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.

30 July 1930 - The First World Cup Final

On 30 July 1930, Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-2 in the first World Cup Final before a standing-room-only crowd of over 100,000 at Montevideo's Estadio Centenario.

As previously mentioned, FIFA chose Uruguay as the host country because its national team were reigning world champions, having taken the gold medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Argentina had claimed the silver, after playing Uruguay to a 1-1 draw on 10 June 1928, then falling 2-1 in the replay three days later. So the two sides were very familiar with one another leading up to the 1930 World Cup.

Uruguay scored first in the Final, with a 12th-minute goal from striker Pablo Dorado, who shot the ball through the legs of Argentinian keeper Juan Botasso. Argentina rallied, however, and took a 2-1 lead into halftime with goals from right forward Carlos Peucelle (20') and center forward Guillermo Stábile (37'). Stábile's goal was his eighth of the tournament, making him the top scorer.

The second half, though, belonged to the home side. Inside-left forward Pedro Cea scored the equalizer in the 57th minute, then outside-left forward Santos Iriarte netted the eventual match-winner in the 68th minute. Center forward Héctor Castro added another for good measure in the 89th minute, completing Uruguay's victory.

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.