7 August 2010 - QPR Stake Their Claim

On 7 August 2010, Queens Park Rangers established their credibility as Championship title contenders by crushing Barnsley 4-0 on the season's opening day.

They had stumbled to a thirteenth-place finish the season before, due in part to a prolific shuffling of managers before settling on Neil Warnock in March 2010. Under Warnock's leadership, many in the media tipped the London club to challenge for promotion in 2011.

Their season opener, played at home against Barnsley, was close for a half, with Rangers taking a 1-0 lead into the break after a 41st-minute penalty from Heidar Helguson. Barnsley missed chances on either side of half time for an equalizer, twice hitting the post, before Jamie Mackie doubled QPR's lead with a 53rd-minute tap-in.

QPR benefited from the presence of midfielder Adel Taarabt (pictured), who had just signed a permanent deal after spending the previous season with them on loan from Tottenham. The Moroccan international worked tirelessly and was rewarded with a goal from the spot in the 63rd minute. Captain Fitz Hall added a fourth goal in the 81st minute to complete the rout.

The win sent QPR to the top of the table, where they remained for all but two weeks of the season (they dropped to second once in October and once in November). They finished the season with 88 points, four clear of runners-up Norwich City, to claim automatic promotion to the Premier League for 2011-12.

6 August 1936 - The Death of Josep Sunyol

On 6 August 1936, FC Barcelona president Josep Sunyol was captured and executed by fascist troops. His death remains a grim reminder of Catalonia's oppression under the Franco regime.

Born in 1898, Sunyol first became involved with Barça in 1926 and was elected to the Board of Directors two years later. During that time, he was also active as a left-wing politician and journalist, using his newspaper La Rambla and his position in the Spanish legislature to oppose the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera.

He was elected president of FC Barcelona in 1935. When the Spanish Civil War broke out soon afterward, both the club and the Catalan region were targeted by the right-wing nationalists as symbols of republican resistance. In August 1936, only one month into the conflict, Sunyol set out from Barcelona for a meeting with fellow republicans in Madrid. But as he passed through a Franco-held region in the Sierra de Guadarrama north of the Spanish capital, he was recognized by nationalist troops who apprehended him, then executed him. The nationalists' anti-Catalonian sentiments ran so deep that they ordered the name on Sunyol's gravestone to be spelled in the Castilian style as "Josep Suñol."

Sunyol's death was only a small part of the abuses the city and club of Barcelona suffered under Franco, but he is remembered as a martyr to the Catalan cause.

5 August 1970 - Hull City Pays The Penalty

On 5 August 1970, Manchester United and Hull City met in the semifinals of the Watney Cup, with the contest decided by England's first penalty shootout.

The Watney Mann Invitational, sponsored by the brewery of the same name, was established as a preseason tournament for the teams who scored the most in their Football League divisions the previous season, but were neither promoted nor playing in Europe. Two teams from each division participated and in 1970, the competition's first year, those teams were First Division sides Manchester United and Derby County, the Second Division's Hull City and Sheffield United, the Third Division's Fulham and Reading, and the Fourth Division's Aldershot and Peterborough United.

For the semifinal, Hull hosted Manchester United at Boothferry Park and took an early lead before Denis Law found a late equalizer. Still even at 1-1 after extra time, the match then went into a penalty shootout. Both FIFA and UEFA had just adopted the procedure for the 1970-71 season and the Watney Cup was England's first crack at it.

George Best (pictured) added to his already impressive list of achievements by taking--and converting--the first kick. Denis Law earned the dubious distinction of being the first to miss a kick when Hull keeper Ian McKechnie made the first save. The day soon turned sour for McKechnie, though, as it was his own missed kick that sent Manchester United through to the final, where they lost to Derby County.

4 August 2001 - Ronaldinho Makes His French Connection

On 4 August 2001, young Brazilian star Ronaldinho made his first appearance for PSG after surprising the world with his decision to move to the Paris club.

The attacking midfielder began his career with Grêmio in 1998 and joined Brazil's national team one year later. As good as he was for his club (72 goals in 145 appearances), he attracted a great deal of attention for his international play in the 1999 Copa America and Confederations Cup tournaments. Clubs such as Arsenal, Lazio, Barcelona, and Milan tried to sign him, but he shocked them all by signing with PSG in January 2001, agreeing to a five-year contract worth £5 million. Those clubs weren't the only ones surprised; Grêmio's president claimed to have learned of the deal from PSG's website.

Ronaldinho's first appearance was modest; he came on as a substitute in a 1-1 draw with Auxerre. But in two seasons there, he scored 25 goals and provided 18 assists in 86 appearances and also won the 2001 Intertoto Cup.

After the 2002-03 season, Barcelona finally got their man, signing him for €30 million. Milan eventually got him, too, when he left Barcelona in 2008. In 2011, he returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo, his current club.

3 August 1952 - Singer, Actor, Spurs Superstar

On 3 August 1952, future World Cup winner and Tottenham Hotspur Hall-of-Famer Osvaldo "Ossie" Ardiles was born in Bell Ville, Argentina.

The midfielder made his professional debut in 1973 for Argentinian club Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba and he earned his first international cap for Argentina's senior side that same year. Five years and two clubs later (Belgrano, 1974, and Huracán, 1975-78) he was a regular for the national team, starting in every match but one of Argentina's World Cup-winning campaign.

After the 1978 World Cup, he moved to Tottenham where he quickly became a fan favorite along with his fellow Argentinian teammate Ricardo Villa. The central midfield pair brought success to Spurs, helping them win back-to-back FA Cups in 1981 and 1982 (during that time, Ardiles also co-starred with Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, and Pelé in the 1981 film Victory and recorded the single "Ossie's Dream" with Chas & Dave in 1981). Villa left in 1983, but Ardiles remained and went on to win the 1984 UEFA Cup with Tottenham. He left Spurs in 1988, but returned to manage the club briefly from 1993 to 1994.

In 2008, he and Villa were jointly inducted into Tottenham's Hall of Fame.

2 August 1969 - For Leeds, Charity Begins At Home

On 2 August 1969, Leeds United continued their remarkable run of success under manager Don Revie, winning the Charity Shield over Manchester City. Although the final score was 2-1, the match was not as close as that narrow margin suggests.

Don Revie had taken charge of Leeds as their player-manager in 1961, with the club in the Second Division. Under his guidance, they earned promotion to the top flight in 1964. By 1968, they won their first major honors, taking both the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and the League Cup that year. They followed that performance by winning the First Division title in 1969, which sent them to the Charity Shield against the 1969 FA Cup winners, Manchester City.

Despite their recent success, Revie sought to strengthen the side that summer by signing Allan Clarke from Leicester City for the then-record British transfer fee of £165,000. The Charity Shield, played at Leeds' Elland Road stadium, was his first match for his new club and the striker promptly established himself as a scoring threat, striking the bar early and forcing a couple of impressive saves from the City keeper.

The match remained scoreless at the break, but after the restart, Leeds scored twice in quick succession with goals from Eddie Gray (55') and Jack Charlton (58'). The rapid change deflated the City side, who nevertheless managed a consolation goal in the 90th minute from Colin Bell.

The Charity Shield turned out to be Leeds' only silverware that season, though they came close to winning more. They finished as runners-up in both the league and the FA Cup, and as semifinalists in the European Cup.

1 August 1978 - Boca Make Bridesmaids Of Borussia

On 1 August 1978, Boca Juniors won their second international trophy, beating Borussia Mönchengladbach over two legs in the Intercontinental Cup. Despite the date, it was actually the 1977 edition.

The Argentinian team earned the right to play in the competition by winning their first international trophy--the Copa Libertadores--the year before. As the Intercontinental Cup was designed to pit the Copa Libertadores champion against the European Cup winner, they should have faced Liverpool, who won the 1977 European Cup over Mönchengladbach. But Liverpool declined the invitation, opening it up for the German side.

They met in Buenos Aires for the first leg on 21 March and battled to a 2-2 draw at La Bombanera to set up the decisive second leg in Germany. Playing before a crowd of 38,000 at the Wildparkstadion in Karlsruhe, the visitors quickly staked their claim to the trophy with a goal from striker Darío Felman in just the 2nd minute. A second goal followed in the 33rd minute when the ball fell at the feet of striker Ernesto Mastrángelo just inches outside the German goal for him to easily tap home. Four minutes later, Boca midfielder Carlos Salinas (pictured) all but settled the tie when he beat the German keeper one-on-one from the middle of the box.

With more than a half remaining, the Germans applied tremendous attacking pressure while players made flying and diving tackles all over the pitch. Boca's defense refused to break, however, and they claimed the win by the score of 0-3.

Boca won the Intercontinental Cup again in 2000 and 2003, while Mönchengladbach never returned to the competition.