Year for a record fifth time.

The Italian Footballers' Association ("AIC") first announced the honor in 1997, along with additional superlatives including Best Serie A Footballer and Best Foreign Footballer. While the first award went to Sampdoria's Roberto Mancini, Totti was the recipient for 2000, in the middle of Roma's title-winning season, then again in 2001, 2003, and 2004.

Roma finished as runners-up to Inter in 2007 and won the Coppa Italia, due in large part to Totti, who ended the season as the league's top scorer with 26 goals (32 in all competitions). In 2007-08, they were again chasing Inter Milan for the Scudetto, sitting in second at the winter break, seven points behind the defending champions. (Roma eventually finished in second again, but closed the gap to three points in the final table).

The combined performance across both seasons led to Totti receiving the award for a fifth time, when no other player has received it more than twice (Christian Vieri in 1999 and 2002, then Alessandro del Piero in 1998 and 2008), though Milan's Kaká was named 2007 Serie A Footballer of the Year award.

In 2013, the AIC changed the format of their annual awards and no longer name an Italian Footballer of the Year or the other specific honors. Instead, they have a general Footballer of the Year award, claimed by Andrea Pirlo for 2013.

13 May 2012 - Invincibles In Italy

On 13 May 2012, Juventus completed the Serie A season as undefeated champions with a 3-1 win over Atalanta.

They had finished the previous season in disappointing fashion, taking seventh place in the final table. That prompted the sacking of manager Luigi Delneri, who had held on to the post for a little over a year. The club replaced him with former Juventus midfielder Antonio Conte, who had played there from 1991 to 2003 and who had ended the 2010-11 season by guiding Serie B side Siena back to the top flight.

Juve made one other significant change over the summer, signing former Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo as a free agent.

Led by the combination of Conte on the touchline and Pirlo on the pitch, Juventus battled with Milan in a tight race for the Scudetto and finally claimed the title with an away win over Cagliari on 6 May. By that point, they had won 22 and drawn 15 of their 37 matches over the course of the season. One week later, with the championship firmly in hand, they completed their unbeaten season with the home win over Atalanta. It was the first time any team went undefeated over the course of a 38-game season and only the third undefeated Serie A season overall (Perugia did it over the course of 30 games in 1978-79 and Milan did it over the course of 34 games in 1991-92).

Counting a draw on the last day of the 2010-11 season, the win stretched Juve's overall unbeaten league streak to 39. They extended it to 49 through the first 10 games of the 2012-13 season before finally losing to Inter on 3 November. Though impressive, it still fell short of the overall Italian league record of 58, set by Milan over the course of the 1990-91 to 1992-93 seasons.

29 August 1976 - So I Guess That's Really 62.5 Caps

On 29 August 1976, future US international midfielder Pablo Mastroeni was born in Mendoza, Argentina.

At the age of 4, he moved with his parents to Phoenix, Arizona. Although his father had hoped that Mastroeni would someday play for his native Argentina, young Pablo decided at 9 years old that he wanted to play for the US.

He got his wish in 2001, when US manager Bruce Arena called him up for World Cup qualifiers against Honduras and Costa Rica. He earned his first cap on 7 June 2001 in a match against Ecuador and made his first start in the opening match of the 2002 World Cup as the US upset Portugal, 3-2.

Mastroeni has made 63 appearances for the United States, but is probably best known for receiving a 45th-minute red card in the 2006 World Cup after roughly tackling Italy's Andrea Pirlo.

He has spent his club career in the MLS, first playing for the Miami Fusion (1998-2001) and then the Colorado Rapids (2002-present).