| Uruguay won the Jules Rimet World Cup for Association football
for the second time in the short history of the championship. They
fought back after being a goal down, equalised, and then took the
lead, leaving the world's record crowd of nearly 200,000 Brazilian
fans completely dumbfounded and bewildered.
After their team's overwhelming wins over Sweden and Spain in the
first two matches of the final pool, the Brazilians had not entertained
a thought of defeat. So certain were the Brazilians of victory that
they had already written and recorded a victory samba entitled "Brazil
the Victora."
The Brazilian players, who had expected to obtain gold medals and
thousands of pounds as a bonus for a win, walked slowly off the
field, their heads bowed low. Some women in the huge white and blue
municipal stadium were prostrate with grief. The stadium announcer
was so thunderstruck he forgot to broadcast the final result of
the other match between Spain and Sweden to decide minor placings.
It did not matter. None in the vast crowd cared.
The Uruguay players embraced one another and then hugged Mr G Reader,
the British referee, who had controlled the match firmly. After
receiving the cup from the donor, M Jules Rimet, of France, in a
half-deserted stadium, the players danced around the ground, gesticulating
widely with joy.
|
