On this Day: August 23

Today we commemorate the anniversary of the birth of one of football's most iconic and influential players, and further down the years his birthdate would have some significant connotations elsewhere. Romania claimed a brilliant victory at Italy's expense, whilst an Olympic gold for the nation was a huge landmark. 1910 - One of the greatest players to grace Serie A and an Italy shirt, Giuseppe Meazza, was born in Milan. Rejected by AC Milan for being too skinny, Inter welcomed him with open arms and the rest is history - winning three Serie A titles and earning himself a place in two World Cup winning Azzurri squads. Inducted posthumously into the Italian Football Hall of Fame, he of course has the honour of the San Siro in his home city being named in his memory. 1983 - Romania made history as they beat Italy for the first time in 43 years and eight matches, beating their rivals 1-0 in a European Championship qualifier in Bucharest. A considerable 80,000 fans packed the rafters in the capital for the fixture, with Laszlo Boloni placing the ball beyond Dino Zoff for the victory. The defeat would send the Azzurri spinning into another record defeat next time out. 2004 - Igor Cassina won Italy's 500th medal in Summer Olympics history, claiming a gold in the horizontal bars gymnastic event. The event itself was marred by controversy as competitor Alexei Nemov was given curiously low scores, but Cassina kept his nerve under a chorus of boos to bring home the gold from Greece for his nation. 2015 - Carpi were given a cruel dose of reality on their maiden Serie A fixture, as Sampdoria crushed them 5-2. After just 31 minutes, Sampdoria had the points wrapped up with a 3-0 scoreline - Eder and Luis Muriel both helping out. More goals would fly into the net in a thrilling contest - which also included a red card and a penalty save in separate incidents.

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