In this episode, we look back at the Maracanaço – the decisive match of the 1950 World Cup, a match bound up with myths and legends. Brazil – the host nation and the hot favourites – playing in front of a packed Maracanã Stadium,needed only a draw against Uruguay to lift the Jules Rimet Cup.
With Europe ravaged by war, Brazil were awarded the hosting rights for 1950. They met the challenge by building the biggest stadium in the world, which they hoped would be the site of their team’s coronation.
Flavio Costa’s free-scoring team romped through the tournament, winning their first round group, then scoring thirteen goals in the first two games of the final group stage. The hype reached monumental proportions in the build-up to the decisive match with Uruguay, with Rio in carnival mode, newspapers and politicians declaring Brazil as victors, and fans desperately scrambling to get tickets. Yet, it wasn’t alright on the night. Brazil took the lead but thisheightened the team’s sense of panic, not knowing whether to stick or twist. Uruguay – a fine, underrated team, with several world class players – rallied and scored twice, to dash the cup from Brazil’s lips.
The result was a seismic shock, plunging the nation into mourning and provoking a long-running fallout, which brought Brazil’s issues of race and inferiority roaring back to the surface, as well as spawning an iconic kit.
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