5-time World Cup semifinalists
1930, 1950*, 1954, 1970, 2010
 

The Remarkable Story of Uruguay’s 1924 Olympic Campaign

 

The fight to get to Paris 1924

While football in Europe was growing hugely in popularity since the late 19th century, unbeknownst to them, the sport had also been growing at a tremendous rate in South America, specifically in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. In 1923, Uruguay had organized and won their second South American Championship (now known as the Copa America), beating Argentina 2-0 in front of a packed Estadio Gran Parque Central in Montevideo.

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A Uruguayan Football Association delegate called Atilio Narancio decided that it was time to take Uruguay to Europe and compete in the first ever open (non-amateur) world championship (using the facilities at the Olympic Games) in Paris. At the time, in South America, this idea was considered revolutionary. Several pundits across the continent, and even in Uruguay, felt that this was a mad venture. The fear was that there was no money or time to prepare for a team to go to Europe, and that La Celeste would be humiliated by their teams. What Uruguay's delegation was attempting to do had never been done before. Many of the players could not afford to leave their jobs for this long, either. Uruguay’s captain, José Nasazzi was a marble worker during the week and played for Bella Vista on weekends. After some political lobbying, the Association Uruguaya de Futbol managed to convince the Uruguayan Parliament that the venture would bear fruit.
 

Uruguay arrives to Vigo, Spain

The ship arrived to a huge reception in Vigo. In order to pay for the trip, Uruguay had agreed to play several friendlies vs. the best club sides in the country. For the Spanish, it was a matter of national honour, and they even combined many famous clubs in order to give themselves the best chance to win.  La Celeste managed to win every game in Spain. They mostly won their matches by wide margins (3-0, 4-1), beating the likes of Athletic de Bilbao, and Racing (both powerhouses at the time) 2-0 and 3-0 respectively. A month later, they beat Atletico de Madrid in front of 20,000 people and the King of Spain himself, el Rey Alfonso.

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Uruguay won all nine of their matches, including a rematch vs. Atletico Madrid that also included star players from Sevilla and Barcelona. 
 

Uruguay arrives at the Olympic Games

This was officially the first ever excursion by a South American national team in Europe ever. A lot of Europeans had no idea what to make of this group of players dressed in sky blue colours. The Uruguayan players were all filled with emotion as they first set their sights on the Tour Eiffel. For them, it was an impossible dream come true to be here, but things quickly started to go sour as soon as they arrived to their accommodation, which was described as a 'prisoner of war' camp. However, the team quickly found a much better home stay at “Le Chateau D’Argenteuil”, an installation filled with large beautiful gardens for the players to make asados on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The players were being taken care of by an elderly woman called Madame Pain, someone who would become an cherished friend during the 1924 and 1928 campaigns. She was woman that took care of their every need with extreme kindness. Here, goalkeeper Mazali led the team in their daily exercises and captain Jose Nasazzi was in charge of tactical work with the rest of the coaching staff. A plaque there remains which says: “Ici on habite dans la villa. Olympiade les footballeurs uruguayens, champions du monde” . Translation: Here we live in the city. Olimpiad Uruguayan footballers, champions of the World."

 

 

 

 

 

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Round of 32:
Uruguay vs. Yugoslavia, the most farcical practice in the history of a major tournament

 

As stated before, Europe had no idea about South America’s rapid grown in football, particularly in the River Plate region. During the last practice before the start of the tournament, the Yugoslavian team had sent two spies to the Uruguayan football practice. This is a famous story that has been passed down in Uruguay since then. Once the Yugoslavian spies were noticed by the players, the Uruguayan team purposefully held the most awkward display of incompetence for their practice. Players would shoot the ball twenty meters wide, mistime simple touches, miss open net shots, head the ball backwards, trip and bump into each other, etc. It was a comical display that the Yugoslavians took completely seriously. After the practice had finished, the Yugoslavians revealed themselves to the Uruguayan coaches and offered their sympathy in their report:  "We are saddened that these young South Americans are so clumsy and awkward. They have come from so far and will have to return after their first game”. Uruguay ended up defeating Yugoslavia 7-0 in the opening game.

 

 

 

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• Round of 16 and Quarter Final
• Uruguay vs. The United States and Uruguay vs. the hosts France
 

After beating the United States 3-0, Uruguay had to play hosts and touranment favourites, France. The match went better than expected as La Celeste ran out 5-1 winners vs. les Bleus, also affirming their historically positive record against host teams in major tournaments.

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Semi Final: 
Controversy at Uruguay vs. Netherlands
As word spread around France and Europe of Uruguay’s successive wins, the players began to gain celebrity status around the country. It became known that the players became obsessed with winning the competition and they all agreed that they would all stay in their homestead to concentrate for the tournament. Beautiful women would actually show up at the front door to offer themselves to the players, but they were always turned away. The players could sense that this was history that they were experiencing.

From a Uruguayan player’s diary about the women who would come to see them:
“Venian las muchachas hasta la entrada del castillo, para ver las fieras y nosotros ni bolilla.” ("A lot of women would come even to the door of the castle to see the beasts, but us, not even a little attention")

Netherlands gave Uruguay their toughest fight of the tournament, and it was a very close game. With the game tied, Uruguayan star Hector Scarone won a very controversial penalty to win the it late. The Dutch were absolutely livid and protested the decision to FIFA before being quickly dismissed in favour of the referee's original decision.

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The first open (non-amateur) football world championship final: 
Uruguay vs. Switzerland

The stadium in Colombes was absolutely packed and anxiously waiting for both finalists: Uruguay and Switzerland. On the day of the final, Madame Pain actually gave each player a kiss to symbolize the prayers of everyone of their friends and family. In Uruguay people were ecstatic over the final and looked to their local newspapers to get telegrams on how the final was going. As the players left their homestead, they decided to walk from Argenteuil to Colombes while doing a murga (popular carnival theatre filled with singing and drums) on the way to the stadium. It was meant to raise their morale and give them courage before the final.

 

Quick Anecdote: The players kept singing in the dressing room, which was right beside the Swiss one. They could not understand how Uruguay could be so calm before a game that all of Europe was anxiously waiting on. Allegedly, the Swiss players were also disturbed and confused by the singing, sending a delegate over to ask the Uruguayans to stop. The Uruguayans agreed and an eerie silence was felt between the players just as pre-match nerves began to sink in. This silence may have affected the morale of the squad, but it was suddenly broken by another legend, Pedro Cea. He had been reading a French magazine called “La Fire” that included nude pictures, and sarcastically exclaimed: “Who should know how to speak French?”. This one line broke all the tension as the entire team broke out into laughter. 

 

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As the players came out, it seemed as though the entire stadium was supporting Uruguay as a grand majority of fans were waving tiny Uruguay flags. This was a truly groundbreaking moment in football history, the first FIFA organized professional world championship final. Uruguay ended up winning 3-0. The standing ovation that the players received was historic for various reasons. After Uruguay’s anthem had finished playing, the ovation was still so loud that the players decided to walk around the pitch, waving at fans to thank them for their support. This was the first ever “lap of honour” (that we commonly see happen at the end of any football tournament today) or “vuelta olimpica” as it is known in the Spanish speaking world, specifically for this moment in 1924. The players were very emotional and soon left back to Argenteuil where even Japanese reporters were awaiting their return. La Gazzetta del Sport (Milan) reported: “The World football championship of the Olympic Games- emigrate to America. This sport, typically European, has found its masters in a place almost unknown 10 years ago”…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The world spoke of the best players on earth that had just been discovered by Europe: José Nasazzi, Héctor “El Mago” Scarone, Pedro Petrone, José “el Negro” Andrade (also dubbed the “Black Marvel” by the French media). Uruguay’s stay had been so successful that the players had been asked to help out in the closing ceremony as another show of appreciation by the home crowd. Before they left back to South America, the players had gotten invitations from elite clubs from Spain, Austria, England, Scotland and Germany to play international friendlies. Uruguay returned home to a euphoric reception, recognized as “champions of the world, as recognized by FIFA”.

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