31 July 1976 - The Wonderful Paulo Wanchope

On 31 July 1976, Costa Rican striker Paulo Wanchope, scorer of the greatest goal in Derby County history, was born in Heredia.

He started his career with his hometown club Herediano in 1993, then joined Derby in 1997 for a transfer fee of £600,000 after impressing in Costa Rica's qualification campaign for the 1998 World Cup. On his debut for the Rams, he scored a wonder goal against Manchester United that Derby supporters later voted the greatest goal in club history.

In the summer of 1999, Derby sold him to West Ham for £3.5 million, but he spent only one season there before moving to Manchester City for £3.65 million. Although he was a fan favorite there, injuries limited his playing time and he scored a total of 27 league goals in four seasons. He then played for six different clubs around the world before retiring from club football in 2007.

He continued to play for Costa Rica until 2008, however, and finished as the team's all-time leading scorer with 45 goals in 73 appearances. Although Rolando Fonseca later passed that mark in 2011 with 47 goals, Wanchope remains second on the team's all-time scoring table.

30 July 1976 - That's Giving The Fans Their Moneys' Worth

On 30 July 1976, Cruzeiro became just the second Brazilian team to win the Copa Libertadores, beating River Plate 3-2 in a playoff.

Since the tournament started in 1960, teams from Brazil had reached the final five times, but only one—Santos—emerged as winners (though they did it twice, in 1962 and 1963). Palmeiras lost in 1961 and 1968 and São Paulo lost in 1974 before Cruzeiro had their opportunity. Their opponents were River Plate, who had been to the final once before, finishing as runners-up in 1966.

Cruzeiro hosted the first leg on 21 July and won 4-1, but River Plate won the second leg 2-1 a week later. Because the title was decided on points, not aggregate score, the results required a playoff at a neutral ground.

They met at the Estadio Nacional de Chile in Santiago, where Cruzeiro took a two-goal lead with goals from Nelinho (24') and Eduardo (55'). River Plate fought back with goals from Oscar Más (59') and Urquiza (64'). The Brazilians would not be denied, however, and got a late match-winner from Joãozinho (88').

Since then, Cruzeiro has returned to the final three more times, most recently in 2009, and won it again in 1997. River Plate, meanwhile, made it back to the final twice more, in 1986 and 1996, winning it both times.

29 July 2011 - The USSF's Five-Year Plan Comes To Fruition

On 29 July 2011, the United States Soccer Federation announced the hiring of Jürgen Klinsmann as the national team's new manager.

Although a successful player with Germany, Inter, Bayern Munich, Klinsmann had served as a manager only twice before, and for brief spells. He guided the German national team to a third-place finish in the 2006 World Cup, but left that summer after only two years at the helm. He then took charge of Bayern Munich in July 2008, but left the following April after a disappointing spell.

Despite his lack of experience, the USSF had been keen to hire Klinsmann since 2006, reportedly offering him the job twice before, only to have negotiations break down when the federation would not agree to give him the broad degree of control he demanded. But after their dismissal of Bob Bradley in July 2011, they finally reached terms with Klinsmann.

His tenure started poorly, with the team losing four of their first six matches, but the situation improved by 2012, when the US enjoyed a run of success including their first-ever away win over rivals Mexico. The team continues to shine under Klinsmann, having just won the 2013 Gold Cup on the back of a team-record eleven-game winning streak.

28 July 2012 - Zlatan Gets Off To A Quick Start

On 28 July 2012, Zlatan Ibrahimović wasted no time settling in with his new club, Paris Saint-Germain, scoring on his debut.

He completed the move about ten days earlier, joining PSG from Milan for a reported transfer fee of close to €20M. That brought his total career transfer fees to €180M in aggregate, breaking the record previously held by Nicolas Anelka as the world's most expensive footballer.

His first match with PSG was a friendly against DC United as part of the 2012 World Football Challenge. DC hosted the match at RFK Stadium, where it was delayed for 45 minutes because of a thunderstorm. Once it kicked off, however, Ibrahimović lived up to his reputation as one of the world's best strikers by scoring in the third minute--he received the ball just inside DC's eighteen-yard line, beat a defender, and fired a left-footed blast into the far bottom corner.

DC equalized with a Dwayne DeRosario penalty kick in the 33rd minute and the game ended 1-1.

Ibrahimović's goal was the first of 35 he scored that season in all competitions, including 30 in Ligue 1, making him the French top flight's leading scorer. PSG also won the title, their first since 1994.

27 July 1984 - Seventh Heaven For Independiente

On 27 July 1984, Independiente won their record seventh Copa Libertadores, beating Grêmio on points over two legs.

Independiente were already the competition's most successful team, winning it six times between 1964 and 1975, including four straight from 1972 to 1975. Grêmio had lifted the cup more recently, though, taking the honors in 1983. Both teams had won it everytime they appeared in the final, setting a pattern that the 1984 final would have to break.

Grêmio hosted the first leg on 24 July, but Independiente got the win with a goal from midfielder Jorge Burrachaga. At the time, the final was decided on points, with two for a win and one for a draw, which meant that Independiente would claim the trophy as long as they didn't lose the second leg three days later.

Which they didn't, holding Grêmio to a scoreless draw. The title was their seventh, which remains the most of any club.

26 July 2009 - Which, Coincidentally, Is As High As I Can Count In Spanish

On 26 July 2009, Mexico won their second consecutive Gold Cup—and fifth overall—beating the United States by the record margin of 5-0.

The US were the defending champions, having beaten Mexico 2-1 in the 2007 final, and had matched their North American rivals throughout the earlier stages. Both teams had identical group stage records of two wins and a draw, and both went to extra time in the knockout rounds to reach the final (the US beat Panama 2-1 (aet) in the quarterfinals and Mexico needed a penalty shootout to advance over Costa Rica in the semis). By all appearances, the final looked to be a competitive match.

And, for a half, it was. Deadlocked at 0-0 through the break, Mexico eventually pulled ahead when captain Gerardo Torrado beat goalkeeper Troy Perkins with a 56th-minute penalty kick. It proved to be the key that unlocked the door to the goal, as it was followed in quick succession by strikes from Giovanni dos Santos (62'), Carlos Vela (67'), José Antonio Castro (79'), and Guillermo Franco (90').

The resulting 5-0 scoreline remains the largest margin of victory in any Gold Cup final, beating Mexico's own previous record of 4-0 set against the US in 1993.

25 July 2012 - Better Late Than Never (Unless You're Colombia)

On 25 July 2012, North Korea delayed their opening-day Olympic match against Colombia by over an hour after the organizers displayed the wrong flag on the scoreboard.

Scheduled to start 7:45 p.m. local time, the match was the second of the day at Glasgow's Hampden Park, following the USA's win over France earlier that day. As game time approached, the Colombian players lined up in the tunnel and prepared to take the field, but the Koreans remained in their locker room. They soon made clear that their failure to appear was a protest, made after they realized that the stadium's scoreboard was showing the South Korean flag next to their players' profiles, which they interpreted as a major insult.

Officials eventually corrected the mistake and the game kicked off at 8:50 p.m. Colombia probably would have preferred that it remain delayed, as North Korea won 2-0 with both goals coming from Kim Song-Hui (pictured).