31 August 1994 - Vélez Topples The Brazilian Giant

On 31 August 1994, Vélez Sársfield won the Copa Libertadores, defeating two-time defending champions São Paulo in a penalty shootout.

Embodying the joga bonita philosophy of their manager, Tele Santana, São Paulo were in the midst of a tremendous five-year run of success that included one league title (1991), two Campeonato Paulistas (1991, 1992), two Intercontinental Cups (1992, 1993), as well as the 1992 and 1993 Copa Libertadores. They were heavily favored over Vélez Sársfield, who by that point had won a handful of amateur trophies and two league titles (1968, 1993).

But it was Vélez who took the advantage in the Copa final, winning the first leg 1-0. In the second leg, played on 31 August in São Paulo, the hosts evened the aggregate score with a 33rd minute penalty from striker Luís Antônio Corréa da Costa, better known by his nickname, Müller.

Still level at the end of regulation, the match went to a penalty shootout. After Vélez defender Roberto Trotta scored with the first kick, keeper José Luis Chilavert guessed correctly, diving to his left to parry the attempt from Sao Paulo's Palhinha. Immediately afterward, Chilavert stepped up to the spot and converted his own attempt as Vélez claimed the trophy by a 3-5 margin in the shootout.

30 August 1994 - Zaragoza Got Close, But Barça Got The Cigar

On 30 August 1994, Barcelona won their fourth Supercopa de España, beating Real Zaragoza 6-5 over two legs.

Barça won the first leg at Zaragoza by the comfortable margin of 0-2. The second leg, though, was a much tighter affair. Playing before a crowd of 70,000 at Camp Nou, Zaragoza took an early lead with a 10th-minute goal from defender Alberto Belsué, who blasted the ball right over Barcelona keeper Carles Busquets (father of current Barcelona player Sergio Busquets). Neither keeper looked very impressive, as Zaragoza's Andoni Cedrún misplayed a ball three minutes later to concede a goal from Barcelona winger Txiki Begiristain.

Things got worse for Busquets as Zaragoza evened the aggregate score at 3-3 before the break with goals from striker Juan Esnáider (32') and Francisco Higuera (33'). But Barcelona pulled ahead in the second half with a brace from striker Hristo Stoichkov (pictured) (50', 69').

Higuera scored again in the 77th minute after Busquets misplayed another ball and left him with an open goal, but Cedrún committed a similar error at the other end, allowig Txiki an uncontested strike in the 87th minute. Higuera completed his hat-trick two minutes later to win the second leg 4-5, but it was small consolation as Barça took the trophy.

It was the eleventh trophy for Barcelona manager Johan Cruyff, a record haul that was surpassed only recently by Pep Guardiola, who appeared as a substitute in that match. Guardiola's twelfth trophy came in August 2011 when Barça beat Porto in the UEFA Super Cup.

29 August 1987 - The Football League's Mystery Milestone

On 29 August 1987, somebody scored the English Football League's 400,000th goal. But nobody knows who it was.

Established in 1888, the Football League governed the top four tiers of English football until 1992, when the uppermost division broke away to form the Premier League. It is believed that the league's first goal was scored by Aston Villa full back Gershom Cox, who put the ball into his own net in the 30th minute of a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 8 September 1888. The other contender for the honor, though, is Fred Dewhurst, who netted from Preston North End in the third minute of their match against Burnley on the same day. Although Preston's match started after Villa's, lack of precision in the exact start times makes it impossible to say with certainty which goal came first.

Similarly, lack of details in match timing makes it impossible to say who scored the 400,000th goal. The records only make clear that it came on 29 August 1987. The day's 43 matches provided a total of 110 goals, with only four scoreless draws among them.

The day's highest score came from Division Three's Gillingham, who beat Southend United 8-1, while the highest tally in the top flight was Arsenal's 6-0 victory over Portsmouth. Darlington came close to that in Division Four, beating Hartlepool United 2-5. Sheffield United delivered the top score of the Second Division with a relatively modest 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.

It took almost nine years for the league to reach 500,000 goals, with Huddersfield's Gary Taylor-Fletcher collecting the honor with a strike against Rotherham United.

28 August 1994 - Fowler Flies To A Fast Record

On 28 August 1994, Liverpool beat Arsenal 3-0 thanks to 19-year old striker Robbie Fowler, who delivered the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history.

A member of Liverpool's youth team, Fowler joined the senior side in 1993 and quickly established himself as a talented goalscorer with 18 goals in 34 appearances that first season. But nothing quite prepared the Liverpool faithful for his performance against Arsenal in the second match of the 1994-95 season.

Playing before a crowd of over 30,000 at Anfield, Fowler opening the day's scoring in a 26th minute when Arsenal defender Martin Keown failed to clear a cross from a free kick. The ball dropped to the feet of Fowler, who scored with a simple finish from eight yards out. He had to work a little harder for his second goal three minutes later, shooting across the goal to send the ball in off a rebound from the far post.

But his best goal of the day was his last. In the 31st minute, he beat both Keown and goalkeeper David Seaman, who collided with one another, then slotted the ball into the open net from a narrow angle. Arsenal failed to mount a serious challenege after that point as the hosts were content to sit on the lead and the match ended 3-0.

Officially, only 4 minutes, 33 seconds passed between Fowler's first and third goals. Although there have been faster hat-tricks, including Tommy Ross's 90-second tally for Ross County in 1964), Fowler's remains the fastest in the history of the Premier League.

27 August 1977 - Deco Is Delivered

On 27 August 1977, Anderson Luís de Souza, better known as Deco, was born in São Bernando do Campo, Brazil. A star for Porto, Barcelona, Chelsea, and the Portuguese national team, the midfielder was named the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year for the 2003-04 season.

He started his professional career in 1996 with Brazilian club Corinthians, but did not stay long, moving to Portugal in 1997. He signed with Benfica, but went out on loan immediately to Alverca (1997-98) and Salgueiros (1998-99) before finally settling with Porto in 1999. He stayed there for five a half seasons, winning three league titles (1999, 2003, 2004), three Portuguese Cups (2000, 2001, 2003), the 2003 UEFA Cup, and the 2004 Champions League.

His time in Portugal led him to become a citizen and play for the Portuguese national team after he was not selected for Brazil. He went on to make 75 appearances for Portugal between 2003 and 2010.

When Porto manager José Mourinho left for Chelsea in 2004, Deco was rumored to follow him, but instead signed a four-year deal with Barcelona. There, he continued his winning ways, adding two La Liga titles (2005, 2006) and another Champions League trophy to his silverware collection.

In 2008, he finally moved to Chelsea to play for new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. Although the club was successful, winning two FA Cups (2009, 2010) and the Premier League (2010), Deco was unsettled and unhappy in London. In 2010, he moved back to Brazil to play for his current club, Fluminense.

26 August 1963 - Di Stéfano Makes A Different Kind Of Headline

On 26 August 1963, Real Madrid striker Alfredo di Stéfano, who had been kidnapped two days earlier, was released unharmed.

The abduction occurred in Caracas, Venezuela, while Real Madrid were on a preseason tour of South America. Paul del Rio, a 19-year old member of the Venezuelan revolutionary group Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional, took di Stéfano at gunpoint from his hotel. By doing so, he hoped to draw attention to the FALN's attempts to stage a Fidel Castro-type revolution in Venezuela.

They released di Stéfano (pictured, the day of his release) unharmed outside the Spanish embassy and he returned to Madrid shortly afterward.

In August 2005, di Stéfano was reunited with del Rio for the premiere of a film titled Real, the Movie that recounted the events of 1963. By that time, del Rio had long since given up his revolutionary activities and was a well-known sculptor and painter.

25 August 2002 - Deportivo's Game Of Threes

On 25 August 2002, Deportivo de La Coruña won their third Supercopa de España, beating Valencia 4-0 over two legs.

They had all but secured the trophy in the first leg played one week earlier at the Estadio Riazor in La Coruña. It had been a heated battle that spilled over into the stands, as Valencia keeper Santiago Canizares was struck by an object thrown from the crowd at the end of the match, which Deportivo won 3-0.

The emotions carried into the second leg, played at Valencia's Estadio Mestalla. In only the third minute, Valencia defender Roberto Ayala was sent off for elbowing striker Roy Makaay. Down to 10 men, the hosts were unable to create much of an attack while Deportivo were content to protect their 3-goal aggregate lead.

Tempers continued to flare and Valencia nearly had a second player sent off after left back Fabio Aurelio delivered a nasty challenge on midfielder Juan Carlos Valeron. Although the challenge could have earned a red card, the referee saw fit to issue a yellow.

There were a few other dust-ups before Deportivo midfielder Victor Sanchez scored in the 90th minute to end the competition as a 4-0 aggregate win. It was Deportivo's third win in three tries and they are the competition's third most successful team, after Real Madrid and Barcelona.