World Cup Stories: Chile
1962
By
Eduardo Mendoza:
On June 10,
1956, the FIFA Congress met in Lisbon, Portugal, to decide the host of the
tournament. Argentina and Chile were competing for the venue after West Germany
withdrew its candidacy. The Argentinians were the first to present their bid,
while the Chileans took the floor the following day. Argentine representative
Raúl Héctor Colombo closed his speech with this phrase: “We can host the
World Cup tomorrow. We have everything.” The Chilean bid was presented by
Carlos Dittborn, who left a lasting mark with his words: “Because we have
nothing, we want to do everything.” Dittborn’s phrase had such an impact
that it guided Chile to victory in the vote (32 votes in favor, 10 against, and
14 abstentions), thus securing the hosting rights.
The choice
of the Andean country raised skepticism, as many argued Chile lacked the
infrastructure to host an event of such magnitude. The situation worsened after
the earthquake that struck Valdivia on May 21, 1960, devastating cities south
of Talca (which had initially been selected as host venues), leaving 50,000
dead and two million homeless. Dittborn thought the dream was over, but help
came from several national federations and FIFA itself, which contributed funds
to help the Organizing Committee complete the remodeling of the stadiums and
other necessary works. Sadly, Dittborn would not live to see the fruits of his
efforts, as he passed away one month before the Cup began.
Registrations
for the event were accepted until December 15, 1959, and two months later, on
February 12, 1960, the qualifying draw took place in Basel, Switzerland.
The
qualifiers brought several surprises. The first was the elimination of Sweden,
the runners-up of the previous edition, at the hands of Switzerland. The
Swedes, weakened by the retirement of their Italian-based veterans, had started
strongly with three victories but fell in their last match against Switzerland,
forcing a playoff that the Swiss won to secure qualification. France, on the
other hand, could not rely on their famous trio—Kopa, Fontaine, and Piantoni—in
the decisive matches, and were also harmed by refereeing decisions, especially
in their last group match against Bulgaria. France only needed a draw but were
forced to play defensively without their attacking trio. They still managed to
score through Fulgenzy, but the goal was disallowed by Czechoslovak referee
Fencl—later suspended by FIFA—for offside. One minute before full time, a free
kick was awarded to Bulgaria for a foul on Kolev, who was himself offside.
Despite French protests, the decision stood. After the first attempt was
blocked, the referee ordered a retake, and this time Iliev scored the
equalizer. In the playoff, without their stars, France lost after an own goal
by Lerond. The third surprise came from South America, where Colombia
eliminated the skillful Peruvians. Despite losing key players such as Joya,
Gómez Sánchez, and Seminario, Peru were favorites to beat Colombia. The
Colombians, who had played just one match in the previous four years (a 2–0
victory against the USA), won at home by one goal and held Peru to a draw in Lima
to achieve qualification.
The rest of
the qualifiers went as expected. The Soviet Union, champions of the inaugural
European Nations Cup, began preparing as early as January and toured Brazil,
Costa Rica, and Colombia in May to get ready for the tournament. European
runners-up Yugoslavia faced some resistance from Poland but easily qualified by
defeating South Korea. Czechoslovakia, with a squad that had played together
for eight years, knocked out Scotland. Italy, once again “reinforced” with
players of Brazilian and Argentine origin, easily overcame Israel after Romania
withdrew. Argentina qualified without issues against Ecuador, while Uruguay
struggled but eventually overcame Bolivia.
In the
North and Central American zone, Mexico had no major problems, first
eliminating the United States, then Costa Rica and the Netherlands Antilles.
However, FIFA required them to face Paraguay for the final spot. Mexico won the
first leg with a solitary goal by Salvador Reyes and sealed qualification with
a 0–0 draw in Asunción.
For the
first time, Africa held a qualifying round, won by Morocco, who then faced the
mighty Spain of Puskás, Di Stéfano, Del Sol, and Gento. The Moroccans lost both
legs but put up a strong fight. Defending champions Brazil arrived with a solid
team, further strengthened by the return of Didi and Vavá from Spain—the former
unhappy with his treatment at Real Madrid, and the latter reclaiming his place
in the squad.
The final
draw took place at the Hotel Carrera in Santiago, Chile, on January 18, 1962,
defining the four groups. Argentina stayed at the Hotel Sausal near Rancagua,
where they oddly practiced rugby in their first training sessions instead of
football. Mexico arrived in Chile on May 23, after a 12-hour journey, landing
in Viña del Mar with hopes of winning their first-ever World Cup match. Brazil
prepared in Nova Friburgo, played several friendlies, and flew to Chile on May
20. Debutants Colombia, with a preliminary squad of 35 players, trained at the
Cavalry School of Usaquén before traveling from Bogotá via Lima and Tacna to
reach their base in Arica. England, seeking redemption after poor World Cup
showings since 1950, traveled to Lima on May 17, where they defeated Peru 4–0,
before arriving in Chile days later. Spain began with a preliminary squad in
April, played several friendlies, and traveled to Chile on May 21 with a
star-studded team including Puskás, Emilio Santamaría, and Alfredo Di
Stéfano—who, injured, could not play.
The
tournament was marked by violent play, with several injuries, particularly in
matches like Italy vs. Chile and USSR vs. Yugoslavia. Brazil once again proved
unstoppable. Only Czechoslovakia managed to avoid defeat against them in the
group stage, but fate brought both teams together again in the final, where
Brazil won 3–1, aided in part by the poor performance of the Czechoslovak
goalkeeper—ironically a key figure in their path to the final. Chile surprised
the world by finishing third, while Yugoslavia, avenging previous defeats to
West Germany in the last two World Cups, finished fourth.
CURIOSITIES AND OTHER INTERESTING FACTS
- For the ball used in this World Cup, the manufacturers increased the number of panels, which made it rounder and therefore easier for the players to control.
- Chile and Italy met in a first-round match that went down in history as “The Battle of Santiago” due to the number of incidents that occurred. The atmosphere before the match was tense because of unfavorable reports about Chile published in the Italian press by two journalists. On matchday, the Italians entered the field with bouquets of flowers, which they threw to the crowd in a futile attempt to ease the hostility. The game grew more heated as the minutes passed, partly due to the poor officiating of English referee Aston, who chose to see only the Italian fouls while ignoring those committed by the hosts. Proof of this was the expulsion of Italian player Ferrini in the 6th minute and the impunity with which Leonel Sánchez acted. After being fouled by David, Sánchez retaliated with a punch to his face. As a result, David was sent off while Sánchez stayed on the pitch as if nothing had happened. Later, Sánchez broke Maschio’s nose. Aston later admitted he had considered stopping the match but did not, fearing a riot.
- Another all-out brawl occurred in the match between the Soviets and Yugoslavs. The toll was: Dubinsky with a fractured tibia and fibula; Metreveli with a cut on his eyebrow requiring 12 stitches; Ponedelnik with a swollen ankle. On the Yugoslav side, Matus suffered a broken nose, while Mujić had an ankle injury. But the most reprehensible incident was Mujić’s brutal kick to Dubinsky when the Soviet player did not even have the ball, causing the serious injury from which he never recovered. The referee left the aggression unpunished.
- Colombia was losing 1–4 to the Soviet Union, and with Lev Yashin in goal for the Soviets, it seemed like a lost cause. But the Colombians staged a comeback and tied the match, which was considered a feat. Years later, the referee of that game, Brazilian Etzel Filho, gave his version: “I tied that game myself. I’m of Hungarian descent and I’ve hated the Russians since the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1957.”
- During that spectacular Colombian comeback against the USSR, Marcos Coll scored the second “Olympic goal” (directly from a corner kick) in World Cup history. (The first had been scored by Cuba in 1938).
- The match between Brazil and England turned into a canine invasion. First, England’s Jimmy Greaves had to get on all fours to grab and remove a dog that had run onto the field. Minutes later, a second dog entered but left the pitch on its own.
- Ferenc Puskás, one of the key figures of the Hungarian team in 1954, now nearing the end of his career and naturalized Spanish, played in this World Cup as part of the Spanish team. On the field he contributed little, but off the pitch he got into a fistfight with several Spanish fans in a bar, wrecking the place.
- Before Spain’s match against Brazil, who had lost Pelé due to injury, Spanish coach Helenio Herrera said: “Without Pelé, Brazil looks very weak. Who is Amarildo?” After the match, he had his answer—Brazil won with two goals from Amarildo.
- Paulo Machado de Carvalho, head
of the Brazilian delegation, was a superstitious man. Proof of this is
that he convinced Commander Burgner de Varing to pilot the plane carrying
the Brazilians to Chile, simply because he had also been the pilot who
flew them to Sweden four years earlier.
- In the Chile vs. Brazil match, Garrincha, upset with the referee’s decisions, insulted him based on his Asian features and Japanese surname, thinking he wouldn’t understand. But Yamasaki, a Peruvian of Japanese descent, understood perfectly and sent him off. However, the expulsion did not mean Garrincha would miss the final. At that time, expulsions did not automatically imply suspension for the next match, so the incident resulted only in a warning.
- Czechoslovakia reached the final despite the pessimism of their delegation leader, who, the day before the quarterfinal against Hungary, had told their hotel they would be checking out the following day. Instead, they defeated Hungary and then Yugoslavia. In the final, Brazil beat them 3–1, largely due to the poor performance of their goalkeeper Schrojf. The Czech coach later remarked: “What can you do? Two unexpected mistakes by our goalkeeper gave Brazil the victory.”
- While the Brazilian coach was giving his last instructions before the final, Garrincha interrupted him, asking: “Master, is today the final?” When told yes, he laughed and said: “That explains why there are so many people.”
- Another anecdote recounts that moments before the Brazil vs. England match, Garrincha turned to Didi and said: “Did you see that, Didi? São Cristóvão has a new uniform.”
- Among the players who
represented a country other than their birthplace were:
Italy:
Humberto Maschio, Omar Sivori (Argentina)
José Altatini, Gomes Altair (Brazil)
Mexico:
Pedro Romero (USA)
Spain:
Ferenc Puskás (Hungary)
Emilio Santamaría (Uruguay)
Eulogio Martínez (Paraguay)
Alfredo Di Stéfano (Argentina)
Switzerland:
Roberto Frigerio (France)
CHILE 1962 – GAME BY GAME
To avoid
playoff matches, goal difference would be used for the first time to determine
the final positions of the groups. If teams were tied on points, a draw would
be held.
Group Stage
30/05/1962
Carlos
Dittborn Stadium, Arica.
URUGUAY 2-1 COLOMBIA (0:1)
Goals: Zuluaga (p) 19', Cubilla 56', Sasia 75'
URU: 1-Sosa, 2-Troche©, 3-Emilio Álvarez, 18-Eliseo Álvarez, 4-Méndez, 5-Goncalves, 6-Cubilla, 10-Rocha, 19-Langón, 9-Sasia, 7-Pérez.
COL: 1-Sánchez, 3-Zuluaga©, 5-J. González, 11-López, 8-Echeverri, 9-Silva, 15-Coll, 13-Aceros, 17-Klinger, 19-Gamboa, 22-Arias.
Referee:
Andor Dorogi (HUN) A1: Joao Etzel (BRA) A2: Karol Galba (HUN)
30/05/1962
National
Stadium, Santiago.
CHILE 3-1
SWITZERLAND (1-1)
Goals:
Wüthrich 7’, L. Sánchez 44’, Ramírez 52’, L. Ramírez 55’
CHI: 1-Escuti, 2-Eyzaguirre, 3-R. Sánchez, 5-Contreras,
4-Navarro©, 8-Toro, 6-Rojas, 7-Ramírez, 9-Landa, 10-Fouilloux, 11-L. Sanchez.
30/05/1962
Sausalito Stadium, Viña del Mar.
BRAZIL 2-0 MEXICO (0:0)
Goals: Zagallo 56', Pele 73'
BRA: 1-Gilmar, 2-Dos Santos, 3-Mauro©, 5-Zózimo, 6-Nilton,
4-Zito, 7-Garrincha, 8-Didi, 19-Vavá, 10-Pelé, 21-Zagallo.
30/05/1962
Branden Cooper Stadium, Rancagua.
BULGARIA 0-1 ARGENTINA (0-1)
Goals:
Facundo 4'
BUL:
1-Naydanov, 2-Rakarov©, 4-Kitov, 5-D. Kostov, 3-I. Dimitrov, 6-Kovachev,
7-Diev, 13-Velitchkov, 9-Iliev, 11-Yakimov, 10-Kolev.
31/05/1962
Carlos
Dittborn Stadium, Arica.
SOVIET
UNION 2-0 YUGOSLAVIA (0:0)
Goals:
Ivanov 51', Ponedelnik 83'
URS:
1-Yashin, 4-Dubinski, 6-Ostrovsky, 12-Voronin, 7-Maslenkin, 10-Netto©,
18-Metreveli, 14-Ivanov, 19-Ponedelnik, 15-Kanevski, 17-Meskhi.
Dubinski left the match in the 80th minute.
31/05/1962
National
Stadium, Santiago.
WEST GERMANY 0-0 ITALY
31/05/1962
Sausalito Stadium, Viña del Mar.
SPAIN 0-1 CZECHOSLOVAKIA (0-0)
Goals: Štibrányi 80’
ESP: 3-Carmelo, 11-Rivilla, 16-Reija, 20-Segarra©,
19-Santamaría, 8-Garay, 5-Del Sol, 15-Martínez, 14-Puskás, 21-Suárez, 9-Gento.
31/05/1962
Branden
Cooper Stadium, Rancagua.
HUNGARY 2-1
ENGLAND (1:0)
Goals:
Tichy 17', Flowers (p) 60', Albert 71'
HUN:
1-Grosics, 2-Matrái, 4-Sárosi, 5-Solymosi, 3-Mészöly, 6-Sipos©, 7-Sándor,
17-Rakosi, 9-Albert, 10-Tichy, 11-Fenyvesi.
02/06/1962
Carlos Dittborn Stadium, Arica.
URUGUAY 1-3 YUGOSLAVIA (1-2)
Goals: Cabrera 19’, Skoblar (p) 25’, Galić 29’, Jerković 49’
URUGUAY: 1-Sosa, 2-Troche©, 3-Emilio Álvarez, 18-Eliseo
Álvarez, 4-Méndez, 5-Goncalves, 20-Bergara, 10-Rocha, 22-Cabrera, 9-Sasia,
7-Pérez.
02/06/1962
National
Stadium, Santiago.
CHILE 2-0
ITALY (0:0)
Goals:
Ramírez 73', Toro 88'
CHI: 1-Escuti, 2-Eyzaguirre, 3-R. Sánchez, 5-Contreras,
4-Navarro©, 8-Toro, 6-Rojas, 7-Ramírez, 9-Landa, 10-Fouilloux, 11-L. Sanchez.
02/06/1962
Sausalito Stadium, Viña del Mar.
BRAZIL 0-0 CZECHOSLOVAKIA
02/06/1962
Branden
Cooper Stadium, Rancagua.
ARGENTINA
1-3 ENGLAND (0:2)
Goals:
Flowers (p) 18', Charlton 42', Greaves 67', Sanfilippo 81'
03/06/1962
Carlos
Dittborn Stadium, Arica.
COLOMBIA
4–4 SOVIET UNION (1:3)
Goals:
Ivanov 8', Chislenko 10', Ivanov 12', Aceros 21', Ponedelnik 57', Coll 63',
Rada 72', Klinger 77'
COL: 1-Sánchez©, 4-Alzate, 5-J. González, 11-López,
8-Echeverri, 10-Serrano, 15-Coll, 13-Aceros, 17-Klinger, 20-Rada, 21-H.
Gonzalez.
National
Stadium, Santiago.
WEST GERMANY 2–1 SWITZERLAND (1:0)
Goals:
Brülls 45', Seeler 60', Schneiter 74'
FRG:
22-Fahrian, 12-Nowak, 3-Schnellinger, 4-Schulz, 2-Erhardt, 6-Szymaniak,
7-Koslowski, 8-Haller, 9-Seeler, 10-Brülls, 11-Schäfer©.
03/06/1962
Sausalito Stadium, Viña del Mar.
SPAIN 1–0 MEXICO (0:0)
Goals: Peiro 90'
Referee: Branko Tesanic (YUG) A1: Claudio Vicuna (CHI) A2:
Walter van Rosberg (ANT)
03/06/1962
Branden Cooper Stadium, Rancagua.
BULGARIA
1–6 HUNGARY (0:4)
Goals:
Albert 1', Albert 6', Tichy 8', Solymosi 12', Albert 53', Asparukhov 64', Tichy
70'
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06/06/1962
Carlos
Dittborn Stadium, Arica.
SOVIET
UNION 2–1 URUGUAY (1:0)
Goals:
Mamikin 38', Sasia 54', Ivanov 89'
06/06/1962
National
Stadium, Santiago.
CHILE 0–2
FEDERAL GERMANY (0–1)
Goals:
Szymaniak (p) 21’ Seeler 82’
CHI: 1-Escuti, 2-Eyzaguirre, 3-R. Sánchez, 5-Contreras,
4-Navarro©, 21-Tobar, 6-Rojas, 7-Ramírez, 9-Landa, 18-Moreno, 11-L. Sánchez.
06/06/1962
SPAIN 1–2 BRAZIL (1:0)
Goals: A. Rodríguez 35', Amarildo 72', Amarildo 86'
BRA: 1-Gilmar, 2-Dos Santos, 3-Mauro©, 5-Zózimo, 6-Nilton,
4-Zito, 7-Garrincha, 8-Didi, 19-Vavá, 20-Amarildo, 21-Zagallo.
.jpg)
06/06/1962
Branden Cooper Stadium, Rancagua.
HUNGARY 0–0 ARGENTINA (0:0)
07/06/1962
Carlos Dittborn Stadium, Arica.
YUGOSLAVIA 5–0 COLOMBIA (2:0)
Goals: Galic 21', Jerkovic 25', Galic 60', Melic 82', Jerkovic 87'
YUG:
1-Šoškić, 2-Durković, 3-Jusufi, 4-Radaković, 5-Marković, 6-Popović, 17-Melić,
8-Šekularac, 9-Jerković, 10-Galić©, 7-Anković.
COL: 1-Sánchez©, 4-Alzate, 5-J. González, 11-López, 8-Echeverri, 10-Serrano, 15-Coll, 13-Aceros, 17-Klinger, 20-Rada, 21-H. González.
Referee: Carlos Robles (CHI) A1: Cesare Jonni (ITA) A2:
Karol Galba (TCH)
07/06/1962
National
Stadium, Santiago.
SWITZERLAND
0–3 ITALY (0:1)
Goals: Mora 2', Bulgarelli 65', Bulgarelli 67'
SUI:
1-Elsener, 7-Schneiter, 8-Tacchella, 9-Gróbety, 11-Meier, 13-Weber,
14-Allemann, 20-Vonlanthen, 16-Dürr, 21-Wüthrich, 15-Antenen©.
Referee:
Nikolaj Latyshev (URS) A1: Robert Davidson (SCO) A2: Dimitar Rumenchev (BUL)
07/06/1962
Sausalito Stadium, Viña del Mar.
MEXICO 3–1 CZECHOSLOVAKIA (2:1)
Goals: Mašek 1', Díaz 13', Del Águila 29', H. Hernández (p) 90'
MEX: 1-Carbajal©, 2-Del Muro, 5-Cárdenas, 3-Sepúlveda, 15-Jáuregui, 8-Reyes, 6-Nájera, 7-Del Águila, 9-H. Hernandez, 18-A. Hernandez, 11-Diaz.
TCH: 1-Schrojf, 2-Lála, 4-Novák©, 5-Pluskal, 3-Popluhar, 6-Masopust, 7-Štibrányi, 8-Scherer, 19-Kvašňák, 10-Adamec, 14-Mašek.
Referee:
Gottfried Dienst (SUI) A1: Branko Tesanic (YUG) A2: José Sundheim (COL)
07/06/1962
Branden
Cooper Stadium, Rancagua.
ENGLAND 0–0
BULGARIA
Quarter
finals
In the
knockout games, if the teams were level after ninety minutes, thirty minutes of
extra time were played. For any match other than the final, if the teams were
still even after extra time then lots would be drawn to determine the winner.
The final would have been replayed if still tied after extra time; but if still
tied after the replay, the champion would have been decided by drawing lots. In
the event, no replays or drawing of lots were necessary.
10/06/1962
Carlos
Dittborn Stadium, Arica.
CHILE 2–1
SOVIET UNION (2:1)
Goals: L. Sánchez 11', Chislenko 26', Rojas 29'
CHI: 1-Escuti, 2-Eyzaguirre, 5-Contreras, 3-R. Sánchez,
4-Navarro©, 8-Toro, 6-Rojas, 7-Ramírez, 9-Landa, 21-Tobar, 11-L. Sanchez.
10/06/1962
National
Stadium, Santiago.
WEST GERMANY 0–1 YUGOSLAVIA (0:0)
Goals:
Radaković 85'
10/06/1962
BRAZIL 3–1
ENGLAND (1:1)
Goals:
Garrincha 31', Hitchens 38', Vavá 53', Garrincha 59'
.jpg)
Branden
Cooper Stadium, Rancagua.
HUNGARY 0–1
CZECHOSLOVAKIA (0:1)
Goals:
Scherer 14'
Semifinals
13/06/1962
National
Stadium, Santiago.
CHILE 2–4
BRAZIL (1:2)
Goals: Garrincha 9', Garrincha 32', Toro 42', Vavá 47', L.
Sánchez (p) 61', Vavá 78'
Referee: Arturo Yamasaki (PER) A1: Esteban Marino (URU) A2:
Luis Ventre (CHI)
13/06/1962
Sausalito Stadium, Viña del Mar.
YUGOSLAVIA
1–3 CZECHOSLOVAKIA (0:0)
Goals:
Kadabra 48', Jerković 69', Scherer 80', Scherer (p) 84'
¾ Place
16/06/1962
National
Stadium, Santiago.
CHILE 1–0
YUGOSLAVIA (0:0)
Goals: Rojas 90'
CHI: 12-Godoy, 2-Eyzaguirre, 16-Cruz, 3-R. Sánchez, 15-Rodríguez, 8-Toro©, 6-Rojas, 7-Ramírez, 20-Campos, 21-Tobar, 11-L. Sanchez.
YUG: 1-Šoškić, 2-Durković, 14-Svinjarević, 4-Radaković, 5-Marković, 6-Popović, 18-Kovačević, 8-Sekularac, 9-Jerković, 10-Galić©, 11-Skoblar.
Referee: Juan Gardeazábal (ESP) A1: Albert Dusch (GFR) A2:
Andor Dorogi (HUN)
Final.
17/06/1962
National Stadium, Santiago.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA 1–3 BRAZIL (1:1)
Goals: Masopust 15', Amarildo 17', Zito 69', Vavá 78'
TCH: 1-Schrojf, 12-Tichý, 4-Novák©, 6-Masopust, 3-Popluhár, 5-Pluskal, 17-Pospichal, 8-Scherer, 18-Kadraba, 19-Kvašňák, 11-Jelinek.
BRA: 1-Gilmar, 2-Dos Santos, 6-Nilton, 4-Zito, 3-Mauro©, 5-Zózimo, 7-Garrincha, 8-Didi, 19-Vavá, 20-Amarildo, 21-Zagallo.
Referee:
Nikolaj Latyshev (URS) A1: Leo Horn (NED) A2: Robert Davidson (SCO)
Just like
the previous World Cup, each national team had to submit a list of 40 players a
month before the closing date for registrations, from which the final 22 had to
be selected by May 22. Once registrations were closed, no changes could be made
to the rosters. For this World Cup, the only amateur teams were Germany, as
well as the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria,
although the latter were questionable. The countries that did not yet have a
unified national league were Germany and Brazil.
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