28 November 2000 - Boca's Five-Minute Flurry

On 28 November 2000, Boca Juniors won their second Intercontinental Cup, upsetting Real Madrid 2-1.

Madrid, winners of the previous season's Champions League, had lifted the Intercontinental Cup in 1960 and 1998 and were looking for their third trophy. Led by the attacking trio of Raúl, Guti, and Luís Figo, they were heavily favored over Copa Libertadores champions Boca Juniors, who had themselves won the Intercontinental Cup in 1977.

But playing before a crowd of over 52,000 at the National Stadium in Tokyo, the Spaniards were stunned to  find themselves down 2-0 after only five minutes, with both goals delivered by forward Martín Palermo. For the first, in the third minute, he received a cross at the edge of the 6-yard box and fired home past keeper Iker Casillas. Two minutes later, he ran onto a long lobbed ball and held off pressure from a Madrid defender before firing it past the hands of the diving Casillas.

Real Madrid back Roberto Carlos pulled one back in the 11th minute. But even though they enjoyed the lion's share of possession, they could not crack the Boca defense again.

Madrid did eventually win a third Intercontinental Cup in 2002, followed by Boca's third in 2003.

12 February 2003 - Raúl Takes Two To Become Number One

On 12 February 2003, Raúl González scored two goals in a 3-1 win over Germany to become Spain's all-time top scorer.

Raúl, who played 16 seasons at Real Madrid before moving to Schalke in 2010, made his first full international appearance in 1996. He scored only five times in his first three years, but hit his stride in 1999 with ten goals--the most ever scored for Spain by one player in a single year. He never replicated that performance, but continued to be a reliable striker and took over as captain in 2002.

The friendly with Germany came in the midst of Spain's qualification campaign for Euro 2004. Played in Mallorca, Raúl scored the opening goal in the 30th minute. It was the 30th of his career, beating the former record of 29 held jointly with his Real Madrid teammate Fernando Hierro. Germany's Fredi Bobic equalized for the visitors eight minutes later, but Raúl restored the lead in with a 77th-minute penalty kick. Guti added a third for the hosts to end the day at 3-1.

Raúl scored a total of 44 goals for Spain before his retirement from international play in 2006. A record at the time, it has since been surpassed by David Villa, who scored 59 goals between 2005 and 2014.

14 September 2008 - But The 5,003rd Goal Gets The Win

On 14 September 2008, Real Madrid defeated Numancia 4-3 at the Bernabéu in the second week of the 2008-09 La Liga campaign. In doing so, Real became the first team to tally 5,000 goals in La Liga.

Numancia took an early lead with a 6th-minute header from midfielder Juan Carlos Moreno. Real equalized in the 18th minute with a long-distance shot from skipper Guti. The Spanish midfielder scored with a left-footed rocket that deflected off a Numancia player and past the keeper into the bottom right side of the net. That was Real's 5,000th league goal.

The match was far from over, as Numancia midfielder José Barkero returned the lead to his side in the 21st minute, only for Real winger Gonzalo Higuaín to equalize in the 25th minute. Real took its first lead of the match with a 33rd minute goal from midfielder Rafael Van der Vart and stretched its advantage thanks to a 39th-minute own goal from Barkero. Moreno added another goal in the 56th minute, but it was too little, as Real held on for the 4-3 win.

28 November 2000 - Boca's Five-Minute Flurry

On 28 November 2000, Boca Juniors won their second Intercontinental Cup, upsetting Real Madrid 2-1.

Madrid, winners of the previous season's Champions League, had lifted the Intercontinental Cup in 1960 and 1998 and were looking for their third trophy. Led by the attacking trio of Raúl, Guti, and Luís Figo, they were heavily favored over Copa Libertadores champions Boca Juniors, who had themselves won the Intercontinental Cup in 1977.

But playing before a crowd of over 52,000 at the National Stadium in Tokyo, the Spaniards were stunned to  find themselves down 2-0 after only five minutes, with both goals delivered by forward Martín Palermo. For the first, in the third minute, he received a cross at the edge of the 6-yard box and fired home past keeper Iker Casillas. Two minutes later, he ran onto a long lobbed ball and held off pressure from a Madrid defender before firing it past the hands of the diving Casillas.

Real Madrid back Roberto Carlos pulled one back in the 11th minute. But even though they enjoyed the lion's share of possession, they could not crack the Boca defense again.

Madrid did eventually win a third Intercontinental Cup in 2002, followed by Boca's third in 2003.

12 February 2003 - Raúl Takes Two To Become Number One

On 12 February 2003, Raúl González scored two goals in a 3-1 win over Germany to become Spain's all-time top scorer.

Raúl, who played 16 seasons at Real Madrid before moving to Schalke in 2010, made his first full international appearance in 1996. He scored only five times in his first three years, but hit his stride in 1999 with ten goals--the most ever scored for Spain by one player in a single year. He never replicated that performance, but continued to be a reliable striker and took over as captain in 2002.

The friendly with Germany came in the midst of Spain's qualification campaign for Euro 2004. Played in Mallorca, Raúl scored the opening goal in the 30th minute. It was the 30th of his career, beating the former record of 29 held jointly with his Real Madrid teammate Fernando Hierro. Germany's Fredi Bobic equalized for the visitors eight minutes later, but Raúl restored the lead in with a 77th-minute penalty kick. Guti added a third for the hosts to end the day at 3-1.

Raúl scored a total of 44 goals for Spain before his retirement from international play in 2006. While still a record, it is shared with Barcelona forward David Villa who looks likely to surpass it this year.

14 September 2008 - But The 5,003rd Goal Gets The Win

On 14 September 2008, Real Madrid defeated Numancia 4-3 at the Bernabéu in the second week of the 2008-09 La Liga campaign. In doing so, Real became the first team to tally 5,000 goals in La Liga.

Numancia took an early lead with a 6th-minute header from midfielder Juan Carlos Moreno. Real equalized in the 18th minute with a long-distance shot from skipper Guti. The Spanish midfielder scored with a left-footed rocket that deflected off a Numancia player and past the keeper into the bottom right side of the net. That was Real's 5,000th league goal.

The match was far from over, as Numancia midfielder José Barkero returned the lead to his side in the 21st minute, only for Real winger Gonzalo Higuaín to equalize in the 25th minute. Real took its first lead of the match with a 33rd minute goal from midfielder Rafael Van der Vart and stretched its advantage thanks to a 39th-minute own goal from Barkero. Moreno added another goal in the 56th minute, but it was too little, as Real held on for the 4-3 win.