Showing posts with label 1924 Summer Olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1924 Summer Olympics. Show all posts

Sunday, October 4, 2009

5 October 1957 - The Marvelous José Andrade

On 5 October 1957, José Leandro Andrade died of tuberculosis at a nursing home in Montevideo at the age of 55. The left half earned multiple honors with the Uruguayan national team, including two Olympic gold medals and one World Cup trophy.

Born in Salto, Uruguay in 1902, Andrade played for a number of Uruguayan and Argentinian clubs in his career, but spent the majority of his time with Uruguayan clubs Nacional and Peñarol. He first appeared for the national side in 1923 and was a key member of the team that defeated Switzerland 3-0 in the gold medal match for the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. At that tournament, he became the first black man to play competitive football at the international level on the continent and earned the nickname "The Black Marvel."

He repeated that gold medal success with Uruguay in the 1928 Summer Olympics, defeating Argentina in the final, but suffered an eye injury during a semi-final match against Italy that eventually left him blind in one eye.

In 1930, Uruguay hosted the first World Cup and, fittingly, claimed the first trophy, again defeating Argentina in the Final. Andrade was named to the tournament's All Star Team. The Final was his last appearance for the national side.

In 1994, France Football magazine named him #10 in their list of the top 100 players in the World Cup.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

6 April 1924 - The Azzurri Sing The Blues

On 6 April 1924, the Italian national team suffered its worst defeat to date, losing 7-1 to Hungary in Budapest. The match, a friendly, was played in preparation for the upcoming 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris (where Italy failed to earn a medal, losing 2-1 in the semifinals to silver medalist Switzerland).

Italy's unlucky goalkeeper against Hungary was 22-year-old Gianpiero Combi from Juventus, making his first appearance for the Azzurri. He did not play again for the national team until almost a year later on 22 March 1925, when Italy beat France 7-0 in Turin. He was Italy's primary goalkeeper for the next ten years and helped them win the bronze medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics - Italy's first trophy - and captained them to the World Cup trophy in 1934.