Match Report - Uruguay vs Romania (English translation from El Heraldo de Madrid)

@WC1930blogger

This is the match report of Uruguay's 4-0 victory over Romania, played at the Estadio Centenario, that secured their place in the semi-finals.

The author of the article is anonymous but is most likely a South American journalist employed by the cable news agency, Associated Press. This article appeared in the 22nd July edition of the Spanish newspaper, El Heraldo de Madrid. You can read the original report here.

This article was translated via Google and is subject to errors. Readers are welcome to offer their opinions in order to help improve the translation.

The World Championship soccer

Selección de Rumania que participo en el primer mundial en Uruguay 1930 pic.twitter.com/6nF6t5uYSY

— Joel Hernández (@JoelDatos) January 21, 2016

Uruguay Defeat Romania 4 to 0.

MONTEVIDEO 22.-- Uruguay beat  Romania by 4 to 0. The four goals were scored in the first half.

MONTEVIDEO 28. During the first half of the game played yesterday afternoon between the national teams of Romania and Uruguay, the Uruguayan players easily dominated the Romanians, because, although the Romanian defence acted brilliantly, it could not contain the overwhelming attacks of the local.

⚽️ #HistoriaMundiales #Rusia2018 #DatoGEB

URUGUAY 1930

La selección de Uruguay se convirtió en los primeros en anotar 4 goles en una primera mitad, los hizo el 21 Julio 1930 a Rumania, al anotar a los minutos 7, 24, 30 y 35, el marcador ya no se movió y terminó 4-0. pic.twitter.com/YoI0mht3cF

— GEBDeportes (@GEBDeportes) May 27, 2018

After six minutes of play, the Uruguayan Dorado scored the first goal for his team; Scarone scores the second at twenty-five minutes; the third is executed by Anselmo at thirty-four, and a minute later Cea points to the fourth. This first half ends with the scoring of four zero in favour of the Uruguayans.

This result gives an idea exactly of the way the match was played in the first forty-five minutes. The Uruguayans were constantly on the offensive, without the Romanians managing to start more than four attacks, which were easily annulled by the Uruguayan defence.

At the beginning of the second half, the Uruguayan strikers play [with] apathy, except Iriarte, who is the only one who has not scored and carries out individual attacks without the support of his linemates. The game is developed without registering dangerous situations, due to the impossibility in which they are the Romanians to overcome the resistance - from the locals and to the little enthusiasm of the Uruguayans to increase the score.

The match ends with the result of four to zero, favourable to Uruguay. -

Match Reports: Yugoslavia vs Brazil & Romania vs Peru (English translation of Heraldo de Madrid)

@WC1930blogger

This is an English translation of the match reports that appeared in the Spanish newspaper, El Heraldo de Madrid, on 15th July 1930. The two authors are anonymous but most likely are South American journalists. El Heraldo de Madrid did not send a correspondent to Uruguay and, based on previous dispatches, most likely carried the reports published by the cable news agency Associated Press.

Google was used to translate this document, and I have tried to keep to this conversion, but where there is confusion, I have added my interpretation. 

The identity of some players described in the action may not be correct as other reports identify different players. This is due in part because the players did not wear shirt numbers. 

What is common in much of the Spanish language press is the difficulty in their spelling of the names of the Yugoslav players. In this instance, I have decided to the include the misspellings.

You can read the original match report in Spanish here.

RETRO FOTKA!
Montevideo, 14. jul 1930.
Jugoslavija-Brazil 2:1 (Tirnanic 21', Bek 30' - Pregvinjo 62')
YU: Jaksic, Djokic, Sekulic, Vujadinovic, Stefanovic, Mihajlovic, Ivkovic, Arsenijevic, Bek, Marjanovic, Tirnanic. pic.twitter.com/5P69cqeBFU

— TOTAL SOCCER (@NebojsaSoskanal) March 14, 2018

El Heraldo de Madrid, on 15th July 1930.

The soccer world championship in Montevideo

MONTEVIDEO 15. - The matches between the national teams of Yugoslavia and Brazil on the one hand, and Peru and Romania on the other, have been played in different fields and at the same time.*

*This is not correct. The Romania - Peru match was played after Yugoslavia - Brazil.

The Brazilian team was aligned in the following way:

Monteiro; Brilhante, Gervazoni; Fonseca, Dos Santos, Giudicelli; Ribeiro, Murtinho, Patuska, Coelhi and Bethencourt.

The Yugoslav team was composed of Yakchitch; Yocovitch, Michailovitch; Arsiniyovitch. Stevanovitch, Djokitch; Tirnanitch, Meryanovitch, Becb, Vonyadinovitch and Sekoulitch.

During the first half the Yugoslavs scored two goals in the twenty-three and thirty minutes of play, although the Brazilians showed to have a better technique.

The fight took a great train (tren) (?), playing the teams with violence. The referee annulled another marked (goal) by the Yugoslavs, for having been made out of play (alternative translation: for having been offside).

In the second half the Brazilians made superhuman efforts to draw; but they could only do so much, finishing the game with the victory of the Yugoslavs by two goals against one.

One of Romania's @hai_romania goals scored against Peru @SeleccionPeru in their 3-1 victory on 14 July 1930 during the 1st @FIFAWorldCup in #Montevideo, @Uruguay from the newspaper El Diario. #WC1930 #Mundial1930. pic.twitter.com/MIodo7SgJa

— worldcup1930project (@WC1930blogger) March 5, 2018

The match between the Romanians and Peruvians was developed in the following way:

At first the Romanians showed great superiority over their opponents, although they play with enthusiasm; but all their efforts are crashing before the Romanian defense line.

The minute after the start of the game the Romanian striker Covaci throws himself on the opposite goal and shoots a strong shot that stumbles on the head of the Peruvian goalkeeper, and this same one introduces him into his net, thus marking the first goal for the Romanians.

At thirty-eight minutes of play the Peruvian De las Casas and the Romanian Stainer stumble, resulting in the European player with a fractured leg. The game is suspended for ten minutes.

The first half ends with the result of 1 to 0 in favor of Romania.

At the beginning of the second half the Peruvian player Galindo and the Romanian Covaci got stuck (alternative translation: Galindo hit Covaci). The referee expelled Galindo, playing from this moment both teams with ten players.

The fight continued with monotony: but at thirty minutes the Peruvians Souza tied the score somewhat.

Three minutes before finishing Romanian put (scored) a goal, and two minutes later hit the Peruvian goalkeeper (goal) again, ending the meeting with the score of 3 to 1 in favor of the Romanians.

The Descendants - Oral Testimonies (Part-1)

@WC1930blogger

Eighty-seven years have passed since the first World Cup was played in Montevideo, Uruguay. The footballers that played in 1930 have since passed away and we can no longer speak to them to offer their recollections of a tournament where very little film footage exists. 

The next best thing is the stories and experiences that were passed on to their relatives and recorded by historians, writers, journalists and filmmakers. While such eyewitness evidence, passed on by word of mouth, can present problems of faded memories and biased interpretations, such oral testimonies are 'not necessarily any more biased or partial than documentary evidence.' 

Here, then, is a collection of such testimonies from the descendants of those men that had the honour of playing in the 1930 World Cup. It includes links to articles, videos and audio recordings from their wives, sons and daughters to their nephews and grandchildren.

Bert Patenaude was only 20 years old when he played for the United States in 1930. The Fall River Marksmen striker scored four goals in Montevideo, scoring in the first game against Belgium on 13th July and then four days later the first hat trick in World Cup history against Paraguay. His wife, Leona Lambert, who passed away early this year at the age of 103, gave an interview with Fall River's Herald News in July 2010. Bert's son, Bert Patenaude Jnr, also gave an interview in July 2010 with ESPN.

James Brown was born in Scotland in 1908 and was one of six British born players to represent the United States in Uruguay. He is credited with the lone US goal in their 6-1 defeat to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final. His son, George Brown, who also played for the United States in a World Cup qualifier in 1957, gave an interview with the UK's Daily Mail in September 2017. George also appeared in a documentary Soccer in the New World - Part 1 - The history of Soccer in North America, where he recalls a story related to him by his father of the United States victory over Belgium.

Arnold 'Arnie' Oliver was a forward with the 1930 United States team that travelled to Montevideo, Uruguay, but did not play in any the World Cup matches. However, he did play in several exhibitions as apart of post World Cup tour. In 2002, his daughter, Jane Britto, was interviewed by New Bedford's Standard-Times, which appeared on their website Southcoasttoday.

Robert 'Bob' Millar was the coach of the US team in Uruguay. Born 1890 in Scotland, he played for two seasons with Scottish club St Mirren between 1909-1911 before emigrating to the States, where he played for more than a dozen American teams and won several titles. He went on to coach the New York Giants where he was given the opportunity to take charge of the US national team in Uruguay, where he led them to the semi-finals. In 2014, during the United States moderately successful World Cup campaign, an Oregan based TV crew from KGW News, tracked down his daughter Mary Martyn in Gresham. The interview is no longer available to watch but a transcript of the news item is archived here.

Andrew 'Andy' Auld, like James Brown, was also born in Scotland, in 1900, and played for the US team in Montevideo. A World War One veteran, Andy emigrated to the States in 1923, with the intent of settling in Gillespie, Illinois. When his plans did not work out as he hoped he went to live with his sister in Niagra Falls. It was while playing for local team MacKenzie F.C. that he was spotted by a recruiter for the new ASL team Providence Clamdiggers where they offered him a professional contract. In later life, Andy would return to Scotland to visit his relatives, and in 2002, his nephew, Bobby Auld, gave his recollections about his uncle to the Scottish newspaper, The Herald.

Adalbert Steiner was a defender who played for Romania in their 3-1 victory over Peru in their opening World Cup match. He was born in 1907 in Temesvar (Timisoara) at a time when the region was apart of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Steiner had a successful period with Chinezul Timisoara winning several titles before moving to Clubul Atletic Timisoara where he was picked to play for the national team in Montevideo. Early in the game against Peru, Steiner suffered a double fracture leg break after a vicious tackle by Peruvian Souza Ferreira. For those versed in the Romanian language check out the audio interviews with Adelbert Steiner's two sons, Iosif and Adelbert, recorded with Radio Timisoara, on the 25 June 2015 and the 5 July 2015, as they discuss their father's experiences in Uruguay.

Ladislau Raffinsky was a Romanian forward who was apart of the Romanian squad that travelled to Montevideo in 1930. In 1929 he scored ten goals for Juventus Bucharest in their 16-0 victory over Dacia Urinea Brailia. Raffinsky, along with his teammate Emerich Vogl, initially had trouble seeking time off work to go to the World Cup. In 2015, his daughter, Colceriu Rodica, gave an interview with news publication Actual de Cluj, about her father. The article which details his journey and experiences in Uruguay is drawn largely from the journal of Romanian captain Rudolf Wetzer.

Dragomir Tosic was part of the Yugoslav squad at the 1930 World Cup although he did not get a chance to play in any of the matches. Dragomir wrote letters home to his parents about his journey and experiences during this epic tour to South America. Unfortunately, all but one of these letters were destroyed in World War Two after a German bomb hit the home of his parents. In 2012, his daughter-in-law, Milica Tosic, wrote a biography of his life titled „Jedno Pismo, Jedan život...” ("One Letter, One life ..."). For Serb speakers, you can listen to an interview that Milica Tosic gave to Radio Beograd in 2013 about the book.

Dr Mihajlo Andrejevic was Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the JNS, the Yugoslav Football Federation. He was head of the Yugoslav delegation that travelled to Uruguay in 1930. He wrote correspondence that he dispatched to the Belgrade newspaper, Vreme, reporting on the Yugoslav team in Montevideo. In 2011, his son, Milan Andrejevic, was interviewed by Serbian newspaper, Politika, where he recalled the time his father left for South America.

Kosta Hadzi was a lawyer from Novi Sad and Vice-president of the Yugoslav Football Federation. He travelled to Montevideo in 1930 as part of the Yugoslav delegation. In 2010, the Serbian newspaper, Politika,  interviewed his son about his father's life and his time in Uruguay.

Milovan Jaksic was the goalkeeper for the Yugoslav national team that travelled to Montevideo in 1930. He was instrumental in Yugoslavia's 2-1 victory over Brazil in their opening World Cup match, where he made many fine saves. The Uruguayan newspapers praised his performance and immortalised him in print and photographic poses in their pages proclaiming him 'El Gran Milovan'. In 2014, his niece, Gordana Jaskic, gave two interviews to the Serb publications, Novosti and Kurir, where she provided an account of his early life.

Blagoje 'Mosa' Marjanovic was an inside forward for the Yugoslav national team that took part in the first World Cup. He was top-scorer for his club BSK Belgrade in 1930, and he would score in his country's 4-0 victory over Bolivia. He was one of the first professional footballers in Yugoslavia along with his teammate Aleksander Tirnanic. In 2013, his son Zoran Marjanovic gave an interview with the Serb newspaper Novosti, describing his father and his life. For Serb speakers, you can also watch an interview with Zoran Marjanovic and his sister, Visnja Marjanovic, discuss the life of Mosa for Serb television in 2011 with RTS.

Guillermo Stabile was the top goal scorer at the 1930 World Cup for Argentina. A prolific striker for his club, Huracan, he only made his debut for his country against Mexico when Roberto Cherro fell ill and Manuel Ferreira had returned to Buenos Aires to take a law exam. His hattrick in that game secured his place in the team for the rest of tournament. He would score twice against Chile in a 3-1 win which assured Argentina's place in the semi-final against the United States. His two goals against the Americans in a 6-1 rout saw Argentina reach the final against their fierce rivals Uruguay. Stabile would score his eighth goal in that final to give his team a 2-1 lead before half-time, but it wasn't enough to win the game as the host ran 4-2 winners. An excellent article on fifamusuem.com details his life and career with some added anecdotes from Stabile's grandchildren, Guillermo, Estaban and Roxanna.

Luis Monti was the legendary midfielder for Argentina at the 1930 World Cup known for his physical prowess. He scored the only goal, from a freekick, for his country in a 1-0 victory over France in their opening game. He sat out Argentina's next game, a 6-3 win over Mexico, for reasons not entirely clear, but returned to help Argentina beat Chile 3-1. He scored the opening goal against the United States in a 6-1 victory in the semis but had decided he would not play in the final against Uruguay because of death threats to his family. He was finally convinced to play in that game but did not give his usual physical performance with Argentina losing 4-2. He would later play in Italy and represent his adopted country at the 1934 World Cup where he helped them to a 2-1 victory over Czechoslovakia in the Final. Read another great article on fifamuseum.com about his life and an interview given by his grand-daughter, Lorena Monti.

Oscar Bonfiglio was the goalkeeper for the Mexican team that travelled to Montevideo in 1930. He played against France in one of two opening games of the tournament and conceded the first ever World Cup goal by Lucien Laurent in a 4-1 defeat. He was dropped for Mexico's next game against Chile, another defeat (3-0), but returned for the last game against Argentina where he conceded six goals. He did, however, save a penalty from Argentina's Fernando Paternoster. In 2014, his grandson, also named Oscar Bonfiglio, gave an interview with ESPN Deportes about his grandfather.

Juan Carreno was a legendary forward for Atlante and the Mexican national team and travelled to Uruguay in 1930. He scored in Mexico's 7-1 defeat against Spain at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and would score Mexico's first goal at a World Cup in their 4-1 loss to France. For those versed in the Spanish language, you can watch a Mexican TV program with interviews with Juan Carreno's daughter, Guadeloupe Alicia Carreno, grandsons, Victor Molina Carreno and Julio Molina Carreno, and granddaughter, Maria de la Paz Molina.

Ernesto and Isidoro Sota were, along with their brother, Jorge, legends at Mexican club America in the 1920s and 1930s. Ernesto Sota represented Mexico at the 1928 Olympic games and would head the Mexican delegation that travelled to Montevideo in 1930. His brother, Isidoro Sota, was the second choice goalkeeper in Uruguay and played in Mexico's second game, a 3-0 defeat to Chile. For Spanish speakers, you can watch a short documentary about the three Sota brothers with interviews with Isidoro's sons, Ernesto Cisneros Sota and Isidoro Cisneros Sota, and the son of Jorge, Jorge Sota Garcia.

1930 World Cup Group 3 Uruguay - Romania (Joefa's World Cup History)

This is a youtube video of Uruguay v Romania by Joefa's World Cup History. This blogger helped provide photographic material for his project. Special thanks also to JC Blanc for providing material.
Go like, share and subscribe to his Youtube channel.

Read a Match Report in Spanish below:
La Nacion

1930 World Cup Group 3 Romania - Peru (Joefa's World Cup History)

This is a youtube video of Romania v Peru by Joefa's World Cup History. This blogger helped provide photographic material for his project. Special thanks also to JC Blanc for providing material.
Go like, share and subscribe to his Youtube channel.

Read a match report in Spanish below:
El Heraldo Madrid (Spain)

21 July 1930 - (World Cup Group 3) Uruguay v Romania (Match Report in El Heraldo de Madrid)

El Heraldo de Madrid, 22 July 1930

This article contains the Uruguay versus Romania match report played on the 22nd July 1930 and published in the Spanish language Madrid based newspaper El Heraldo de Madrid.

14 July 1930 - (World Cup Group 2) Yugoslavia v Brazil; (World Cup Group 3) Romania v Peru (Match Reports in El Heraldo de Madrid)

El Heraldo de Madrid, 15 July 1930

This article includes the match reports of the Yugoslavia versus Brazil (2-1) and Romania v Peru (3-1) games played on the same day, 14th July 1930, from the Spanish newspaper El Heraldo de Madrid.

Podcast and Radio interviews with the sons of James Brown (United States) and Adelbert Steiner (Romania)

James Brown

Below is a link to a podcast that has an interview with the son of James Brown, who relates his father's story in the World Cup. George Brown is interviewed around the 8 minute 40 second mark.

http://www.howlermagazine.com/world-cup-dummy-july-1/

Below is an article about James Brown:

http://www.unitedinthestates.com/featured/james-brown-living-in-america/

Adelbert Steiner

Below is a link to a Romanian language radio interview with the sons of Adelbert Steiner, who retell the story of their father's experience at the 1930 World Cup:

http://radiotimisoara.ro/2015/07/05/audio-conte-verde-transatlanticul-cu-teren-de-fotbal-si-calugarite-catolice/

Romania la Cupa Mondiala din 1930 (Romania in the 1930 World Cup)

World Cup 1930 - Uruguay v Romania (Gazeta Sporturilor Newspaper)

 Pedro Cea scores Uruguay's second in their 4-0 victory over Romania, Gazeta Sporturilor, 30 August 1930

Peru's 1930 World Cup Squad and FIFA's Records.

According to FIFA's archives, the Peru team that traveled to Montevideo in 1930 contained a squad of 23 players, however, we should note with caution that FIFA's records of the first World Cup have been strewn with errors and have changed over the years. For instance at one time the FIFA records showed that Romania had five extra players in its squad (Petre Steinbach, Rudolf Steiner, Elmer Kocsis, Alexandru Borbely and Andrei Glanzman) and the US team had two extra players on the original list- Bill O'Brian and a M. Slavin, otherwise known as William 'Shamus' O'Brien and John Slavin.

The reasons for the extra players maybe down to provisional list that were sent to FIFA in advance of the tournament before final lists were submitted after all the teams arrived.

As far as I can tell, three of the players listed on FIFA's records in Peru's squad, did not travel to Montevideo: Juan Alfonso Valle, Jorge Sarmiento and Jorge Gongora.

Peru coach, Paco Bru, picked an 18-man team for a World Cup warm-up against Paraguayan team, Olimpia, on June 19th 1930.  The list was published by Peru's El Comercio on June 18th and included Sarmiento and Gongora but no Alfonso Valle. Arturo Fernandez and Luis Souza Ferreyra would be added to the squad before departure.

The list below is from A History of the World Cup, vol 1. The Jules Rimet Years (1998); 

Juan Valdivieso (Alianza),
Jorge Pardon (Atletico Chalacao),
Alberto Soria (Alianza),
Julio Quintana (Alianza),
Arturo Fernandez (Universitario)
Domingo Garcia (Alianza)
Alberto Denegri (Alianza)
Eduardo Astengo (Universitario)
Placido Galindo (Universitario)
Pablo Pacheco (Universitario)
Carlos Cilloniz (Universitario)
Luis Souza Ferreira (Universitario)
Mario De las Casas (Universitario)
Julio Lores (Necaxa, Mexico - registered to the Peruvian FA for the tournament)
Antonio Maquilon (Atletico Chalacao)
Jose Maria Lavalle (Alianza)
Alejandro Villanueva (Alianza)
Demetrio Neyra (Alianza)
Lizardo Nue Rodriguez.(Alianza)

As of yet I have been unable to obtain any other contemporary source that includes Juan Alfonso Valle, Jorge Sarmiento and Jorge Gongora.


http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/uruguay1930/teams/team=43929/matches.html

The 18 man team in El Comercio, 18 June 1930, can found in the article below.
http://jaimepulgarvidal.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/peru-en-el-mundial-del-30.html

FIFA's match report Argentina v USA in 2003 show two extra US players

FIFA match report Uruguay v Romania in 2003 shows five extra Romanian players

Goal diagrams World Cup 1930

Luis Souza Ferreyra scores in Peru's 3-1 defeat to Romania, 14 July 1930

US v Paraguay, 17 July 1930

Santos Iriarte scores Uruguay's third in the World Cup final

From Footballers to Arbitrators at the World Cup 1930

World Cup 1930 - Copa del Mundo 1930

Out of the fifteen match officials that arbitrated during the 1930 World Cup, at least four are known to have played football at a senior level.

Martin ''Chico'' Aphesteguy (b. 22 October 1888 d. 30 November 1975) who ran the line in the Chile-Mexico and USA - Paraguay matches was a former Uruguayan international who had made 17 appearances for his country between 1906 - 1915. He was a versatile defender who had a preference for playing on the left and had formed a defensive partnership with the legendary Jose Benincasa at Montevideo FC. After retiring from playing he would take up refereeing and had experience at officiating at the South American Championship.

Ricardo Vallarino refereed the Paraguay versus Belgium match and was the linesman in the Yugoslavia - Brazil tie. He had played at inside-left for Club Nacional and made his debut for Uruguay against Argentina in August 1913 with Aphesteguy playing at half-back and would make a total of five appearances for his country. He is recorded as refereeing Uruguay versus Argentina on the 29th October 1916, indeed he would officiate many matches involving his own country and proved to show no bias. On the 3rd October 1924, he took charge of Argentina v Uruguay in Buenos Aires and the Uruguayan team abandoned the match in the 86th minute losing 2-1 after feeling cheated by their own countryman.

Ulises Saucedo was the Bolivian coach during the 1930 World Cup and also refereed the Argentina versus Mexico match. It was a game in which he awarded three penalties and had to pace fourteen steps from the goal-line to place the ball to be taken because the penalty spot had been unmarked. He was the linesman in five other matches (Argentina - France, Argentina - Chile, Uruguay - Romania, Uruguay - Yugoslavia,Uruguay - Argentina). According to an interview given to Chile's El Mercurio (17 July 1930), the head of the Bolivian delegation, told the journalist that Saucedo was hired as the coach because he had played professionally in England and just before he had returned to his homeland had a coaching role at Arsenal.

Costel Radulescu,the Romania coach, also arbitrated during the World Cup running the line in two matches (Argentina v France, Argentina v Mexico), and was known to have played for SC Olympia Bucarest.

References
International Federation of Football History & Statistics; Full internationals - Argentina (1902 - 1940) - Uruguay (1902 - 1940)

The World Cup's Lowest Ever Attendance - World Cup 1930

World Cup 1930 - Copa del Mundo 1930 - Cupa Mondială 1930 - Primer Campeonato Mundial de Futbol.

On 14th July 1930,  Romania and Peru took to the field of the Estadio Pocitos to play the first match in Group 3. It was the third match of the the tournament and the first match of the day as Brazil and Yugoslavia were scheduled to kick-off for later that afternoon at Parque Central. This match holds the distinction of the lowest ever attendance at a World Cup finals. However, there are discrepancies on the actual figure. One as low as 300 and the other 2,549.

The reasons for the low figure at the ten thousand capacity stadium may be due to the cold weather or perhaps the Uruguayan public were drawn to the more attractive tie of witnessing two time South American Champions (1919, 1922), Brazil, who hadn't played an official match since 1925, play Yugoslavia. Some twenty four thousand witnessed Yugoslavia's shock 2-1 victory.

Cris Freddi in his well-researched book, Complete Book of the World Cup (2002), believes the lowest figure to be correct and bases it on the photographs that exist of the match which ''make 300 look about right.'' A contemporary report from Brazil's A Noite (18 July 1930) gives a total of 2,549. Those who attended had a choice of four different ticket prices. The cheapest from $ 0.20 to $ 0.80 centésimos and the dearest, $ 1.50 to $ 2.00 pesos. The official match receipts given was a total income of $ 657.20 pesos. Photographs of the match show one side of the tribune dotted with a handful of spectators while no images of the small main grandstand are available. It appears that most of the photographers took up position on one side of the pitch and therefore its impossible to know if the main grandstand was occupied. Behind one of the goals, where it was standing room only, is where many of the locals appeared to take the option of the cheapest tickets. Even if you assumed that everyone brought the most expensive ticket (two pesos), dividing the total income with that number would equate to 328 fans. On the other hand, dividing the income ($ 657.20 pesos) by the bigger figure of 2,549 fans suggest each spectator spent an average of $ 0.25 centésimos for a ticket.

It is possible that 2,549 tickets for the match were sold but that not everyone turned up. The organizers also had problems with ticket touts/scalpers buying up the tickets and selling them at extortionate prices.

Whatever the real total it still holds the record of the lowest attendance at a World Cup match.

Below are links to images of the match as well as the official FIFA match report.

http://dechalaca.com/informes/curiosidades/estreno-grafico

http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/PA-2943559.jpg

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=201/match=1098/index.html#nosticky

The link to the photograph below is not from the match but shows the main grandstand of the Estadio Pocitos.

http://cdnb.20m.es/quefuede/files/2013/01/pocitos.jpg