The FIFA World Cup: Bizarre incidents, Part 1

Representative image. (Photo: Jannes Glas via Unsplash)

1930: The same Auld story

At the semi-final of the 1930 World Cup, the US received near-unanimous support from the local Uruguayan fans, but a vastly superior Argentina thrashed them 6-1. Argentina also played extremely rough football. Raphael Tracey of the US had to leave at half-time with an injured leg — there were no substitutions back then — and that was only one of the injuries.

Andy Auld of the US “had his lip cut open” during the second half. Jock Coll, the team trainer, rushed on to the ground with his kit. To quote from the US manager Wilfred Cummings’ report, “one of the players from across the La Platte River (Argentina) had knocked the smelling salts out of Trainer Coll’s hand and into Andy’s eyes, temporarily blinding one of the outstanding ‘little stars’ of the World’s Series.”

There is another version of the story — new versions develop over time — that mention a chloroform bottle falling on the ground and getting smashed on impact. In this version, Auld passed out temporarily.

1938: The barefoot goal

Brazil lost the semi-final of the 1938 World Cup (2-4 against Sweden), but their superstar Leônidas finished as the leading goal-scorer of the tournament. In the first round, Brazil faced Poland on what can easily be called a swamp, at the Stade de la Meinau in Strasbourg.

Both teams kept hitting the goal with remarkable frequency on the mud. Brazil went 3-1 up by half-time, but Poland equalised in the second, and the teams were level at 4-4 at full-time amid incessant rain. Brazil eventually won 6-5. Leônidas himself scored thrice, but Ernst Wilimowski of Poland went one better.

It was Leônidas’ second goal (ninth of the match) in the 93rd minute that drew some attention. He had sought permission to play barefoot in the mud, but Ivan Eklind, the Swedish referee had turned it down. He realised that his black socks, combined with the mud, would make excellent camouflage, so he took his right boot off to score a goal.

Some sources mention Leônidas scoring his third goal (in the 104th minute, to put Brazil 6-4 up) barefoot. But he almost certainly scored one.

1954: Child’s play

There were only two teams — Turkey and Spain — in Group 6 of the European Qualifiers for the 1954 World Cup. Only one of them would make it.

Spain — the overwhelming favourites — beat Turkey 4-1 in Madrid, but Turkey won 1-0 in Istanbul. Since goal difference was not used as a criterion at this point, the two teams met in neutral Rome for a play-off. The teams scored a goal each in the first half as well as in the second half, while the extra-time remained scoreless. Penalty shootouts were not a thing either.

So, the organisers got Luigi Franco Gemma, a 14-year-old boy whose father worked at the Stadio Olimpico, where the match was played. He was blindfolded, then asked to draw the lots. He drew Turkey. Spain were eliminated without playing.

Luigi Franco Gemma, aged 14 and blindfolded, sends Turkey to World Cup 1954 at the expense of Spain. pic.twitter.com/bovzNe4X6M

— Soccerama (@Soccerama1) January 29, 2015

1958: What if?

In 1958, Brazil were ahead of other teams in more ways than one. The defeats in the final in 1950 and the quarter-final in 1954 were still raw. To help footballers cope with these traumas, they hired a psychologist, João Carvalhaes, whose methods had been successful in São Paulo.

Carvalhaes put the footballers through a 50-minute test. He then rated the footballers, and submitted his reports to the Brazilian Sports Confederation. “We had to draw sketches of people and answer questions to help João make assessments about whether we should be picked or not,” recalled Pelé in his autobiography.

Unfortunately, despite being an authority on psychology, Carvalhaes had little understanding of football. He advised against the selection of the 17-year-old boy: “Pelé is obviously infantile. He lacks the necessary fighting spirit.” He also requested to leave Garrincha — not “responsible enough” — out of the squad.

At this stage Vicente Feola, the Brazilian manager stepped in to say: “You may be right. The thing is, you don’t know anything about football. If Pelé’s knee is ready, he plays.”

So, Pelé played, and emerged as not only the superstar of the edition but also as, according to many, the greatest footballer of all time. And when Pelé was injured in 1962, Garrincha helped Brazil defend their title. Brazil, thus, won their first two World Cups because they turned down a specialist’s advice.

Carvalhaes was a sports psychologist ahead of his time, but psychology had not evolved sufficiently back then. Some of his methods seem dated today. By the late 1980s, when AC Milan incorporated psychology into their system, the science had come a long way. Carvalhaes would have fitted in.

1958: Football’s greatest conspiracy ‘theory’

Konspiration 58, a Swedish mocumentary directed by Johan Löfstedt and produced by Sveriges Television in 2002, remains one of the greatest football movies of all time. The movie focuses on the fictitious Konspiration 58 — a theory that the 1958 World Cup, in Sweden, was not played at all but was a conspiracy between FIFA, the US Intelligence, and Swedish television.

To make the movie authentic, the makers roped in a most convincing cast: Agne Simonsson, Kurt Hamrin, and "Sigge" Parling, all of whom played for the Sweden side that finished runners-up in the World Cup; Bengt Grive and Ulf Drakenberg, sports writers of the era; Bengt Ågren, secretary of the FIFA Organisation Committee, Lennart Johansson, former UEFA president; and others.

The movie "analyses" how the events were scientifically impossible, eventually "exposing" the authorities. That it was a mockumentary was never revealed to the audience until the movie got over.

Conspiracy 58 from Stavro Filmproduktion on Vimeo.

1962: It doesn’t work every time!

At the 1962 World Cup on home soil, Chile stuck to a bizarre superstition. They had chocolate (some sources mention cheese) before they played their tournament opener — against Switzerland — and won the match 3-1. Ahead of their next match, against Italy, they had spaghetti — and won 2-0.

It is not known what they ate before the West Germany match, but they lost 0-2. This probably reinforced the belief that to beat an opposition, they needed to consume their national speciality.

By now they had reached the top eight, and their quarter-final bout was against the USSR. Predictably, they had Smirnoff shots, and incredibly, won 2-1.

The semi-finals were against defending champions Brazil, so obviously they had coffee. Unfortunately, no caffeine could match the skills of Garrincha, who scored twice inside 32 minutes to put Brazil ahead. Chile hit back to make it 1-2, then 2-3, but Brazil won the match 4-2 (and four days later, the final).

In the book Soccer in Sun and Shadow (1995), Eduardo Galeano summed up that Chile “gobbled down spaghetti, chocolate, and vodka, but choked on the coffee.”