Tuesday 30 November 2021

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.