July 16, 1950, 75 years ago: The last game -- officially, not a "Final," since this edition was not a knockout tournament in the traditional sense -- of the World Cup is played at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Given the goal difference, all that hosts Brazil had to do was gain a draw, and they would be World Champions on home soil. Uruguay, on the other hand, had to win.
The 1st half ended scoreless. Shortly after play resumed, Albino Friaça put Brazil on the board. The gigantic crowd of 199,854 was ecstatic. Being 1-0 up in the 2nd half made it look like the tremendous pre-tournament and pre-game hype and confidence had been worth it.
But Uruguay's Captain, Obdulio Varela, was smart: He went to the referee, an Englishman named George Reader, and disputed the validity of the goal. Varela didn't speak English, and Reader didn't speak Spanish. An interpreter was found, and Reader learned Varela's objection: He believed (or said he did) that Friaça was offside. Reader called the linesman over, and the linesman denied it. Reader made his decision final: The goal stood.
Varela didn't get everything he wanted, but he got a big thing that he wanted: He stopped Brazil's momentum. They were standing around, waiting for play to be allowed to resume. Their fans had calmed down a bit. The home-field advantage had been dented. Reader handed the ball to Varela, who took it to the center of the field, and shouted to his teammates, "Now, it's time to win!"
And they did as he wanted: They attacked. Brazil didn't have a defense as good as their offense, and, in the 66th minute, Pepe Schiaffino equalized for Uruguay. That didn't matter much: If that 1-1 score had held, Brazil would still be World Champions.
In the 79th minute, Alcides Ghiggia ran down the right sideline, and fired a low shot that went under Brazilian goalkeeper Moacir Barbosa. It was Uruguay 2, Brazil 1. Every Brazilian -- on the pitch, in the stadium, and listening on the radio -- was in shock. Brazil attacked the rest of the way, but couldn't find the all-important equalizer. The home crowd was quiet.
Shortly after 5:00, Reader blew his whistle to end the match. Uruguay had now won 2 of the 1st 4 World Cups. Brazil had lost the world championship of their national sport, in their national stadium.
In that stadium, 3 fans died from heart attacks. Another, who had brought a gun in, killed himself.
There was no public ceremony after the game. FIFA President Jules Rimet wisely chose to present the trophy that would later bear his name to Uruguay in their locker room. Brazil manager Flavio Costa had to leave the stadium in disguise -- as a nanny. Yes, like some deposed dictators have done, he left in drag, so as not to be recognized.
But Uruguay's Captain, Obdulio Varela, was smart: He went to the referee, an Englishman named George Reader, and disputed the validity of the goal. Varela didn't speak English, and Reader didn't speak Spanish. An interpreter was found, and Reader learned Varela's objection: He believed (or said he did) that Friaça was offside. Reader called the linesman over, and the linesman denied it. Reader made his decision final: The goal stood.
Varela didn't get everything he wanted, but he got a big thing that he wanted: He stopped Brazil's momentum. They were standing around, waiting for play to be allowed to resume. Their fans had calmed down a bit. The home-field advantage had been dented. Reader handed the ball to Varela, who took it to the center of the field, and shouted to his teammates, "Now, it's time to win!"
And they did as he wanted: They attacked. Brazil didn't have a defense as good as their offense, and, in the 66th minute, Pepe Schiaffino equalized for Uruguay. That didn't matter much: If that 1-1 score had held, Brazil would still be World Champions.
In the 79th minute, Alcides Ghiggia ran down the right sideline, and fired a low shot that went under Brazilian goalkeeper Moacir Barbosa. It was Uruguay 2, Brazil 1. Every Brazilian -- on the pitch, in the stadium, and listening on the radio -- was in shock. Brazil attacked the rest of the way, but couldn't find the all-important equalizer. The home crowd was quiet.
Alcides Ghiggia
Shortly after 5:00, Reader blew his whistle to end the match. Uruguay had now won 2 of the 1st 4 World Cups. Brazil had lost the world championship of their national sport, in their national stadium.
In that stadium, 3 fans died from heart attacks. Another, who had brought a gun in, killed himself.
There was no public ceremony after the game. FIFA President Jules Rimet wisely chose to present the trophy that would later bear his name to Uruguay in their locker room. Brazil manager Flavio Costa had to leave the stadium in disguise -- as a nanny. Yes, like some deposed dictators have done, he left in drag, so as not to be recognized.
The loss was a blow to the national psyche of Brazil, so often wrapped up in this sport of soccer. It is known as Maracanazo in Spanish, Maracanaço in Portuguese: "The Agony of Maracanã." The 1950 World Cup was supposed to be a statement for Brazil, showing the world that it was a modern country, worthy of respect and admiration around the postwar world. This was the country's coming-out party, and it was ruined.
Minister of Sport Aldo Rebelo said, "Losing to Uruguay in 1950 not only impacted on Brazilian football, it impacted on the country's self-esteem." Instead of hating Uruguay for the ruination, Brazilians blamed themselves.
Brazil have gone on to win the World Cup a record 5 times: Beating Sweden in the Final in Sweden in 1958, beating Czechoslovakia in the Final in Chile in 1962, beating Italy in the Final in Mexico City in 1970, beating Italy in the Final again in the Rose Bowl in 1994, and beating Germany in Japan in 2002. They have also lost the Final to France in Paris in 1998.
Brazil have gone on to win the World Cup a record 5 times: Beating Sweden in the Final in Sweden in 1958, beating Czechoslovakia in the Final in Chile in 1962, beating Italy in the Final in Mexico City in 1970, beating Italy in the Final again in the Rose Bowl in 1994, and beating Germany in Japan in 2002. They have also lost the Final to France in Paris in 1998.
You will notice that none of those 5 wins have been in Brazil. The World Cup has returned to that country only once, in 2014, and Brazil got to the Semifinal, but had an even more stunning loss at the Maracanã. It wasn't that they lost to Germany, who then beat Argentina in the Final. It wasn't even that they were looking forward to beating Argentina in the Final in the Maracanã themselves. The truly shocking part was the score: Germany beat Brazil, in the Maracanã, by a score of 7-1.
Much as the 1980 and 2008 World Series wins have not fully erased the humiliation of the blown 1964 National League Pennant for Philadelphia Phillies fans, Brazilians still have not gotten over Maracanazo after 72 years, despite winning 5 World Cups and the admiration of the rest of the world.
Because of the soccer connection, it remains the most famous building on the entire continent. It is home to Rio’s 2 biggest teams, Flamengo and Fluminense, and "the Fla-Flu Derby" is the event of the year in Rio. (Aside from that whole Carnival business.)
Outside of soccer, in 1980, it hosted the largest crowd ever to watch a volleyball match, 95,000 to see the national teams of Brazil and the Soviet Union. It hosted the preaching of Billy Graham in 1960 and 1974, and Pope John Paul II in 1980, 1987 and 1997.
Frank Sinatra sang before 175,000 in 1980, and "Rock In Rio" brought more than that for Sting in 1987, Tina Turner in 1988, Paul McCartney in 1990, a-ha in 1991, Madonna in 1993, and the Rolling Stones in 1995.
In 1966, the stadium was officially renamed Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, for a sportswriter who had just died, but everybody still calls it the Maracanã. A conversion to all-seater and renovations for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics has reduced capacity to 78,838, making it still the largest stadium in South America.
No comments:
Post a Comment