Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/318021
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 MAY 2014 51 Uruguay 1930: Argentine Francisco 'Pancho' Varallo could have changed history It was the afternoon of July 30, 1930 in Montevideo. Some 82 minutes had been played in the final of the first football World Cup, and Argentine striker Francisco "Pancho" Varallo's shot hit the top left corner of Uruguay's goal CARLOS CASTILLOS URUGUAY were winning 3-2, and a draw would have meant 30 min- utes of extra time. If there was still no winner after that, another match would be needed to establish the first world champion in history. However, that shot ended up crushing Argentine hopes on the pitch and the stands alike. Away supporters started to leave the Esta- dio Centenario en masse, in antici- pation of defeat. Argentina had imposed their su- periority in the first half and were winning 2-1 at the break, but when they went into the changing room one of their players made a com- ment that showed some were al- ready cracking under the huge pres- sure of the match. "If we win here, they'll kill us," he said. Varallo himself told dpa the anec- dote in an interview at his home in La Plata, about 60 kilometres away from Buenos Aires, a few years be- fore his death at age 100 on August 30, 2010. "Nobody wanted to play... I couldn't believe it!" said Varallo, who was barely 20 at the time to brace the rebelliousness and the pride that marked his whole career. Despite his reaction in the chang- ing room, Varallo did not manage to turn things around. Uruguay man- aged a comeback in the second half, and the match ended 4-2 to prevent the visitors from taking home the first World Cup. "When I got back from Montevi- deo I screamed at Uruguayans in rage because we had lost. But it was us who lost that final," Varallo said. His team-mate Alberto Chividini, who was a starter in the tourna- ment's first round of play, in Mexico, but did not play the final, admitted that the team was crestfallen in the definitive match. "We shrank to an incredible de- gree. And of course the Uruguayans noticed the cowardice of their rivals and made the most of the occasion," Chividini told Argentine media. For all the bitterness he felt after failing to win a World Cup at 20, Varallo always said he later grew fond of Uruguayans. "I really love Uruguayans," the Ar- gentine said. Although he was active in Boca Juniors among other clubs, he ex- pressed his admiration for Uru- guayan player Enzo Francescoli, a former star of their arch-rivals River Plate. That first World Cup final marked the growing rivalry between neigh- bours Uruguay and Argentina in the field of sport, and clashes between both are a classic of South Ameri- can football. DPA "Nobody wanted to play... I couldn't believe it!" said Varallo, who was barely 20 at the time to brace the rebelliousness and the pride that marked his whole career. Photo by Empics - dpa Varallo died in his home-town of La Plata on 30 August 2010, at the age of 100. He was the last surviving player from the 1930 World Cup at the time of his death