So today's the big day, our countdown reached zero and the World Cup will
kick off in a few hours. There's been no "shirt zero" in World Cup history
as far as I know, but there HAS been a time in which shirt numbers weren't
used: the pre-war World Cups, whose players have, for this reason, being
excluded by default from all the countdown posts I've made thus far.

Now, on one hand that isn't fair to the stars of that epoch, who probably
should be remembered too, since they too helped write World Cup history,
indeed they started it all. On the other, my attempt here to close my
countdown posts by listing players from the pre-war World Cups will surely
leave a lot to be desired. I can't possibly claim to know much about them.
The distance in time between their heyday and my birth is up to half a
century, information wasn't anywhere near as readily available as it is
today. The game, its rules and, most of all, the world itself changed by
a lot since these days.

So, early disclaimer out of the way :-), where to begin?

A good one to start with is Luis Monti, an Argentinian-born center-half
who has played in two World Cups, 1930 and 1934. He played for his native
Argentina in the former and as one of Italy's Oriundi in the latter. Indeed,
he only ever lost two games for Argentina, both to Uruguay: the Olympic final
of 1928 and the World Cup final of 1930. Having played two WC finals, each
with a different team, he used to say he would have been killed if he had won
in 1930 or lost in 1934... A multiple champion for San Lorenzo and Juventus,
Monti would probably be a #5 had numbering been in place at his time.

His countryman Guillermo Stábile was one of the top goalscorers of the pre-war
WC's, scoring eight goals in four games in WC'1930. He started the World Cup
as a reserve, entering the team from the second game onwards, replacing Roberto
Cherro, sidelined due to an anxiety attack, and scored in all four games he
played. He then moved to Genoa thanks to his World Cup feats and, thus, would
never play for Argentina again.

Also on eight goals there's Brasil's Leonidas da Silva, who pushed the team
ahead to an unprecedented semifinal exit in 1938, having also been part of
the team's 1934 first round exit. One of the first Brazilian stars, Leonidas
was dropped from the team in the semifinals against Italy due to injury. At
the time, many people didn't believe it, attributing his abscence to an
arrogant option by coach Adhemar Pimenta to allegedly "rest him for the final",
but Leonidas himself always denied this. Like Stábile, Leonidas also scored
in every World Cup game he played. Both would play #9's role.

The Brazilian star of the epoch was Domingos da Guia, held as one of the
world's finest defenders on his day. He was also a member of Brasil's 1938
squad, and won titles in Brasil, Argentina and Uruguay. A #2, in the old
days formations.

The Uruguayans were one of the teams to beat of the epoch. Though they refused
to play WC's 1934 and 1938 due to hosting issues, they won the first World Cup
on the wake of two Olympic titles in 1924 and 1928. Colombes and Amsterdam are
names of tribunes of Estadio Centenario due to these victories, and that
stadium was built precisely for the World Cup.

Some of the main Uruguayan players of the epoch: the "Great Marshal" Jose
Nasazzi, the first captain to lift the Jules Rimet trophy; "El Mago" Hector
Scarone, whose goalscoring record for the Uruguayan national team stood until
2011; and the "Black Pearl" Jose Leandro Andrade, considered one of the finest
footballers of his time, whose nephew, Victor Rodriguez Andrade, was also a
world champion in 1950.

From the epoch's two-time world champions Italy we have already mentioned Luis
Monti. Let's also bring up forward Silvio Piola, to this day Serie A's historical
top goalscorer, with 274 goals from 537 games and third all time top goalscorer
of the Italian national team, world cup winner in 1938 with 5 goals in 4 games.
And Giuseppe Meazza, who played every game of both Italian WC winning runs,
captaining the team in the second one, also considered one of the finest of
his generation.

The great goalkeeper of the time was Spain's Ricardo Zamora, whose name is
on the trophy given to La Liga's best goalkeeper for decades. From France we
could mention another keeper, Alex Thepot, the first one to save a penalty
in a WC game. His countryman, Lucien Laurent, scored the tournament's first
goal ever. Austria brings on the great Matthias Sindelar, from the Wunderteam
that made the semifinals in World Cup 1934, and Josef Bican, a goalscoring
machine whose scoring record goes into four digits. And there's Poland's
Ernst Willimowski, who scored 4 goals in a game which his team still lost
anyway (the 6-5 loss to Brasil in WC 1938 1st round).

Counting Monti for both sides he played, I've mentioned 3 Italians, 3 Uruguayans,
2 Argentinians, 2 Brazilians, 2 Austrians, 2 French, 1 Spanish and 1 Polish
player. I'm sure I missed a lot of all time greats of the epoch, especially
from Italy and Uruguay, but this post is already long enough as it is. Feel
free to add or correct anything to the above. And on to the games already!

Best regards,

Lléo

On Sunday, November 20, 2022 at 9:11:15 AM UTC, Lléo wrote:
> So today's the big day, our countdown reached zero and the World Cup will
> kick off in a few hours. There's been no "shirt zero" in World Cup history
> as far as I know, but there HAS been a time in which shirt numbers weren't
> used: the pre-war World Cups, whose players have, for this reason, being
> excluded by default from all the countdown posts I've made thus far.
>
> Now, on one hand that isn't fair to the stars of that epoch, who probably
> should be remembered too, since they too helped write World Cup history,
> indeed they started it all. On the other, my attempt here to close my
> countdown posts by listing players from the pre-war World Cups will surely
> leave a lot to be desired. I can't possibly claim to know much about them..
> The distance in time between their heyday and my birth is up to half a
> century, information wasn't anywhere near as readily available as it is
> today. The game, its rules and, most of all, the world itself changed by
> a lot since these days.
>
> So, early disclaimer out of the way :-), where to begin?
>
> A good one to start with is Luis Monti, an Argentinian-born center-half
> who has played in two World Cups, 1930 and 1934. He played for his native
> Argentina in the former and as one of Italy's Oriundi in the latter. Indeed,
> he only ever lost two games for Argentina, both to Uruguay: the Olympic final
> of 1928 and the World Cup final of 1930. Having played two WC finals, each
> with a different team, he used to say he would have been killed if he had won
> in 1930 or lost in 1934... A multiple champion for San Lorenzo and Juventus,
> Monti would probably be a #5 had numbering been in place at his time.
>
> His countryman Guillermo Stábile was one of the top goalscorers of the pre-war
> WC's, scoring eight goals in four games in WC'1930. He started the World Cup
> as a reserve, entering the team from the second game onwards, replacing Roberto
> Cherro, sidelined due to an anxiety attack, and scored in all four games he
> played. He then moved to Genoa thanks to his World Cup feats and, thus, would
> never play for Argentina again.
>
> Also on eight goals there's Brasil's Leonidas da Silva, who pushed the team
> ahead to an unprecedented semifinal exit in 1938, having also been part of
> the team's 1934 first round exit. One of the first Brazilian stars, Leonidas
> was dropped from the team in the semifinals against Italy due to injury. At
> the time, many people didn't believe it, attributing his abscence to an
> arrogant option by coach Adhemar Pimenta to allegedly "rest him for the final",
> but Leonidas himself always denied this. Like Stábile, Leonidas also scored
> in every World Cup game he played. Both would play #9's role.
>
> The Brazilian star of the epoch was Domingos da Guia, held as one of the
> world's finest defenders on his day. He was also a member of Brasil's 1938
> squad, and won titles in Brasil, Argentina and Uruguay. A #2, in the old
> days formations.
>
> The Uruguayans were one of the teams to beat of the epoch. Though they refused
> to play WC's 1934 and 1938 due to hosting issues, they won the first World Cup
> on the wake of two Olympic titles in 1924 and 1928. Colombes and Amsterdam are
> names of tribunes of Estadio Centenario due to these victories, and that
> stadium was built precisely for the World Cup.
>
> Some of the main Uruguayan players of the epoch: the "Great Marshal" Jose
> Nasazzi, the first captain to lift the Jules Rimet trophy; "El Mago" Hector
> Scarone, whose goalscoring record for the Uruguayan national team stood until
> 2011; and the "Black Pearl" Jose Leandro Andrade, considered one of the finest
> footballers of his time, whose nephew, Victor Rodriguez Andrade, was also a
> world champion in 1950.
>
> From the epoch's two-time world champions Italy we have already mentioned Luis
> Monti. Let's also bring up forward Silvio Piola, to this day Serie A's historical
> top goalscorer, with 274 goals from 537 games and third all time top goalscorer
> of the Italian national team, world cup winner in 1938 with 5 goals in 4 games.
> And Giuseppe Meazza, who played every game of both Italian WC winning runs,
> captaining the team in the second one, also considered one of the finest of
> his generation.
>
> The great goalkeeper of the time was Spain's Ricardo Zamora, whose name is
> on the trophy given to La Liga's best goalkeeper for decades. From France we
> could mention another keeper, Alex Thepot, the first one to save a penalty
> in a WC game. His countryman, Lucien Laurent, scored the tournament's first
> goal ever. Austria brings on the great Matthias Sindelar, from the Wunderteam
> that made the semifinals in World Cup 1934, and Josef Bican, a goalscoring
> machine whose scoring record goes into four digits. And there's Poland's
> Ernst Willimowski, who scored 4 goals in a game which his team still lost
> anyway (the 6-5 loss to Brasil in WC 1938 1st round).
>
> Counting Monti for both sides he played, I've mentioned 3 Italians, 3 Uruguayans,
> 2 Argentinians, 2 Brazilians, 2 Austrians, 2 French, 1 Spanish and 1 Polish
> player. I'm sure I missed a lot of all time greats of the epoch, especially
> from Italy and Uruguay, but this post is already long enough as it is. Feel
> free to add or correct anything to the above. And on to the games already!
>
>
> Best regards,
>
> Lléo

Well done. These posts have been quite interesting and informative, and have made the build-up to the World Cup a bit more exciting.

I'd like to suggest you do the same thing again when the 2023 Copa Libertadores and/or the 2024 Copa America is about to start.

I'd also like to add another player to the above post. Raimundo Orsi.

On Sunday, November 20, 2022 at 9:05:44 PM UTC, Mark wrote:
> On Sunday, November 20, 2022 at 9:11:15 AM UTC, Lléo wrote:
> > So today's the big day, our countdown reached zero and the World Cup will
> > kick off in a few hours. There's been no "shirt zero" in World Cup history
> > as far as I know, but there HAS been a time in which shirt numbers weren't
> > used: the pre-war World Cups, whose players have, for this reason, being
> > excluded by default from all the countdown posts I've made thus far.
> >
> > Now, on one hand that isn't fair to the stars of that epoch, who probably
> > should be remembered too, since they too helped write World Cup history,
> > indeed they started it all. On the other, my attempt here to close my
> > countdown posts by listing players from the pre-war World Cups will surely
> > leave a lot to be desired. I can't possibly claim to know much about them.
> > The distance in time between their heyday and my birth is up to half a
> > century, information wasn't anywhere near as readily available as it is
> > today. The game, its rules and, most of all, the world itself changed by
> > a lot since these days.
> >
> > So, early disclaimer out of the way :-), where to begin?
> >
> > A good one to start with is Luis Monti, an Argentinian-born center-half
> > who has played in two World Cups, 1930 and 1934. He played for his native
> > Argentina in the former and as one of Italy's Oriundi in the latter. Indeed,
> > he only ever lost two games for Argentina, both to Uruguay: the Olympic final
> > of 1928 and the World Cup final of 1930. Having played two WC finals, each
> > with a different team, he used to say he would have been killed if he had won
> > in 1930 or lost in 1934... A multiple champion for San Lorenzo and Juventus,
> > Monti would probably be a #5 had numbering been in place at his time.
> >
> > His countryman Guillermo Stábile was one of the top goalscorers of the pre-war
> > WC's, scoring eight goals in four games in WC'1930. He started the World Cup
> > as a reserve, entering the team from the second game onwards, replacing Roberto
> > Cherro, sidelined due to an anxiety attack, and scored in all four games he
> > played. He then moved to Genoa thanks to his World Cup feats and, thus, would
> > never play for Argentina again.
> >
> > Also on eight goals there's Brasil's Leonidas da Silva, who pushed the team
> > ahead to an unprecedented semifinal exit in 1938, having also been part of
> > the team's 1934 first round exit. One of the first Brazilian stars, Leonidas
> > was dropped from the team in the semifinals against Italy due to injury.. At
> > the time, many people didn't believe it, attributing his abscence to an
> > arrogant option by coach Adhemar Pimenta to allegedly "rest him for the final",
> > but Leonidas himself always denied this. Like Stábile, Leonidas also scored
> > in every World Cup game he played. Both would play #9's role.
> >
> > The Brazilian star of the epoch was Domingos da Guia, held as one of the
> > world's finest defenders on his day. He was also a member of Brasil's 1938
> > squad, and won titles in Brasil, Argentina and Uruguay. A #2, in the old
> > days formations.
> >
> > The Uruguayans were one of the teams to beat of the epoch. Though they refused
> > to play WC's 1934 and 1938 due to hosting issues, they won the first World Cup
> > on the wake of two Olympic titles in 1924 and 1928. Colombes and Amsterdam are
> > names of tribunes of Estadio Centenario due to these victories, and that
> > stadium was built precisely for the World Cup.
> >
> > Some of the main Uruguayan players of the epoch: the "Great Marshal" Jose
> > Nasazzi, the first captain to lift the Jules Rimet trophy; "El Mago" Hector
> > Scarone, whose goalscoring record for the Uruguayan national team stood until
> > 2011; and the "Black Pearl" Jose Leandro Andrade, considered one of the finest
> > footballers of his time, whose nephew, Victor Rodriguez Andrade, was also a
> > world champion in 1950.
> >
> > From the epoch's two-time world champions Italy we have already mentioned Luis
> > Monti. Let's also bring up forward Silvio Piola, to this day Serie A's historical
> > top goalscorer, with 274 goals from 537 games and third all time top goalscorer
> > of the Italian national team, world cup winner in 1938 with 5 goals in 4 games.
> > And Giuseppe Meazza, who played every game of both Italian WC winning runs,
> > captaining the team in the second one, also considered one of the finest of
> > his generation.
> >
> > The great goalkeeper of the time was Spain's Ricardo Zamora, whose name is
> > on the trophy given to La Liga's best goalkeeper for decades. From France we
> > could mention another keeper, Alex Thepot, the first one to save a penalty
> > in a WC game. His countryman, Lucien Laurent, scored the tournament's first
> > goal ever. Austria brings on the great Matthias Sindelar, from the Wunderteam
> > that made the semifinals in World Cup 1934, and Josef Bican, a goalscoring
> > machine whose scoring record goes into four digits. And there's Poland's
> > Ernst Willimowski, who scored 4 goals in a game which his team still lost
> > anyway (the 6-5 loss to Brasil in WC 1938 1st round).
> >
> > Counting Monti for both sides he played, I've mentioned 3 Italians, 3 Uruguayans,
> > 2 Argentinians, 2 Brazilians, 2 Austrians, 2 French, 1 Spanish and 1 Polish
> > player. I'm sure I missed a lot of all time greats of the epoch, especially
> > from Italy and Uruguay, but this post is already long enough as it is. Feel
> > free to add or correct anything to the above. And on to the games already!
> >
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Lléo
> Well done. These posts have been quite interesting and informative, and have made the build-up to the World Cup a bit more exciting.
>
> I'd like to suggest you do the same thing again when the 2023 Copa Libertadores and/or the 2024 Copa America is about to start.
>
> I'd also like to add another player to the above post. Raimundo Orsi.

I never got round to saying anything about Raimundo Orsi.

Raimundo Orsi won the Copa America with Argentina in 1927, and was an Olympic silver medallist in 1928. He played as a forward, usually as a left winger, and won 3 League Championships with Independiente in the 1920s, and 5 consecutive Italian League Championships with Juventus from 1931-35. He’s generally considered to be 1 of the best ever Italian left wingers, and scored the equaliser for Italy in the 1934 World Cup Final.