On 7 July 2006, Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos premiered in New York City.
Directed by John Crowder and Paul Dower and narrated by Matt Dillon, the documentary chronicles the rise and fall of the Cosmos from their founding in 1971, through their heyday in the late '70s, to their collapse in 1984.
Although Pelé, the Cosmos's most famous player, declined any involvement in the film (reportedly because the filmmakers would not pay his requested fee of $100,000), the directors did interview several other people from the club's history, including founding owner Ahmet Ertegun and a long list of Cosmos players such as Franz Beckenbauer, Giorgio Chinaglia, Shep Messing, and Werner Roth. Together, they described the club's meteoric rise from NASL expansion team to a global brand, driven primarily by the signing of Pelé in 1975. After Pelé's retirement in 1977, the Cosmos began to suffer financial pressures due to dwindling crowds and the loss of monetary backing by the former parent company, Warner Communications. As the league imploded, the Cosmos tried a season of indoor football, but could not remain afloat and folded in 1985.
On 6 July 1977, Li Jinyu was born in Shenyang, China. He has gone on to become the Chinese league's all-time top scorer.
A striker, Li started his career with his hometown club Liaoning FC in 1999 (though he spent his first season in France on loan with AS Nancy). He stayed with Liaoning until 2003, scoring a total of 46 goals in 100 league appearances. His best season there was 2002, when he claimed the league's Golden Boot with 27 goals.
Before the start of the 2004 season, he moved to Shandong Luneng, where he continued his scoring streak. In that first season, he knocked in 21 goals and claimed his first silverware with an FA Cup and Chinese Super League Cup double. After a slump in 2005 (only 17 goals), his form returned in 2006 with 26 goals, the league title, and another FA Cup.
In 2007, Li became the league's all-time top scorer, beating the previous record of 96 set by Hao Haidong. Before his retirement in 2010, he extended the record to 120 goals in 251 appearances. He also added to his trophy cabinet, winning league titles in 2008 and 2010.
On 5 July 1953, László Kubala made his first appearance for Spain, despite having already played for both Czechoslovakia and Hungary.
A support striker, Kubala was born in Hungary and started his career there with Ganz TE (1944) and Ferencváros (1945-46). In 1946, he moved to Czechoslovakia to play for Slova Bratislava. While there, he got his first cap, appearing for Czechoslovakia in a 3-4 win over Austria in October 1946. It was the first of six matches he played for them in 1946 and 1947.
But in 1948, he returned to Hungary to play for Vasas and made three appearances for the Hungarian international team that year.
He left Hungary in 1949 after it became a Communist state and eventually arrived in Spain, along with a number of other Eastern European refugees. He signed with Barcelona in 1951 and remained there for ten years. After obtaining Spanish citizenship, Kubala made his debut for Spain in a 1-0 loss to Argentina. He proceeded to earn a total of nineteen caps through 1961 and later managed the team from 1969 to 1980.
On 4 July 1990, England suffered a tearful exit from the World Cup with two missed penalties against West Germany in a semifinal shootout.
Playing before a crowd of 62,628 at Turin's Stadio delle Alpi, West Germany took a second-half lead with a goal from left back Andreas Brehme (60'), but England forward Gary Lineker scored an 80th-minute equalizer to send the match into extra time.
The Three Lions had already had their share of late heroics, including extra-time victories over Belgium and Cameroon in their two previous matches, but they could not find one against West Germany. With neither team scoring in the extra period, the match went to penalties.
After both sides scored on their first three attempts, left back Stuart Pearce sent a low ball down the middle, where it was saved by German keeper Bodo Illgner. Olaf Thon scored to put West Germany up 4-2, then midfielder Chris Waddle stepped up to the spot for England and sent his shot over the bar to end the shootout.
Despite the dramatic finish, the match is widely remembered for the booking of England midfielder Paul Gascoigne (pictured) in the 99th minute. He had received an earlier yellow card in the match against Belgium, so the caution against West Germany meant that he would miss the Final if England advanced. The television cameras showed him visibly distraught with tears in his eyes, which became an iconic image of the tournament.
West Germany went on to win the Final against Argentina to claim their third World Cup trophy.
On 3 July 2001, former Liverpool winger Billy Liddell passed away at the age of 79.
A Scottish international, he spent his entire career at Anfield, joining the youth team in 1938 when he was sixteen, then signing a professional contract in 1939. But the FA's suspension of league play for the duration of World War II limited his appearances to unofficial regional competitions, internationals, and friendlies until the end of the war.
His official debut came against Chester City in the third round of the FA Cup in January 1946, with Liddell scoring in the 2-0 victory. His league debut came the following September as he scored twice in a win over Chelsea and he went on to help Liverpool to the league title--their fifth--that season.
Liddell remained with Liverpool until his retirement in 1961, making a total of 534 appearances in all competitions and scoring 228 goals which, at the time, ranked him second on the club's all-time scoring chart (behind Gordon Hodgson at 241). He has since fallen to fourth behind Roger Hunt (286) and Ian Rush (346). In the nine seasons from 1949 to 1958, he was Liverpool's leading scorer eight times.
After his retirement, he remained in Liverpool and later became president of the Supporters Club. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in the early 1990s and died in 2001.
On 2 July 2008, Quito won the Copa Libertadores on penalties over Fluminense, 5-5 (3-1).
It was the first time in the final for both teams. Quito hosted the first leg at the Estadio Casa Blanca on 25 June and jumped out to an early lead when forward Claudio Bieler scored in the second minute. Midfielder Darío Conca equalized for Fluminense ten minutes later, but Quito then scored three straight goals (29', 34', 45') to lead 4-1 at the break. A goal from Fluminense's Thiago Neves in the 52nd minute set the final margin at 4-2.
The second leg, played at the Maracaña, started by following a similar pattern. Quito again took an early lead with a goal in the sixth minute and Fluminense again equalized in the 12th. But unlike the previous match, Fluminense were the ones to score three unanswered goals, with additional strikes in the 28th and 56th minutes. The match ended 3-1 at the end of regulation, for an aggregate score of 5-5.
Because the tournament did not consider away goals, the match went to extra time and, when nobody scored, to a penalty shootout. There, Quito goalkeeper José Francisco Cevallos blocked three of four shots, while his teammates converted three of their four kicks to win the shootout, 3-1.
On 1 July 2012, Spain successfully defended their title as European champions, crushing Italy 4-0 in the final.
After a long history of near-misses and a reputation for failing to live up to expectations, Spain finally won a major tournament when they beat Germany in the Euro 2008 final, then followed that by lifting the World Cup trophy over the Netherlands in 2010.
In their first match of Euro 2012, they faced Italy in the group stage and played to a 1-1 draw. Both teams eventually advanced, with the defending champions winning the group and Italy just two points behind in second.
Making their way through the knockout rounds, the two teams faced off again in the final, played before a crowd of over 63,000 at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev. But it was no repeat of the previous match, as Spain took control early and never let up, getting goals from David Silva (14'), Jordi Alba (41'), Fernando Torres (84'), and Juan Mata (88'), with the latter two coming on as late substitutes.
The match set several milestones--it was the largest margin in Euro final history and the first time a team had won three consecutive major international tournaments. It was also the 100th international victory for Spanish goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas.
On 7 July 2006, Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos premiered in New York City.
