On this Day: August 10

At the Olympic Games Italian heroes were able to continue their slew of medals on this day, including a silver in one of the most thrilling high jump contests in the history of the sport. There was also the birth of someone who after a thousand matches became part of the furniture of football, and a first goal for a very expensive Argentina international on the peninsula. 1973 - 'Il Capitano' - known outside of Inter as Javier Zanetti, was born in Buenos Aires. Playing well over a thousand professional matches, Zanetti holds almost every appearance record imaginable. In a remarkable 19 seasons at Inter he won Serie A five times, the Coppa Italia four times and one each of the UEFA Cup and Champions League. Outside of football he is known as one of the most charitable former pros in the game, especially helping out in Argentina where he also holds the record for the most national team caps. 1984 - One of the best duels in athletics memory occurred as Sara Simeoni and Ulrike Meyfarth battled in the high jump at the Olympic Games - with the Italian Simeoni winning silver. Simeoni reached the 2 metre mark for the first time in six years but her effort was bested by a monster jump from German Meyfarth, who despite being in the twilight of her career tallied 2.02m. 2008 - Italian athletes continued their stunning prowess in the sport of fencing, with Matteo Tagliariol clinching gold in the men's epee in Beijing at the Olympic Games. Standing in his way was the decorated French fencer Fabrice Jeannet, a former world champion, but the Italian hero crushed his opponent 15-9 to make his way atop the podium. 2013 - Gonzalo Higuain scored his first ever goal in a Napoli shirt as the Partenopei beat Benfica 2-1 in a friendly. Fireworks and dance routines met the players as the preseason celebrations came to a close, with Valon Behrami breaking the deadlock very quickly. After Benfica dragged themselves level, the fresh faced Argentine Higuain was in the right place at the right time to meet Pablo Armero's dangerous cross.

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