27 July 1984 - Clearly, I Am In The Wrong Business

On 27 July 2007, Chelsea captain John Terry became the highest-paid player in Premier League history. For a while, anyway.

The Blues had just completed a three-year run in which they won the league twice (2005, 2006), then finished as runners-up to Manchester United (2007). They also won the FA Cup and the League Cup in 2007. Terry, who was also the England captain at the time, had two years remaining on his existing contract that paid him a reported £67,000 per week, well behind teammates Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko, who were both earning close to £120,000.

Terry's contract negotiations dragged out over a couple of months, but the defender maintained throughout that he had no intention of leaving the club. In July, Chelsea rewarded his loyalty with a new five-year deal that paid him close to £135,000 per week to surpass the record previously held by Ballack and Shevchenko. But Terry's status as the league's best-paid player did not last long. In August 2008, Chelsea signed midfielder Frank Lampard to a new deal worth £140,000 per week (which triggered an increase in Terry's pay to the same level). Even then, they both were well behind AC Milan midfielder Kaká and Inter striker Zlatan Ibrahimović, both of earned close to £166,000 per week.

In 2010, Manchester United smashed the Premier League record by signing Wayne Rooney to a 5-year deal worth a reported £250,000 per week.

4 December 2009 - Maybe The Goalkeepers Spoke A Bit Too Soon

On 4 December 2009, Adidas introduced their controversial new match ball for the 2010 World Cup, the Jabulani.

Named after the Zulu word for "celebrate," the ball was made from eight spherically molded panels and had a textured surface designed to improve its aerodynamics. The result was unpredictable flight behavior which drew heavy criticism from several players. Goalkeepers were particularly unhappy, including Brazil's Julio Cesar, who called it a "supermarket ball," Spain's Iker Casillas, who said it was "horrible," and Italy's Gianluigi Buffon, who said it was "absolutely inadequate."

Predictably, players contracted to Adidas provided more favorable reviews, including such high-profile stars as Kaká ("just great"), Michael Ballack ("fantastic"), and Frank Lampard ("very strong").

The overall effect appeared to be a reduction in goalscoring, as the tournament had only 145 goals, the fewest of any World Cup since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998.

1 December 2009 - The Ballon d'Or Gets Messi

On 1 December 2009, Lionel Messi capped an amazing year by winning the Ballon d'Or as the world's best footballer. And he did by a record margin of votes.

A panel of sports journalists from around the world voted on the award, which had previously been limited to players from European clubs, but expanded in 2007 to include footballers from anywhere in the world.

The award came on the heels of Messi's incredible run with Barcelona in 2008-09 in which the Catalan club won a staggering total of six trophies--La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Supercopa de España, the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup, and the UEFA Champions League. Messi was one of four players from that team to finish in the voters' top five--the others were Xavi (3rd), Andrés Iniesta (4th), and Samuel Eto'o (5th), who had since moved to Inter in the summer of 2009.

The second-place finisher was Cristiano Ronaldo, who had won the award over Messi in 2008. In 2009, Messi finished with 473 out of a possible 480 first-place votes, more than doubling Ronaldo's total that year of 233 votes and setting a record separation of 240 votes between first and second place. The previous record was 167, set in 2007 when voting expanded to accommodate the award's new global scope. Cristiano Ronaldo had finished second that year to future Real Madrid teammate Kaká .

23 May 2007 - Milan's Lucky Number 7

On 23 May 2007, AC Milan won their seventh European Cup/Champions League trophy, beating Liverpool 2-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens in a rematch of the 2005 Final.

It was a dramatic finish for Milan, who had earlier been barred from competing in the tournament as a result of their involvement in the Serie A match-fixing scandal of 2005-06. But on appeal, the Italian football association allowed Milan to enter the competition in the third qualifying round, rather than directly into the group stage.

Both Liverpool and Milan won their groups, but faced difficult roads to the Final. Milan beat Celtic (1-0 agg.), Bayern Munich (4-2 agg.), and Manchester United (5-3 agg.) on their way to the Olympic Stadium, while Liverpool advanced over Barcelona (2-2 agg. - Liverpool won on away goals), PSV (4-0 agg.), and Chelsea (on penalties, 1-1 (4-1)).

Despite having two of the tournament's top scorers - Milan's Kaká had a tournament-high 10 goals going into the Final, while Liverpool's Peter Crouch was tied for third with 6 goals - the defenses held strong through most of the first half (Crouch didn't come on until the second half). Milan striker Filippo "Pippo" Inzaghi broke the deadlock with a controversial 45th-minute goal that appeared to deflect off of his arm past keeper Pepe Reina.

Liverpool pressed for an equalizer in the second half, but were unable to beat Milan's goalkeeper, Dida. Inzaghi then scored a second goal in the 82nd minute. The match appeared to be won, but Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt made sure the last few minutes were exciting when he found the net in 89th minute. Liverpool could not muster a second, however, and the match ended as a 2-1 Milan win.

17 December 2007 - Yet Another Brazilian Hat-Trick

On 17 December 2007, FIFA presented its World Player of the Year awards. It was a sweep for Brazil, with Kaká and Marta named World Player of the Year and Women's World Player of the Year, respectively. It was the first--and to date only--time a single nation claimed both awards.

Earlier that year, Kaká led AC Milan to the 2006-07 Champions League title, finishing as the tournament's top scorer with 10 goals. Marta, meanwhile, had helped her club, Swedish side Umeå IK, claim a double, winning both the league and the Swedish Cup. She also led them to that year's UEFA Women's Cup Final, where they lost to Arsenal LFC, 1-0.

The 2007 award was the second consecutive Player of the Year award for Marta, who won it a third time in 2008.

Brazil walked away with a total of three honors, as FIFA conferred the 2007 Presidential Award on Pelé for his years of service to the game.

27 June 2006 - This Ronaldo Played For Real Madrid, Too

On 27 June 2006, Brazilian striker Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima scored in a World Cup match against Ghana. It was Ronaldo's 15th World Cup goal, breaking the previous record of 14 which had been set in 1974 by West German striker Gerhard "Gerd" Müller.

Ronaldo had already netted twice in the group stages of the tournament and was widely tipped to score the record-breaking goal in the Round of 16 against Ghana. Few predicted the speed with which he would score it, however. In the 5th minute, Brazilian midfielder/forward Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite ("Kaká") threaded a pass through to Ronaldo, leaving him one-on-one against the Ghanian keeper. Ronaldo sent the keeper the wrong way, slipped past him and prodded the ball into the empty net.

The goal also set another record - with his third of the tournament, Ronaldo joined German striker Jürgen Klinsmann as the only two people to score at least three goals in three separate World Cups.

Brazil went on to defeat Ghana 3-0, but lost to France 0-1 in the quarterfinals.

8 June 2005 - Crespo Humbles Brazil

On 8 June 2005, Argentina beat Brazil 3-1 in a World Cup qualifying match at the Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti in Buenos Aires.

The Albicelestes stunned the defending World Cup champions, taking a quick lead with a 3rd minute goal from striker Hernán Crespo. Crespo fired a low shot from just inside the edge of Brazil's penalty area and the ball went into the net just past the hands of oustretched keeper Dida.

Midfielder Juan Román Riquelme then doubled Argentina's lead in the 18th minute with a powerful left-footed shot from 30 meters out that flew to Dida's right and into the top corner.

Crespo added a third in the 40th minute with a flying header, completing Argentina's domination of the first half and giving them a 3-0 lead at the break.

Brazil fought back in a physical second half and finally netted a goal with a Roberto Carlos free kick in the 71st minute. They had several chances to add to their tally, but a combination of the woodwork and brilliant play from Argentina's keeper Roberto Abbondanzieri turned away shots from Ze Roberto, Roque Junior, Kaká, Adriano, and Ronaldinho.

Despite the loss, Brazil finished second in CONCACAF to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where both Argentina and Brazil were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

20 May 2004 - A Birthday Present Only FIFA Could Give (To Itself)

On 20 May 2004, FIFA organized a friendly re-match of the 1998 World Cup Final between France and Brazil. FIFA was founded on 21 May 1904 and organized the match to honor its centennial.

The friendly, like the original match, was played at Paris' Stade de France, but this time before a crowd of 79,344 - a new attendance record for the French national team. The match featured a virtual galaxy of stars, including Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Kaká for Brazil and Marcel Desailly, Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, and David Trezeguet for Les Bleus.

Unlike the 1998 Final, which was a 3-0 victory for France, the friendly ended as a scoreless draw. That in itself was historic, as never before in the ten previous meetings between the two countries had a match ended without a goal.