Five Facts You May Not Know About the 1930 World Cup - part 11

"BROKEN BONES AND HANDGRENADES"

1.In the fifth match played on Day 3 of the championship, favourites Argentina struggled to beat a stubborn French team 1-0. Luis Monti scored the first ever direct free-kick at a World Cup in the 81st minute. Monti exploited a gap in the wall that left French keeper Alexis Thépot unsighted. 

2. Two players had the misfortune of suffering serious leg breaks. Romania's Adalbert Steiner suffered a double fracture after a horrific stamp from Peru's Luis Souza Ferreira and Bolivia's Gumercindo Gomez broke his leg after an accidental challenge from Yugoslav captain Milutin Ivkovic. Both received compensation from the Uruguayan Football Association, Gomez received a substantially greater sum of 1000 gold pesos (US $16,556 in 2021) compared to the Romanian who only received 200 gold pesos (US $3,666 in 2021).

3. Bolivia's Eduardo Reyes Ortiz who made his World Cup debut against Brazil on 20th July, was grandson to the former Vice-President Serapio Reyes Ortiz. But he could also trace his genealogy back 13 generations to the last Incan emperor Atahualpa.

4. On the day of the Final between Uruguay and Argentina fans were searched for weapons at the port of Montevideo and upon entrance to the stadium. Among the thousands of items seized were revolvers, knives and clubs. In the European press it was claimed it that hand grenades (Ellenzak/Hungary) and bombs (Derby Daily Telegraph/England) were confiscated. 

5. Santos Iriarte, who blasted Uruguay's third goal in the final into the top corner from 30 yards, was lavished with the gift of a great racehorse by an enthusiastic rich fan.

Five Facts You May Not Know About The 1930 World Cup - Part 10

 @WC1930blogger

1. Each player upon arrival in Montevideo received a pinned badge from the World Cup organizing committee inscribed with the words ‘JUGADOR DEL CAMPEONATO MUNDIAL’. Made by the Milan based Stefano Johnson company it gave each player free access to Montevideo’s public transport (trams, buses, taxis), theatres and cinemas.

2. The Brazilians squad would struggle with Uruguay’s harsh winter conditions when they arrived in Montevideo. Their own winter was mild by comparison that you could find bathers on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. On their World Cup debut against Yugoslavia on the 14th July the temperature had dropped between 5 and 6 degrees. During the match goalkeeper Joel’s hands were so stiff that Brazilian masseuse Ovid Dionysos, (nicknamed Jack Johnson because he resembled the black American Heavyweight champion) wrapped them in a towel with a hot water bag (bottle).

3. Bolivian center-half Diogenes Lara, a pioneer of football in Cochabamba, was a founding member of New Players FC. A lawyer by profession he was the lesser known brother of famous poet, novelist and journalist Jesus Lara Lara, whose literary works cast a light on the social issues of Bolivia’s indigenous population. 

4. Overzealous policing was heavily criticized by the nation's press for their handling of crowd control prior to Uruguay’s opening match with Peru on 18th July. Black market tickets and a failure to direct spectators to the assigned sectors caused overcrowding in parts of the Centenario. Police resorted to jabbing gestures with sabers to discourage encroachment on to the pitch by fans that included women and children.

5. The day after Uruguay defeated Argentina in the World Cup Final, the port of Montevideo was crowded with disgruntled Argentines. The Yugoslav delegation had booked their place on one of the ships heading to Buenos Aires with their luggage already loaded. When it came time to board there was chaos when a mass of several hundred angry Argentines rushed the staircase, some without tickets, led by a burly Argentine waiving two revolvers. It's not clear if he was the culprit of the gunshot that caused the captain of the ship to raise the ladder that left the Yugoslavs stranded without their possessions.

Five Facts You May Not Know About The 1930 World Cup - Part 9

 @WC1930blogger

1. The Romanian team formed a choir among the players while on their travels to Montevideo. During the train journey through Italy they impressed the Italian passengers with a rendition of 'Giovinezza' the official anthem of Mussolini's National Fascist Party.

2. During Brazil's first training session at the Pocitos stadium one of their footballs was kicked over the wire fence and had fallen into the wasteland, where some local boys grabbed it and disappeared, before any them could reach it. Given that the ball was of little value, and the difficulty of identification in a working class neighborhood, delegation chief Afranio Costa resigned himself to the loss. As there were, however, a lot of people around the camp, he was very upset that no one helped. Days later, to the Brazilians great surprise, the ball appeared at their Hotel, sent by the chief of police, who in an attentive letter told us that he had learned of the fact by people who attended the incident, had ordered a rigorous search in the immediate vicinity, where they seized the ball for its return.

3. On the outskirts of the city of Montevideo after 6 pm stood many store fronts where could be found queues of men awaiting their turn outside the brothels in what was considered controlled prostitution. To the surprise of the leaders of the Yugoslav delegation they witnessed some of their players in the queue. Not wanting to cause a scene they waited until the next day to warn the team about the dangers of such proclivities.

4. During the Brazil vs. Bolivia match, French referee Georges Balvay stopped the game in the 8th minute unable to distinguish between the white shirts that both teams wore. The Bolivians changed into the sky blue jerseys of the Uruguayan national team. However, the talents of the Olympic champions did not rub off on the men from the Andean nation as they lost 4-0.

5. In the 77th minute of the Paraguay vs Belgium game, Lino Nessi, forward for the South American team clashed with the goal post when he tried to go for a rebound ball after a save from Belgian keeper Badjou. Knocked unconscious there were grave concerns for his health as he was led to the infirmary.