Ghiggia, the Uruguayan forward who scored the goal that made 70 million Brazilians cry, was honoured by the Maracana stadium organization who invited him to leave his footprint in the Maracana Walk of Fame. Ghiggia is the 100th player to do so and only the 6th non-Brazilian. Hats up to Brazil for such an elegant gesture. May I remind the readers of this blog that this goal clinched the victory of Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup held in Brazil and this event became known as the Maracanazo. You can read more here via the Estadao article (in Portuguese). Thanks to my sister for flagging the article!
Maracanazos like recognition.
What should be underscored (ancient history, but still …) is that after this 2nd and finally WorldChampionship winnning goal, Uruguay, through their fantastic captain, Obdulio Varela called the ” Big Chief” ( el “Gran Jefe ” ) coninued attacking before 200 000 mesmerized people in Maracana Stadium and kept the Brazilian team in their half of the field, way to go !
O’Neill
Even at half-time, the Uruguayan coach seemingly said that they needed to play defensively to stand a chance to win. Varela said to him, in front of all, that they all liked him but that the Uruguayan team’s only chance was to attack to win the title and right he was!