Читать книгу Unforgettable Soccer - Luciano Wernicke - Страница 36

The Copa Roca was a contest played exclusively between Argentina and Brazil between 1914 and 1971, sporadically and altering its headquarters among Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and San Pablo. It was named as a tribute to former Argentine President Julio Roca, who at the beginning of the 1910s had performed an outstanding diplomatic maneuver to avoid wars between the two nations.

In January 1939, a sky blue-and-white team traveled to Rio de Janeiro twice to face their host foes at the São Januário Stadium. Although Brazil had just starred in a highly praised performance at the 1938 World Cup in Italy and had star striker Leônidas da Silva, who scored seven goals during that tournament, in the first match played on January 15, their rivals thrashed them without mercy, 1-5. The rematch one week later was more even: Leônidas opened the score, Bruno Rodolfi and Enrique García turned the score around, and, in the second half, Adilson Ferreira Antunes got the equalizer. At 86 minutes, a pass from Romeu Pellicciari to Adilson bounced in the hand of defender Sabino Coletta from the away team. The touch seemed unintentional, but the Brazilian referee Carlos de Oliveira Monteiro signaled the penalty spot, a fact that unleashed the anger of the Argentines. The goalkeeper Sebastián Gualco and the defender Arcadio López ran toward the referee and knocked him down, which brought in th police. What ultimately ensued was a reckless skirmish of batons, kicks, and fisticuffs that amazed the 70,000 spectators.

Outnumbered and outgunned, the away players retreated and took refuge in the locker room. However, the game did not end there: The referee, after an unprecedented decision, placed the ball on the 12-yard spot and ordered his compatriots to make the penalty effective, despite the fact that there was no goalkeeper in the Argentine goal! Without even blushing, striker José Perácio entered the box and fired a shot into the empty goal. With the score 3-2 and without an Argentine squad on the field, De Oliveira Monteiro whistled the end. While the Brazilians celebrated their “victory” on the pitch, their rivals took advantage to escape from the stadium with the Roca Cup in their possession, convinced that they had won it in lawfully after a win and a “draw.”