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

Twitter: @WC1930blogger

1. Jacinto Villalba was only 16 years old when he arrived in Montevideo with the Paraguayan national team. The youngest player at the World Cup did not play in either of his country's two matches.

2. Prior to the Mexico vs France (13 July) game, Spanish-born Mexican coach, Juan Luque Serrallonga gave a passionate speech to his players with appeals to religious saints and evoking the victory of Mexican forces over the French Army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1865 (Cinco de Mayo).

3. Argentina vs France (15 July) is famous for the game ending six minutes early by the Brazilian referee, Gilberto Almeida Rego. However, this wasn't the only occasion this occured during the World Cup. On 19 July, Bolivian referee Ulises Saucedo ended the first half between Argentina vs Mexico three minutes too early. 

4. On 18 July, the Argentinian Military Aviation took part in Uruguay's Centenary celebrations. One particular pilot performed aerial stunts over the Estadio Centenario during the Opening ceremony that caused great concerns with worried spectators below.

5. Chilean club Colo Colo from Santiago was the most represented team at the 1930 World Cup with eight players taking part in matches. Alianza Lima also had eight players within the Peru squad but only six of the players were selected in matches.

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

Twitter: @WC1930blogger

1. Some Romanian players almost missed departure due to a mix up with military leave. Those enlisted had been granted leave only for the month of July. The two week sea voyage had not been taken into account. It was only one day before departure on June 16 that they had been given the all clear.

2. Bolivian coach and referee, Ulises Saucedo was playing for English club Billiricay FC in Division 2 of the Chelmsford & District League until March 1930.

3. French right-half Agustin Chantrel was caught with another man's wife onboard the Conte Verde enroute to Montevideo. He declared he would marry the Argentinian lady once she got her divorce. However, upon arrival in South America, he was quick to escape her fiery temperament.

4. Argentinian center-half Luis Monti almost caused a riot with Uruguayan fans while chanting patriotic slogans watching his teammates defeat Mexico 6-3 (19 July 1930). Police had to intervene to prevent further disorder.

5. After Yugoslavia lost their semi-final to Uruguayby 6-1 following some controversial decisions, Belgrade newspaper Vreme publicly accused the Uruguayans of bribing Brazilian referee Gilberto Almeida Rego. They attributed this story to an English journalist working for the Sunday Express. A rival Belgrade newspaper, Politika, proved these allegations to be false.