16 September 1979 - A Good Day To Tie

On 16 September 1979, the Serie A season kicked off with eight matches, seven of which ended in draws.

Goals were at a premium that day, as eleven of the sixteen teams in action failed to find the net, resulting in five scoreless draws: Ascoli-Napoli, Avellino-Lazio, Cagliari-Torino, Perugia-Catanzaro, and Roma-Milan. The other ineffective attack came from Pescara, who were on the wrong end of the day's only unbalanced result, losing 2-0 to Inter.

There were also two score draws, both of which ended 1-1: Fiorentina-Udinese and Juventus-Bologna.

Other leagues have experienced similar days, with eight draws out of eleven English First Division matches on 10 September 1966 and eight draws out of ten matches in the thirteenth round of the Argentine Clausura (though the matches occurred over a period of three days). On a percentage basis, the record goes to Scotland, with draws in all six Premier Division matches played on 22 January 1994.

[Special thanks to the Guardian's John Ashdown for the information, published in his Knowledge column on 3 May 2011.]

26 April 1991 - The Hand Of God Gets Caught In The Cookie Jar

On 26 April 1991, police in Buenos Aires arrested Diego Maradona for possession of cocaine. It was one more twist in the spiraling descent of the Argentina star, who had just started serving a 15-month ban from Italian football.

Although he was already suffering from a cocaine addiction when he joined Napoli in 1984, he reached his greatest potential while at the club, winning two Serie A titles (1987, 1990) and the UEFA Cup (1989). Meanwhile, he shined on the international stage for Argentina, guiding them to the 1986 World Cup trophy while winning the Golden Ball at the tournament's best player.

But in March 1991, the Italian Football Federation suspended Maradona for 15 months after he tested positive for cocaine. He returned to Buenos Aires, but could not escape his troubles. On the morning on 26 April, police roused him from bed at his apartment and arrested him for possession of cocaine.

Maradona's ongoing problems proved too much for Napoli, who transferred him to Sevilla in 1992 at the completion of his suspension. His troubles continued, however, including a dismissal from the 1994 World Cup after a positive test for ephedrine and another arrest for cocaine possession in 1997. The latter effectively ended his playing career.

He returned to the sport in 2008 to manage Argentina's 2010 World Cup campaign, but his contract expired after the tournament. He followed that with a brief spell in charge of UAE club Al Wasl from 2011 to 2012 and he is currently out of football.

13 September 1973 - A Born Leader

On 13 September 1973, former Italian World Cup-winning captain and 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year Fabio Cannavaro was born in Naples. A center back, he is the only defender in history to win that award.

Cannavaro got his start in 1988 with the Napoli youth team, then signed with the senior side in 1992. In 1995, he moved to Parma, where he rose to international prominence and won his first silverware - a 1999 treble consisting of the Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italia, and UEFA Cup. That success prompted a €23 million transfer to Inter in the summer of 2002, but he stayed there only two seasons before moving to Juventus (2004-06).

In his two seasons at Juve, he won two Serie A titles, then followed that stint by captaining the Italian national team to the World Cup title. Cannavaro played every minute for the Azzurri, who conceded only two goals in the tournament (an own goal against the US and a penalty kick against France). For his efforts, he received the FIFA World Player of the Year Award.

After the World Cup, Cannavaro moved to Real Madrid for three seasons, which included two La Liga titles, then returned to Juventus in 2009. But his form began to suffer and, in 2010, the club decided not to renew his contract. He then shocked the footballing community by moving to Al-Ahli Dubai, where he played until his retirement in 2011.

30 October 1960 - The Albicelestes' Greatest Star Is Born

On 30 October 1960, Argentinian superstar Diego Maradona was born in the city of Lanús.

Raised in poverty on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Maradona joined Argentinos Juniors as a 10-year old youth player. He signed his first professional contract with them in 1976 and made 167 appearances before transferring to Boca Juniors in 1981.

After an impressive performance for Argentina in the 1982 World Cup, he moved to Barcelona for a then-record fee of £5 million. Although successful during his time in Spain, winning a 1983 treble of the Copa del Rey, Copa de la Liga, and Spanish Super Cup, his relationship with the club was tempestuous and he moved to Napoli in 1984 for a new record fee of £6.9 million.

He became a true international superstar in 1986, when he captained Argentina to the World Cup title, playing every minute of every match for the Albicelestes, scoring 5 goals and making 5 assists. Two of those goals came in the legendary 2-1 win over England--the "Hand of God" and the "Goal of the Century," which cemented his status as one of football's greatest players. He followed his World Cup success by winning silverware with Napoli, including two Serie A titles (1987, 1990) and the UEFA Cup (1989). He left Napoli in 1991 and spent time with Sevilla (1992-93), Newell's Old Boys (1993), and a second stint at Boca Juniors (1995-97) before retiring.

Despite a controversial personal life, including a constant struggle with a cocaine addiction, Maradona was voted FIFA's Co-Player of the Century in 2000, along with Pelé.

24 September 1961 - Dino's Down, But Not Out

On 24 September 1961, 19-year old Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff made his Serie A debut with Udinese in a 5-2 loss to Fiorentina. He made only four appearances for Udinese in the 1961-62 season, which ended in relegation for the club.

After a season in Serie B with Udinese, he moved to back to Serie A in 1963 with Montova, who were themselves relegated in 1965 and then promoted back to Serie A in 1966. He moved to Napoli for five seasons (1967-72) before finally settling with Juventus.

He played 11 seasons for the Bianconeri, winning six Scudettos, two Coppa Italia trophies, and the 1977 UEFA Cup Final. He also earned honors with the Italian national team, winning the 1968 UEFA European Championship and captaining the Azzurri to a 3-1 win over West Germany in the 1982 World Cup Final. He was 40 at the time, making him the oldest person to win the Jules Rimet Trophy.

He retired from playing in 1983 after making 330 Serie A appearances with Juventus.

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.

13 January 2008 - A Glimpse Of What Could Have Been

On 13 January 2008, Ronaldo scored his last two goals in European club competition as Milan beat Napoli 5-2.

The striker, who started his career in Brazil with Cruzeiro from 1993, moved to Europe in 1994 to play for PSV. He spent two seasons there, followed by stints with Barcelona (1996-97), Inter Milan (1997-2002), and Real Madrid (2002-06) before joining AC Milan in the summer of 2006. Along the way, he scored a total of 271 goals in Europe through the 2006-07 season, winning a European Golden Boot (1997) and two Ballons d'Or (1997, 2002).

By the 2007-08 season, however, injuries and weight problems limited his playing time and effectiveness, holding him to six appearances and only two goals. Both of those goals came against Napoli (15', 46'), as he combined with his Brazilian compatriots Kaká (68') and Alexandre Pato (74') to dismantle the visiting side. (Clarence Seedorf provided the remaining goal (31')).

Unfortunately for Ronaldo and Milan, he suffered a season-ending knee injury one month later against Livorno, making those two goals against Napoli his only competitive scores of the season. Milan then released him that summer.

The injury was potentially career-ending, but he underwent a successful rehabilitation and returned to the pitch in March 2009 for Corinthians and remained with the club until his retirement in February 2011.

27 December 1966 - The Death Of Guillermo Stábile

On 27 December 1966, Argentina star player and manager Guillermo Stábile died at the age of 61.

A center forward, he joined Huracán as a youth player in 1920, then played there professionally from 1924 to 1930. In that time, he scored 102 goals in 119 appearances, winning the Primera División title in 1925 and 1928.

In the summer of 1930, he participated in the inaugural World Cup, getting his first cap against Mexico in Argentina's second match of the tournament. He scored a hat-trick en route to a 6-3 victory, followed by a brace in the next game against Chile as Argentina topped their group. He scored two more against the United States in the semifinals, then netted in the final against Uruguay. Although Argentina lost that match 4-2, Stábile's eight goals made him the tournament's top scorer.

His performance attracted the attention of Genoa, where he played from 1930-34 before moving to Napoli for the 1934-35 season. he returned to Genoa briefly in 1935, then closed out his playing career with Red Star Paris, serving as player-manager from 1937 to 1939 when he left to manage Argentina.

As manager, he guided the national team to six South American Championships between 1941 and 1957 and the Panamerican Championship in 1960. While in charge there, he also took the reins of several different clubs, including San Lorenzo (1939-40), Estudiantes de la Plata (1940-41), Hurancán (1940-49), and finally Racing Club (1949-60), whom he led to three league titles.

In 1960, he stepped down to become the director of Argentina's national school of football, holding that post until his death in 1966.

28 May 1970 - Don"t Try To Tell Me They Weren't Taking It Seriously

On 28 May 1970, Swindon Town won the inaugural Anglo-Italian Cup, beating Napoli 3-0 in a final that had to be abandoned in the 79th minute.

Founded by Italian agent Gigi Peronace, who had dealings with several English clubs, that first tournament included a total of twelve teams--six from each country. The Italian clubs--Napoli, Juventus, Lanerossi, Roma, Fiorentina, and Lazio--all hailed from Serie A, finishing between third and tenth at the end of the previous season. Meanwhile, only four of the English clubs--Wolverhampton, West Brom, Sunderland, and Sheffield Wednesday--had been in the top flight for 1969-70 (and both Sunderland and Wednesday were relegated). The other two teams were Middlesbrough and Swindon, both from the Second Division.

Swindon were unusually prepared for the competition, however. As the 1969 League Cup champions, they played a two-game series that year against the Coppa Italia holders, Roma, and won 5-2 on aggregate. They continued that dominance in the Anglo-Italian Cup, winning three of their four group-stage games against Juventus and Napoli. Their one defeat was a 1-2 loss to Napoli and they got an opportunity to avenge that result when they met Napoli again in the final, played at the Stadio San Paolo in Naples.

There, Swindon midfielder Peter Nobles put them up 0-2 with goals in the 24th and 58th minutes. Forward Arthur Horsfield added a third in the 62nd minute, prompting a section of the home fans to hurl rocks and bottles onto the pitch. The police responded with tear gas, which served only to further aggravate the supporters, who then began to start fires and rip seats out of the concrete. With eleven minutes left, the referee sent the players into the dressing room and abandoned the match.

Despite the incidents, the Anglo-Italian Cup continued to be played annually through 1973 and was revived briefly from 1992 to 1996.

16 September 1979 - A Good Day To Tie

On 16 September 1979, the Serie A season kicked off with eight matches, seven of which ended in draws.

Goals were at a premium that day, as eleven of the sixteen teams in action failed to find the net, resulting in five scoreless draws: Ascoli-Napoli, Avellino-Lazio, Cagliari-Torino, Perugia-Catanzaro, and Roma-Milan. The other ineffective attack came from Pescara, who were on the wrong end of the day's only unbalanced result, losing 2-0 to Inter.

There were also two score draws, both of which ended 1-1: Fiorentina-Udinese and Juventus-Bologna.

Other leagues have experienced similar days, with eight draws out of eleven English First Division matches on 10 September 1966 and eight draws out of ten matches in the thirteenth round of the Argentine Clausura (though the matches occurred over a period of three days). On a percentage basis, the record goes to Scotland, with draws in all six Premier Division matches played on 22 January 1994.

[Special thanks to the Guardian's John Ashdown for the information, published in his Knowledge column on 3 May 2011.]

26 April 1991 - The Hand Of God Gets Caught In The Cookie Jar

On 26 April 1991, police in Buenos Aires arrested Diego Maradona for possession of cocaine. It was one more twist in the spiraling descent of the Argentina star, who had just started serving a 15-month ban from Italian football.

Although he was already suffering from a cocaine addiction when he joined Napoli in 1984, he reached his greatest potential while at the club, winning two Serie A titles (1987, 1990) and the UEFA Cup (1989). Meanwhile, he shined on the international stage for Argentina, guiding them to the 1986 World Cup trophy while winning the Golden Ball at the tournament's best player.

But in March 1991, the Italian Football Federation suspended Maradona for 15 months after he tested positive for cocaine. He returned to Buenos Aires, but could not escape his troubles. On the morning on 26 April, police roused him from bed at his apartment and arrested him for possession of cocaine.

Maradona's ongoing problems proved too much for Napoli, who transferred him to Sevilla in 1992 at the completion of his suspension. His troubles continued, however, including a dismissal from the 1994 World Cup after a positive test for ephedrine and another arrest for cocaine possession in 1997. The latter effectively ended his playing career.

He returned to the sport in 2008 to manage Argentina's 2010 World Cup campaign, but his contract expired after the tournament and he is currently out of football.

13 September 1973 - A Born Leader

On 13 September 1973, future Italian World Cup-winning captain and 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year Fabio Cannavaro was born in Naples. A center back, he is the only defender in history to win that award.

Cannavaro got his start in 1988 with the Napoli youth team, then signed with the senior side in 1992. In 1995, he moved to Parma, where he rose to international prominence and won his first silverware - a 1999 treble consisting of the Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italia, and UEFA Cup. That success prompted a €23 million transfer to Inter in the summer of 2002, but he stayed there only two seasons before moving to Juventus (2004-06).

In his two seasons at Juve, he won two Serie A titles, then followed that stint by captaining the Italian national team to the World Cup title. Cannavaro played every minute for the Azzurri, who conceded only two goals in the tournament (an own goal against the US and a penalty kick against France). For his efforts, he received the FIFA World Player of the Year Award.

After the World Cup, Cannavaro moved to Real Madrid for three seasons, which included two La Liga titles, then returned to Juventus in 2009. But his form began to suffer and, in 2010, the club decided not to renew his contract. He then shocked the footballing community by moving to Al-Ahli Dubai, his current club.

30 October 1960 - The Albicelestes' Greatest Star Is Born

On 30 October 1960, future Argentinian superstar Diego Maradona was born in the city of Lanús, Argentina.

Raised in poverty on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Maradona joined Argentinos Juniors as a 10-year old youth player. He signed his first professional contract with them in 1976 and made 167 appearances before transferring to Boca Juniors in 1981.

After an impressive performance for Argentina in the 1982 World Cup, he moved to Barcelona for a then-record fee of £5 million. Although successful during his time in Spain, winning a 1983 treble of the Copa del Rey, Copa de la Liga, and Spanish Super Cup, his relationship with the club was tempestuous and he moved to Napoli in 1984 for a new record fee of £6.9 million.

He became a true international superstar in 1986, when he captained Argentina to the World Cup title, playing every minute of every match for the Albicelestes, scoring 5 goals and making 5 assists. Two of those goals came in the legendary 2-1 win over England--the "Hand of God" and the "Goal of the Century," which cemented his status as one of football's greatest players. He followed his World Cup success by winning silverware with Napoli, including two Serie A titles (1987, 1990) and the UEFA Cup (1989). He left Napoli in 1991 and spent time with Sevilla (1992-93), Newell's Old Boys (1993), and a second stint at Boca Juniors (1995-97) before retiring.

Despite a controversial personal life, including a constant struggle with a cocaine addiction, Maradona was voted FIFA's Co-Player of the Century in 2000, along with Pelé.

Maradona currently manages the Argentinian national team, who recently secured their spot in the 2010 World Cup Finals despite a rocky start to qualification.

24 September 1961 - Dino's Down, But Not Out

On 24 September 1961, 19-year old Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff made his Serie A debut with Udinese in a 5-2 loss to Fiorentina. He made only four appearances for Udinese in the 1961-62 season, which ended in relegation for the club.

After a season in Serie B with Udinese, he moved to back to Serie A in 1963 with Montova, who were themselves relegated in 1965 and then promoted back to Serie A in 1966. He moved to Napoli for five seasons (1967-72) before finally settling with Juventus.

He played 11 seasons for the Bianconeri, winning six Scudettos, two Coppa Italia trophies, and the 1977 UEFA Cup Final. He also earned honors with the Italian national team, winning the 1968 UEFA European Championship and captaining the Azzurri to a 3-1 win over West Germany in the 1982 World Cup Final. He was 40 at the time, making him the oldest person to win the Jules Rimet Trophy.

He retired from playing in 1983 after making 330 Serie A appearances with Juventus.