TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 CHAMPIONSHIP GLORY CHAPTER 2 GREAT UPSETS CHAPTER 3 LATE DRAMA CHAPTER 4 4 14 26 ICONIC PERFORMANCES 36 GLOSSARY 46 INDEX 47 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 47
MUNICIPAL-MARACANA JANEIRO-BRASIL-ESTADIO DE RIO 41 1 4 CHAMPIONSHIP GLORY Soccer as we know it today was founded in England during the mid-1800s The sport began spreading around the world soon after And in 1930 the first men's World Cup was held Brazil was tapped to host the fourth World Cup which was held in 1950 To mark the occasion the country built Chapter
The Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro Brazil was packed with fans cheering on the home team at the 1950 World Cup a grand new stadium in Rio de Janeiro The massive Maracanã was finished just eight days before the tournament began The final round of that tournament featured a four-team group stage between Brazil Uruguay Sweden and Spain The team with the best record against the other three opponents would be the champion After two games Brazil had two wins Uruguay had a win and a draw When the South American neighbors faced each other on July 16 Brazil needed only to tie the match to claim the country’s first World Cup title Uruguay had won the first World Cup in 1930 But Brazil’s tiny neighbor was a huge underdog in the 1950 match It didn’t help that a huge home crowd turned up for Brazil The official attendance for the match was 173,000 However it is estimated that more than 200,000 fans made their way into the Maracanã that day The people of Brazil were full of confidence Local newspapers had already printed editions declaring the Brazilians world champions A band was set up on the sideline to play after Brazil won It was one large 90-minute party to celebrate the country’s first world title Through 79 minutes the teams were deadlocked at 1 1 The score wasn’t ideal for Brazil but it was enough Then Uruguayan midfielder Alcides Ghiggia sneaked down the right 5
