With Pele injured for most of the tournament, Brazil flew on the wings of Garrincha to victory in Chile in 1962, defeating Czechoslovakia in the final to repeat as World Cup champions.
THE MAIN STORY
After a 12-year absence, the World Cup returned to South America in 1962 when Chile staged the event. That Chile was even selected in the first place was a miracle on par with the loaves and the fishes.
In 1960, FIFA was in the midst of selecting the host nation when a catastrophic earthquake and the ensuing tsunami rocked Chile. Thousands were killed and the country was devastated. Strangely, though, this did not weaken Chile’s application to stage the World Cup, but rather strengthened it. A desperate Carlos Dittborn, president of the Chilean soccer federation, made an impassioned appeal to FIFA.
“We have nothing – that is why we must have the World Cup,” Dittborn famously pleaded. FIFA listened and awarded Chile the tournament. Chile quickly went to work and the country’s eventual regeneration was sparked by the building of new stadiums for the competition, foremost among them being the spectacular Estadio Nacional in Santiago.
Sans Pele and guided by Garrincha, Brazil retained the title and joined Uruguay and Italy as the only two-time champions of the world. More important, Brazil proved it was much more than a one-man team.
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TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The format of the competition stayed the same: 16 teams were divided into four groups with the top two advancing to the quarterfinals. Games took place in four cities: at the foot of snow-capped mountains in Santiago, the sandy beaches of Vina del Mar, Arica (a northern town bordering Peru) and Rancagua.
THE FINAL
Though the Brazilians were favoured, the Czechs were not to be taken lightly. They had, after all, upset Hungary and Yugoslavia in the previous two rounds, and entered the contest brimming with confidence. Adolf Scherer and Josef Masopust combined to devastating effect early on, tearing the Brazilian defence to pieces, and when Masopust scored at the 15-minute mark, a third upset by Czechoslovakia seemed a distinct possibility.
Unfazed, Brazil took all of two minutes to level the score, Amarildo beating Czech goalkeeper Vilem Schroif from an impossible angle. Far from overawed, the Czechs pressed forward and put up a solid resistance against the encroaching Brazilian attack. They had Brazil on the back foot in the second half when the game turned in the 68th minute.
Pegged back on the sideline, Amarildo rounded a Czech defender with a nifty move and with open space in front of him to work with, he delivered a cross to Zio who scored on an easy header. 2-1 for the champions. Brazil put the game away nine minutes later when Schroif fumbled a lob into the penalty area and Vava was there to score on an effortless tap in.
QUICK FACTS
Number of participating teams: 16
Top scorer: Brazil’s Garrincha and five other players finished tied with 4 goals
Number of games: 32
Total goals scored: 89
Average goals per game: 2.78
Highest scoring game: Hungary’s 6-1 win over Bulgaria on June 3
Total attendance: 776,000
Average attendance: 24,250
MAN OF THE TOURNAMENT
Garrincha. Nicknamed the “Little Bird,” no player flew higher in Chile. When Pele was knocked out of the tournament with an injury, it was the Brazilian winger, renowned for his mazy dribbling skills, who hoisted the team on his shoulders. Garrincha scored four goals — including two in the semifinals — to help Brazil repeat as world champions.
MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT
The Soviet Union and Colombia’s 4-4 draw in the first round. Colombia mounted one of the most amazing comebacks ever at the World Cup on June 3. Up 4-1 with just over 25 minutes left in the game, the Soviets fell completely apart when Colombia beat Lev Yashin, soccer’s greatest ever goalkeeper, for three goals in a ten-minute span.
WHAT ABOUT PELE?
Brazil opened their account with a 2-0 win over Mexico with Pele, now 21 and the best player on the planet, scoring the second goal. Tragedy struck the champions in their second game, however, a 0-0 draw with Czechoslovakia, when Pele suffered a torn thigh muscle. He would not play another game.
GARRINCHA GETS A REPRIEVE
Garrincha scored a pair to guide Brazil to a 4-2 victory over Chile in the semifinals. Garrincha was expelled late in the game, but instead of being slapped with a mandatory one-match ban, he received a reprieve from FIFA and was allowed to play in the final.
CATENACCIO IN CHILE
In 1947, Nereo Rocco introduced the infamous defensive system known as catenaccio — door-bolt, while coach of Triestina in Italy’s first division. The system’s sole purpose was to prevent goals, and was designed not to win games, but rather to avoid losing them. Under catenaccio, goals were scored on the counterattack with quick transitions from defence into attack.
Catenaccio required three defenders to mark a certain player on the opposing team while the libero — free man, patrolled deep behind this defensive line and closed down any open lanes and mopped up behind his teammates. Rocco used catenaccio to great effect while at Triestina, a small club that routinely sat at the bottom of the standings. During the 1948 season, the modest club not only avoided relegation, but amazingly finished in second place. Noting the success Rocco had, other Italian clubs began using catenaccio.
By the early 1960s, several top national teams employed the system and it was used at the 1962 World Cup, most notably by Italy and West Germany.
THE NOT-SO BEAUTIFUL GAME
The 1962 World Cup is generally considered one of the more disappointing competitions, a reputation that was earned by the alarming dearth of goals, the dour defensive play and the sheer physical brutality of several matches.
THE BATTLE OF SANTIAGO
The Chile-Italy contest from the first round forever earned a place in World Cup infamy. Known as the “Battle of Santiago,” the game was an appalling exhibition of violent and vicious play with players maliciously kicking and punching each other. Only two players — both Italians — were sent off, but it could have easily been more. Behind the referee’s back, Chile’s Leonel Sanchez took a swipe at Humberto Maschio, breaking the Italian’s nose. At the end of the 90 minutes, a 2-0 victory for the hosts, the teams had to leave the field under the protection of the police.
GOALS AT A PREMIUM
Goal scoring was down considerably at the 1962 World Cup from previous tournaments. In Chile, 89 goals were scored in 32 contests for a 2.78 goal-per-game average, compared to 126 goals in 35 games (3.60 goals-per-game) four years earlier in Sweden. Not only was it the lowest average of any World Cup at the time, but it was also the first that dipped below 3.00. Why? See below.
FIFA’S DECISON BACKFIRES
Part of the reason for the alarming drop in goals was the predominance of catenaccio at the time, but also FIFA’s decision to use goal average to settle ties in the first-round standings instead of single playoff games employed at previous World Cups. Implemented to encourage more attacking soccer, which would lead to more goals, the new tie-breaking system had the exact opposite effect as several teams, especially those that were devout practitioners of catenaccio, became even more defensive and conservative in their approach.
DI STEFANO AND WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN
Alfredo di Stefano, the legendary Real Madrid forward of the 1950s, pulled a muscle prior to the competition, ruling the Argentine-born maestro out of Spain’s lineup. Di Stefano, the greatest star of his generation, is considered the best player never to play in a World Cup.
MASEK WASTES LITTLE TIME
Czechoslovakia’s Vaclav Masek scored a mere 15 seconds into the game against Mexico on June 7. It was a record that stood until 2002 when Turkey’s Hakan Sukur took just 11 seconds to score against South Korea.
CZECHS RIDE THEIR LUCK
Hungary hit the post no less than four times against Czechoslovakia in the quarterfinals, but the Czechs pulled a rabbit out of the hat, winning 1-0 in Rancagua.
QUIRKY FACTS
• Brazil’s Vava scored in the finals of 1958 and 1962 World Cup, one of only four players to do so. Pele (1958 and 1970), West Germany’s Paul Breitner (1974 and 1982) and Zinedine Zidane (1998 and 2006) are the others.
• Bulgaria lost its first two games in Chile and went winless in a World Cup record 17 consecutive games (11 losses, 6 draws) before finally earning its first victory in 1994 in the U.S.
• Mexico lost a World Cup record nine straight games (1930, 1950-58) and didn’t earn its first win until 1962.
• Tensions between Italy and Chile were brittle long before the “Battle of Santiago.” Italian journalists covering the event in Chile wrote disparaging articles about the country. The local media and fans caught wind of it, and a feud was born.
