Retro Raunch Revisit

JUL 13, 1930: The inaugural FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) World Cup is held in Uruguay that featured 13 teams (7 South American, 2 North American & 4 European) divided into 4 groups. Japan & Siam (Thailand) had withdrawn and Egypt had missed their travelling ship due to a storm in the Mediterranean. Only a small group of nations from Europe participated because of the difficulty of journeying to South America during the Great Depression making expenses problematic. Britain, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales -- whose bracket was known as the British Home Nations of specific group placement until 1984 -- had all resigned from FIFA due to a dispute over wages for amateur players. [The 4 countries missed the first 3 World Cups and didn't rejoin until 1946. As WWII had interrupted the 1940's, only England returned in the 1950 Cup held in Brazil. Scotland declined the invitation and the other 2 countries were eliminated in qualifying]. Soccer governing body FIFA had been trying to create an international competition for several years prior to 1930 for since 1921, President Jules Rimet had been proposing a global tournament. FIFA's partnership with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) saw them handling the soccer segments of the Summer Games in Paris 1924 and Amsterdam 1928. Uruguay was chosen as the host nation as they were celebrating the centenary of the country's first Constitution and were the 1928 Olympic champions having beaten Argentina 2-1 in a gold medal rematch final after both teams had previously tied 1-1 days earlier. While FIFA was founded in France in May 1904, the 1928 Games led to the formation of FIFA World Cup with the organization's Vice President Henri Delaunay proclaiming "International football can no longer be held within the confines of the Olympics". 1930 was the only Cup without countries having to qualify and all matches took place in Montevideo between 3 stadiums. The very first game played was a 4-1 victory for France over Mexico. The final was played on Jul 30 with Uruguay defeating Argentina 4-2. Both teams had faced each other back in 1928 and their repeat Cup final remains both the only one in FIFA to be contested by 2 Spanish-speaking sides & 2 South American nations. [The 1950 Cup of Uruguay beating Brazil 2-1 in an upset is wrongly considered the same circumstances as 1930 because it is infact the only FIFA tournament not decided by a 1-match final but instead a winner decided in a final group stage]. A total of 70 goals had been scored in all 18 matches including the first-ever Cup hat trick, and the awarded gold trophy was named the Jules Rimet Cup featuring Nike, the Greek goddess of victory with outstretched wings, it lasted until 1970 which was given to Brazil permanenty as having won the Cup 3 times. A new trophy was unveiled in 1974 and remains the current design of 2 human figures holding up the earth. Runner-up Argentina finished in second place with silver, followed by the USA in 3rd and Yugoslavia in 4th. As there was no 3rd place match (with some accounts saying Yugoslavia refused over anger at the refereeing of their semi-final match vs. Uruguay where they lost 6-1 and were particularly infuriated over a disallowed goal from a controversial offside call), both the American and Yugoslavian captains were given bronze medals. The last surviving player from the 1930 Cup final was Argentina's Francisco Varallo who died at age 100 in Aug 2010. In Dec 2010, a Serbian sports comedy movie was released about the formation of the Yugoslavian national team in Belgrade with Uruguay a distant dream. A sequel was shown in Jan 2014 about the team's preparation & making the trip over as underdogs showcasing their talent. Both movies were critically successful and extended into a 2-season TV run with each series consisting of 9 episodes. The 2030 World Cup jointly hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco will feature a special centenary celebration in Uruguay commemorating the 1930 inauguration (as well as matches held in Argentina & Paraguay).