We take a deep dive into the autobiography of Pelé, one the world’s greatest ever footballers, co-authored by Brian Winter.
July 16, 2015. Exactly 65 years after his 79th minute goal ensured a historic victory for Uruguay, 88 year old Alcides Ghiggia, the last surviving player from that final, passed away.
That afternoon in 1950
Rewind to July 16, 1950. Brazil was a nation confident of their ability to bring home the Jules Rimet trophy, with the final versus Uruguay considered a mere formality by even the press. The hosts, one point ahead of their opponents, needed to avoid defeat, while for the latter it was a must-win situation. Rio’s mayor had already delivered an impassioned speech ending with “You, who I already salute as victors!” with a victory song at the ready to perform after the final.
The sentiments weren’t entirely unfounded. Brazil’s intimidating attacking style was without a fitting response, while Uruguay, in their previous two games, had drawn with Spain and narrowly won against Sweden. Moreover, they had beaten Uruguay 5-1 in the Copa America held in Brazil just the year before. For all the Brazilians in the official crowd of 1,73,830 (actual is estimated to be over 2,00,000) at the Estadio do Maracana on that day, there was only one outcome.