23 August 1910 - The Man From Milan

On 23 July 1910, future Italian legend Giuseppe Meazza was born in Milan. He would go on the become the Italian national team's greatest scorer and a two-time World Cup winner.

Meazza, who lost his father to the war in 1917, learned to play football barefoot on the streets of Milan. When he was 12, he began playing for local side Gloria FC and a fan bought him his first pair of football boots. He began his professional career in 1927 with Inter and was an immediate success, scoring a brace in his debut against Milanese Unione Sportiva. The following season, the first for Serie A, he scored 31 goals.

He remained with Inter for 13 seasons, winning three Serie A titles (1930, 1938, 1940) and one Coppa Italia (1939). During that period, he joined the Italian national team, earning his first cap in 1930 and winning back-to-back World Cups in 1934 and 1938. In all, he scored 33 goals for the Azzurri, making his the national team's leading scorer until the record was broken by Gigi Riva in 1973.

In 1940, he moved across town to Milan, where he played for two seasons. He later spent time with Juventus (1942-43), Varese (1944), and Atalanta (1945-46), before returning to Inter for one last season before retiring. He turned to management, starting with Atalanta, but also taking charge of Inter (on three separate occasions) and the Italian national team before retiring completely in 1957. He died in 1979 at the age of 68. The next year, Inter and Milan renamed their joint stadium after him.

25 March 1934 - Somehow, I Doubt Italy Minded Having To Play

On 25 March 1934, Italy played the first - and to date, only - World Cup qualifying match for a host country, beating Greece 4-0 before a crowd of 20,000 at the San Siro in Milan.

The 1934 tournament was only the second World Cup and the first to require qualification at all. FIFA had invited all member countries to compete in the previous tournament, but only 13 accepted the invitation, making qualification unnecessary. By 1934, however, the Cup had become more popular and 32 countries applied to compete. In order to winnow the number down to a manageable 16 for the tournament proper, FIFA split the 32 entrants into twelve groups. Most of the groups had two or three countries, though one had four. The groups were divided geographically, with Italy ending up in Group 3 with Greece.

When Italy and Greece met in Milan on 25 March, the Azzurri dominated the match from start to finish. The Greeks managed to hyold the Italians off for the better part of the first half, but created few scoring chances of their own. In the 40th minute, Italy finally cracked the Greek defense with a goal from Brazilian-born Anfilogeno Guarisi. That goal opened the floodgates, as forward Giuseppe Meazza netted a brace (44', 71') around a strike from midfielder Giovanni Ferrari (69').

The Greeks were so disheartened by the beating that they withdrew from the competition despite the fact that they had been scheduled to play a second leg at home. Italy advanced to the First Round where they beat the United States 7-1 on their way to their first World Cup title.

For the 1936 World Cup, FIFA decided that the hosts should qualify automatically. That practice continues to this day, making Italy the only host in history to play a World Cup qualifier.

14 November 1934 - The Battle Of Highbury

On 14 November 1934, England defeated Italy 3-2 before a crowd of 56,000 at Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, London. Ostensibly a "friendly," the match was a violent affair, resulting in several injuries, including broken bones, earning it the nickname "The Battle of Highbury."

The match generated a lot of excitement, pitting World Cup-holders Italy against traditionally strong England. The Three Lions had not participated in the 1934 World Cup and viewed the match as an opportunity to stake their claim as the world's best side. Similarly, Italy sought to solidify their status as world champions. Prime Minister Benito Mussolini reportedly offered the Italian players a victory bounty including a car and the equivalent of £150 if they beat the English team.

Italy got off to a rough start, as center half Luis Monti suffered a broken foot after a challenge by England center forward Ted Drake in the second minute and had to leave the pitch. At that time, the rules did not allow for substitutions, so Italy played the remainder of the match with 10 men.

Monti's injury sparked retaliation by the Italians and English full back Eddie Hapgood received a broken nose, while outside left Eric Brook had his arm broken. Nevertheless, England took a 3-0 lead into the break with goals from Brook (3', 10') and Drake (12').

Despite being down a man, Italy fought back in the second half with a brace from inside forward Giuseppe Meazza (58', 62'). He came to close to completing a hat-trick, but his potential equalizer hit the woodwork and the match ended 3-2.

In addition to providing a dramatic display of international football, the match set an English record by including seven starters from Arsenal--the first (and to date, only) time the English national team started seven players from the same club.