Football at the 1924 Summer Olympics
At the 1924 Summer Olympics held in Paris, Uruguay dominated the Football (soccer) tournament winning the Gold.
Background
The Uruguayans had comfortably won the South American Championship by maximum points in the December of the previous year to qualify for the tournament as their continent's sole participants; defeating bitter rivals Argentina 2-0 in the final game in which Pedro Petrone scoring half way through the first half. They would bring with them a revolution in ideas. In Association Football (1960), Bernard Joy wrote: "A doctor and a physical expert were as important elements of the staff as the coach himself. They saw to it that their charges reached perfect physical condition. They were kept that way by staying away from the attractions of Paris at a villa in the quiet village of Argenteuil".
Joy wrote about the 1912 Games that the authorities in Sweden "had debated for a long time whether to include football ... because its popularity was not yet world wide". Twelve years later, in Paris, football had become so important to the Games that a 1/3 of the income generated came from football. In Paris Uruguay would be joined by as many as 18 European teams; the Americans, Turks and Egyptians making up the numbers.
Given the lack of knowledge of the American participants, the Italians and the Hungarians had been considered favourites but both had suffered a difficult season. Italy, having remained unbeaten since 1922 now found themselves beaten 4-0 by the Austrians (who would be absent from the Games) and 7-1 by Hungary with six weeks to go before the Games [1]. Other than dropping Giampiero Combi, Vittorio Pozzo would not make major changes; Italy would not prevail [2]. Rather than players Yugoslavia, having just sacked their manager Dr Veljko Ugrinic (following a wiping by those Austrians) would find his replacement Todor Sekulic just as hapless [3].
The Hungarians had just come off a good run of results in the previous year, but had been beaten, convincingly, by the Swiss in the days leading up to the Games; Max Abegglen, who had only been playing international football for two years, scoring his 7th international goal that day for the Swiss [4]. He and they would become quite feature of the Games. The Swiss, ironically, very nearly missed the Games due to a lack of finances. The team's train ticket was valid for only 10 days and their money had run out. An appeal by a newspaper, Sport, brought in the needed funds [5].
Entering for the second time Egypt would cause a shocking defeat in their opening game; their true worth exposed not only by the drubbing that eventually signalled their exit but by the comprehensive defeats they experienced on a short European tour after the Games [6]. Warm-up matches lay far into the future.
Both finalists from the previous Games would be present; Belgium being afforded a by into the first round, and the Czechs drawn against Turkey in the Preliminary Round.
Tournament
The Games competition was assisted by a Preliminary Round which featured the silver medallists from the 1920 Games, Spain. Since that time they had only lost by a single goal away to Belgium and had drawn 0-0 with the Italians in March 1924 [7]. There was hardly anything between the two sides when they did meet, this time, at the Colombes Stadium; Pedro Vallana's own goal handing victory to Italy.
Otherwise there were wildly lopsided results in the opening round. Hungary put five past Poland, the Swiss sent poor Lithuania on their way, 9-0, and the Uruguayans sailed past Yugoslavia by seven clear goals.
In the first round Czechoslovakia enhanced their reputation as Olympic 'bad sports' during an ill-tempered fixture against the equally brutal Swiss, a game which went fruitlessly to extra-time. One Czech was sent off, and the Norwegian referee had to call for order during a break. For the replay, Abegllen took the captain's duties and all was different; Switzerland winning by the single goal. Otherwise there were two big shocks, the first went Egypt's way; 3-0 to the good against Hungary. The second saw Sweden annihilate the reigning Gold medallists, Belgium, by the improbably score of 8-1. Oscar Verbeeck's own goal set the Swedes on their way; Sven Rydell's hat-trick the feature of the match.
The Swedish outside-left Rudolf Kock (who would become chairman of the selectors in 1948 working alongside George Raynor), would have another fine game against Egypt where Sweden won 5-0. France and Holland had been similarly dominant in the first round but that was put into perspective when Uruguay beat France 5-1 to claim a semi-final place.
In another quarter-final Italy went out to a disputed goal by Max Abegglen, who converted a break-away goal. The Italians protested that he had been off-side. The referee Johannes Mutters, refused to alter the decision; a jury upheld his judgement.
There was further dispute in the semi-final where Holland took a first half lead through Feyenoord's Pijl Kees. With twenty minutes to go Pedro Cea scored an equaliser and with less than ten Georges Vallatt awarded Uruguay a penalty. Suddenly bedlam. FIFA reports: "the Netherlands protested the ruling of a penalty kick that turned out to be the winning goal but then Uruguay protested against the Olympic Committee's selection of a Dutch referee for the final. To appease the South Americans, the committee pulled the name of a final referee out of a hat and picked out a Frenchman, Marcel Slawick" [8].
The Gold Medal
In the second semi-final between Uruguay and the Netherlands the game was decided on the decision of Vallat, the French referee, to award a penalty to the South Americans in the second half. Hector Scarone converted the kick, but the Dutch complained bitterly about the decision, enough to force FIFA to intervene in the choice of referee for the Gold medal match; the Uruguayans complained about the appointment of Johannes Mutters prior to the game; the argument being that a Dutchman may decide against them.
Accordingly, the organisers drew from a hat filled with 'possibles', and the Frenchman Marcel Slawick was pulled out and oversaw proceedings in which two goals in the second period put paid to Swiss aspirations, Uruguay eventually prevailing 3-0. Interest in the final was immense; 60,000 watched and 10,000 were locked out.
Trivia
- Sweden, surprisingly, won Bronze. Their 8-1 defeat of the reigning champions, Belgium, in the opening round is still considered the biggest upset in World football by criteria laid down by ELO. [9]
- Some of the games took place at the Vélodrome de Vincennes.
- The lap of honour (or previously called "Olympic turn"), the celebration ritual that any proclaimed champion team do when winning a tournament, was invented by Uruguay team after winning this Olympic title, to salute the attendance by running all around the athletics field.
- Uruguay's Pedro Petrone was two days shy of his 19th birthday when he accepted his gold medal; still the youngest football gold-medallist in the history of the Games.
Men's tournament event
External links
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