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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 28 MAY 2014 France 1938: Pietro Rava: 'A great fascist spirit pervaded us' A short time before his death, Pietro Rava, by then the last surviving member of the team that won the 1938 World Cup, recalled how football in those pre-war days was related more to politics than to sport for Benito Mussolini's Italy GONZALO ESPARIZ "WE were at the height of fascism, and above all a great fascist spirit pervaded us," Rava told the Italian daily La Stampa in an interview. "We had to play to win. No excuses were acceptable. Il Duce was clear and precise: we had to achieve it above all for the regime, beyond even our own personal satisfaction." Rava, who died at age 90 in late 2006, soon after Francesco Totti lifted in Berlin his country's fourth World Cup trophy, was a "rocky and powerful" right-back, according to the commentators of his day. Throughout his prolific career, most of it with Juventus and with the Italian national team, he won many titles, including a unique combi- nation: world champion, Olympic champion (Berlin 1936), winner of the Scudetto and of the Italian Cup. In France 1938, he was a starter in his team's four matches. He made his national team de- but in April 1937, in a 2-0 win over Hungary. And he got hold of a spot in the Nazionale's starting line-up, which he would not give up until World War II, in which he served six months as a volunteer in the Rus- sian front, put his career on hold. Before the war, Rava had time to win a World Cup, but it was not easy. In terms of sport, Italy arrived in France as the defending cham- pions, but with many questioning their title. Their home win of four years earlier had been marked by controversy and by suspicion of strange practices. However, the greatest problems were political. The world was in- exorably headed for war, and Mus- solini's warmongering Italy, Adolf Hitler's closest ally, was looked upon with mistrust by many countries. Mussolini had achieved his prop- aganda goal with victory in "his" World Cup, but four years later he wanted more. Tournament host France was precisely one of the countries that resented Italy the most, and Italian players were quick to feel that. "French people did not like us much because of our fascist regime, and when we entered the pitch for the first match, in Marseille against Norway, there was deafening whis- tling," Rava recalled. However, when politics gave way to football and the ball got mov- ing, the "Azzurri" showed that they were actually a lot better, even if they needed extra time to beat Nor- way. Coach Vittorio Pozzo and a few players led by Giuseppe Meazza were the same of four years earlier, but their style had changed a lot: they were determined to erase all the doubts that their 1934 title had prompted. Their next rivals were the hosts, France. "The French themselves had made a pact for the direct clash in Paris, but very modestly, we were definitely stronger than them. We won thanks to two goals from Pio- la." "After that, we beat the arrogant Brazil in the semi-finals, and the extremely strong Hungary in the fi- nal. And in the end we reaped great applause, there was no more whis- tling." In the decisive clash against the Hungarians, a team that dominated all their rivals at the time, there was a lot more at stake than just a foot- ball game. Rava was just 22, but he says he did not feel afraid. "Definitely not. But, of course, I was so focused on playing the Hun- garians that maybe I did feel it and did not notice." After the final, Rava could hardly believe Italy had won. "It meant eve- rything. It's the greatest satisfaction a player can have in his life. I had it, and I think that is a lot." At that time, satisfaction was em- bodied in the triumphant trip back home. "We returned by train. It was 1938. It wasn't like now, when peo- ple travel everywhere in the club's or the federation's private plane! The first stage of our trip took us to my Turin, due to the obvious border proximity. In Turin we were wel- come at Porta Susa by no less than my father, who was the stationmas- ter." One visit was more vital tan any other, however. "Il Duce welcomed us in Rome at Palazzo Venezia. Mussolini rewarded us for the serv- ice we had done to the homeland. My reward was a diploma and an 8,000-lira prize. With that money I bought a new car, a Topolino 9500. It was a different era!" The football in the pre-war days was related more to politics than to sport for Benito Mussolini's Italy. Photo by: Schirner Sportfoto Archiv Italy's Giuseppe Meazza and Hungary's György Sárosi prepare to do battle in the Final

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