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World Cup : 1934
posted May-30 | 411 hits
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Background
After the first World Cup in Uruguay in 1930, the World Cup came to Europe as Italy played hosts. It was a time when Benito Mussolini was in power and the fascist dictator saw the chance to stage the fledgling global tournament as a great boost to his regime’s prestige. Il Duce ensured that Italy provided a footballing spectacle that was fitting for Europe’s first.
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Qualification for the tournament was introduced for the first time. Uruguay didn’t participate in the tournament – a case of tit-for-tat as many European teams refused to travel to South America for the previous World Cup. Uruguay are the only champions to date not to defend their World Cup title.
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, didn’t deign to appear and even host nation Italy had to qualify. It went down to the last match in which they beat Greece 4-0 to seal a place. Egypt became the first African Nation to ever participate in the world cup.
Tournament
First Round
The first round was a straight knockout stage. The format was cruel. There was one game and if you lost, you went home. In the case of Brazil and Argentina they had to make the long journey back almost immediately, losing to Spain and Sweden respectively meaning that any South American interest was over.
The performance of the round belonged to favourites and the hosts. Italy, who fielded Luis Monti, a player who appeared for Argentina four years previously, demolished the United States 7-1 though the Americans had clinched qualification just three days prior to the start of the tournament.
In the other first round matches the highly-rated Austria beat France 3-2; Hungary downed Egypt 4-2; Czechoslovakia defeated Romania 2-1; the Swiss beat the Dutch while Belgium lost to Germany.
Quarter Finals
The all-European last eight stage provided another World Cup first – a replay. Italy and Spain drew 1-1 after extra time and in the return match played the very next day, Italy finally squeezed past their opponents with a 1-0 win. In other matches, the Austrian wunderteam won 2-1 against Hungary; Czechoslovakia beat Switzerland 3-2 while Germany defeated Sweden 3-2 by the same scoreline.
Semi Finals
Weather played a part in the semi-finals clash between Italy and Austria. A torrential storm turned the Milan pitch into a mud bath. The Italians had just enjoyed a single day of rest after their replay win over Spain but even so, Roma’s Enrique Guaita got the only goal of the match to send the hosts to the final. It was a performance of amazing spirit. They were joined by Czechoslovakia who earned their place with a 3-1 win over Germany.
Final
Fifty thousand fans witnessed the second ever World Cup final between Italy and Czechoslovakia. The vast majority were disappointed when Antonin Puc but the Central European ahead with just 14 minutes remaining. They needn’t have worried. Five minutes later Raimondo Orsi grabbed the equaliser and the game went into extra time.
Five minutes in, the Czechs paid the price for neglecting to mark the injured Giuseppe Meazza and he provided the pass for Angelo Schiavio to score the winner.
Heroes and Villains
One of the greatest players Italy has ever produced, Guiseppe Meazza grabbed the all important goal in the quarter-final replay against Spain in the replay. He then created the winner in the final, setting up Schiavio despite carrying an injury.
Oldřich Nejedlý of Czechoslovakia was the tournaments leading scorer. He scored the winners in the first round and quarter finals for his team and then stunned Germany in the semi-finals with a hat-trick which book a place in the showpiece match against the hosts in Rome.
The first World Cup in Europe wasn’t all sweetness and light as the Italian backline gained a reputation for physical play that, at times, bordered on the brutal and rumours that Mussolini met the Ivan Eklind before he refereed Italy’s semi-final and final games are still repeated from time to time.
Matches to remember
The finals between Italy and Czechoslovakia stands out as Meazza’s amazing determination and winning mentality will forever be remembered in Italy. Despite being injured, he laboured on to setup the winner which Schiavio scored. The Czechs' quarter-final 3-2 victory over the Swiss was a roller-coaster of an affair which was finally settled by that man Nejedly.
Top Scorers
5 - Oldřich Nejedlý (Czechoslovakia)
4 – Edmund Conen (Germany)
4 – Angelo Schiavio (Italy)
3 – Raimondo Orsi (Italy)
3 – Leopold Kielholz (Switzerland) |
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