13 July 1979 - Bellamy Is Born

On 13 June 1979, future Wales captain and famously volatile striker Craig Bellamy was born in Cardiff. He has spent the majority of his career in England, with brief loan spells in Scotland and Wales.

Bellamy began his professional career in 1996 with Norwich City and established himself as a regular first-teamer by his second season. But after 32 goals in 84 league appearances, he drew substantial interest from other clubs, eventually moving to Coventry City in 2000 for a transfer fee of £6.5 million. Then, when Coventry were relegated at the end of his first season there, he moved on Newcastle.

He did well on the pitch at Newcastle, scoring 14 times in his first season, but he fell out with members of the coaching staff and several players, including his strike partner Alan Shearer. Manager Graeme Souness sent him out to Celtic on loan for the second half of the 2004-05 season. Afterward, he spent time with Blackburn Rovers (2005-06), Liverpool (2006-07), West Ham (2007-09), and Manchester City (2009-10) before moving to Cardiff City on loan in August 2010.

Along the way, Bellamy was accused of assault in four separate instances, though never convicted. Most recently, he was arrested in Cardiff in January 2011 for an alleged assault on two men.

Bellamy debuted for Wales in 1998 and rose to captain the team in 2006. To date, he has made 62 national team appearances and has scored 18 goals to place fifth on the list of the Wales national team's top scorers.

10 March 1971 - The Bluebirds Soar Over Madrid

On 10 March 1971, Cardiff City delivered the shock of the season and one of the club's most famous victories, upsetting Real Madrid 1-0.

The two teams met in the quarterfinals of the European Cup Winners' Cup. Cardiff, who were then in Division Two, qualified by winning the previous season's Welsh Cup. They weren't strangers to the competition, having participated in it four previous times including an impressive run in 1967-68 that ended with a semifinal loss to Hamburg.

In 1970-71, the Bluebirds flew through the first two rounds, advancing past Pezoporikos Larnacas (8-0 agg.) and Nantes (7-2 agg.) to set up their date with six-time European Cup champions Real Madrid.

Playing before a crowd of approximately 50,000 at Cardiff's Ninian Park, the hosts attacked the visitors with a blend of tenacity and quickness. They were rewarded in the 31st minute, when a surge down the left side resulted in a cross that was headed home powerfully by striker Brian Clark (pictured). Not content to sit on the lead, Cardiff continued to attack and Real Madrid were fortunate to escape with a narrow 1-0 loss.

Madrid won the second leg 2-0 to advance, eventually finishing as runners-up to Chelsea, but the first-leg victory remains one of football's greatest upsets.

29 March 1884 - The Scots Invade England

On 29 March 1884, Glasgow club Queen's Park FC became the first non-English club to appear in an FA Cup Final, losing 2-1 to Blackburn Rovers (pictured, with the Cup).

Queen's Park, founded in 1867, was Scotland's first football club. In 1870, they joined England's Football Association in order to challenge themselves against tougher competition than was available in Scotland (Scotland did not yet have its own FA at the time).

The Scottish side started the 1883-84 FA Cup in brilliant fashion, traveling to Crewe Alexandra, where they crushed their hosts 0-10 in the First Round. The did even better in the Second Round, beating Manchester FC 15-0, then kept their momentum with wins over Oswestry Town (1-7) and Aston Villa (6-1) in the Third and Fourth Rounds, respectively. Their closest match on the way to the Final was a 0-1 Fifth Round victory over Old Westminsters, but they regained their dominant form in the semifinals, beating Blackburn Olympic 4-0.

While Blackburn's road to the Final was not as dominating (despite a couple of 7-0 wins, the matches were generally closer contests), they proved to be more than a match for the Scots. The two sides maintained an even balance for the first twenty minutes until Blackburn roared ahead with two late first-half goals in quick succession. Queen's Park pulled one back before the half-time whistle, but could not find an equalizer as Blackburn bossed them around the pitch in the second half.

Queen's Park returned to the Final the following season, again losing to Blackburn, this time 2-0. They remained the only non-English side to reach the Final until Welsh club Cardiff City finished as runners-up in 1925. Two years later, Cardiff became the first non-English side to win the Cup, with a famous 1-0 victory over Arsenal at Wembley.

13 November 1945 - The Soviets Invade Britain

On 13 November 1945, Dynamo Moscow drew with Chelsea, 3-3, at Stamford Bridge before a capacity crowd of 85,000. It was the opening match of Dynamo's England tour, which saw them also face Cardiff, Arsenal, and Glasgow Rangers.

The tour was engineered by members of the FA and the Football League, who were looking to celebrate the resumption of English football after its World War II hiatus. As one of the Soviet Union's leading clubs, Dynamo generated a lot of interest in a British public that was still unfamiliar with the Soviet nation. The British press, however, was critical of the Soviets' footballing abilities, with one reporter saying Dynamo were "not nearly good enough to play our class of professional teams."

The opening half against Chelsea appeared to prove him correct, as Dynamo went down 2-0. In the second half, however, Dynamo's fluid passing game allowed them to equalize. Late into the second half, new Blues signing Tommy Lawton appeared to win the match for Chelsea with a header, but Dynamo's Vsyevolod Bobrov scored a dramatic third for the Soviets, despite appearing to be offside.

Dynamo continued to impress on its tour, crushing Third Division Cardiff, 10-1, then beating Arsenal 4-3, before finally losing to Rangers, 3-2. (Highlights of the Rangers match can be seen below.)