Читать книгу Unforgettable Soccer - Luciano Wernicke - Страница 33

CA Nueva Chicago was emerging as one of the favorites to win the Argentine Primera B (second tier) tournament in 1946. On the afternoon of April 27, they proved it at their Mataderos field by trouncing of CA Barracas Central, beating them comfortably 6 to 1. At 30 minutes into the second half, referee Carlos Mauri called a penalty for the home side. Oscar Meloni placed the ball in the white spot and started measuring the distance to kick, but before starting his run, the powerful defender Raúl Cocherari got in his way. “You already put two in, let me kick this one,” demanded the defender. Meloni did not “shrink” and demanded that his partner move out of his way: “I am the man in charge.” The dispute continued first with insults and then with blows, forcing the rest of the players of the “Little Bull” to separate the contenders and Mauri to expel them for reciprocal aggression. The completion of the kick, then, was not made by Meloni or Cocherari, but by Manuel Malachane, who from the twelve steps scored the seventh in Chicago that day. With two of their starters suspended because of their unusual incident, the green-and-black club lost the next game against CA Los Andes, broke their winning streak, and was left without the promotion at the end of the season, which was snatched by CA Banfield.