3 September 1989 - This Makes Me Wonder If Professional Wrestling Is Big In Chile

On 3 September 1989, a World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Chile was halted after Chile's goalkeeper, Roberto Rojas, appeared to be struck by a flare thrown from the stands and fell to the ground bleeding.



Playing at the Maracaña in Rio de Janeiro in their group's last qualification match, Chile and Brazil were even on points. Brazil had a better goal differential and could qualify with a draw, while Chile needed a win to advance to the World Cup in Italy. Their prospects took a hit, however, when Brazilian striker Careca scored in the 49th minute to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.



In the 70th minute, with the score still 1-0, a Brazilian supporter in the stands threw the flare in the direction of Rojas, who fell to the ground clutching his face. He was taken off the pitch on a stretcher, with blood running down his face. Citing fears for their safety, the Chilean team walked off the pitch and the match was abandoned.



Subsequent review of the video from the match revealed that the flare was thrown by a Brazilian supporter named Rosemary de Mello, but also showed that it never struck Rojas. Investigators determined that his injury was self-inflicted, using a razor concealed in one of his gloves. They also concluded that Chile's manager, Orlando Aravena, orchestrated the feigned injury with Rojas and team doctor Daniel Rodriguez in the hope that the officials would award the match to Chile or, alternatively, call for a replay.



Instead, the match went down as a 2-0 victory for Brazil, while Rojas, Aravena, and Rodriguez each received lifetime bans from FIFA. In addition, team captain Fernando Astengo received a five-year ban for taking the team off the pitch, while Chile were barred from participating in the 1994 World Cup. In 2001, FIFA lifted the ban on Rojas, who was working as a trainer in São Paulo at the time.

21 November 1973 - The Soviets Avoid A Chile Reception

On 21 November 1973, Chile beat the Soviet Union 1-0 in a World Cup qualifying play-off match. It helped that the Soviets didn't bother to show up.

For the first time ever, World Cup qualification pitted a European team against a South American team in a playoff for the final spot in the tournament. The two teams drew 0-0 in the first leg, played in Moscow on 26 September. The second leg was scheduled for the National Stadium in Santiago, which had recently been used as a prison camp during that year's Chilean coup d'etat led by US-supported General Augusto Pinochet against Soviet-backed President Salvador Allende.

The Soviets refused to play in the stadium, effectively withdrawing from the tournament. The match went ahead as scheduled, though, with the Chileans kicking off before a crowd of thousands. They passed the ball down the pitch to their captain, who kicked it in from right in front of the goal. FIFA, however, declared the match a forfeit.

Immediately afterward, Chile hosted a friendly against Brazilian club Santos and lost 5-0.

14 June 1974 - West Germany Cooks With A Red Chile

On 14 June 1974, hosts West Germany opened that year's World Cup with a 1-0 win over Chile before a crowd of 83,168 at the Olympiastadion in West Berlin. In addition to kicking off West Germany's second World Cup-winning campaign, the match also delivered the Cup's first-ever red card.

Even before it began, the tournament took on a political aspect, as several Eastern European nations qualified at the expense of higher-profile Western European sides such as England, France, and Spain. West Germany, who had won the Cup in 1954 and had recently finished in second place (1966) and third place (1970), became the standard-bearers for the West. That role was emphasized by the first match, hosted by West Germany in the enclave of West Berlin, surrounded on all sides by fellow qualifiers East Germany.

The West Germans quickly established their intentions, placing the South Americans under constant pressure. In the 18th minute, defender Paul Breitner gave the hosts the lead, blasting a shot into the top left corner of the net from over thirty yards away. Only some excellent work from Chilean keeper Leopoldo Vallejos prevented the scoreline from getting worse for his side.

In the 67th minute, Chilean midfielder Carlos Caszely, frustrated by challenge moments earlier by West German defender Berti Vogts, retaliated with a violent lunge from behind that sent Vogts to the ground and earned Caszely a straight red - the first red card issued in the history of the World Cup (red and yellow cards were introduced for the first time in the 1970 tournament, but nobody earned a red that year).

The West Germans held on for the 1-0 win on the way to their second World Cup title.

25 April 1936 - A Born Fighter

On 25 April 1936, future Chilean international and record cap-holder Leonel Sánchez was born in Santiago.

A left winger, Sánchez began his professional career in 1953 with Universidad de Chile, where he would remain for seventeen years and win six league titles (1959, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1969). In 1955, he made his first appearance for the Chilean national team in a 1-1 draw with Brazil. He would go on to earn a national record 84 caps between 1955 and 1968.

He was a key member of the team that finished third in the 1962 World Cup, scoring four goals to tie five other players as the tournament's top scorer. He scored two of those goals in Chile's opening match, a 3-1 group stage win over Switzerland.

Chile's next match, played on 2 June, was the infamous "Battle of Santiago" in which several fights broke out and two Italian players were sent off. One of the Italians ejected was Mario David, who was sent off for kicking Sánchez in the head. Sánchez had first punched David, but escaped punishment. Sánchez also broke the nose of Italy's Humberto Maschio with a punch, but somehow again avoided punishment as Chile won the match 2-0. They eventually lost to Brazil in the semi-finals, but finished in third place with a 1-0 win over Yugoslavia in the consolation match.

Sánchez left Universidad in 1969 over a contract dispute and played for three other Chilean teams before retiring in 1973.