Governing Bodies
BRAZIL’S HEART-BREAKER, ALCIDES GHIGGIA: I FELT SORRY FOR THE BRAZILIANS
Before he died on this date, 16 July 2015, Alcides Ghiggia, the Uruguayan scorer of the goal that denied Brazil a World Cup victory on this date 16 July 1950, spoke with FIFA.com.
Even though Ghiggia was touched by the affection he received after the 2-1 defeat of Brazil in 1950, he told fifa.com that he felt sorry for the inconsolable Brazilians
“Only three people have ever been able to silence the Maracana: the Pope, Frank Sinatra and me,” Alcides Ghiggia, flashing a playful grin, told FIFA.com at the Final Draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. He was soon to be 88 – the age at which he passed away – and he was back in the country he devastated, yet its people couldn’t help but love the former winger.
In this interview, Ghiggia discussed the goal that won Uruguay the World Cup, feeling sorry for the Brazilian fans, their affection for him thereafter, why his wife banned him from listening to commentary of the 1950 decider, and his deep love of football.
How does it feel to be back in Brazil?
It’s like a second home to me. There comes a point when people realise who I am and want to have a photo taken with me or get my autograph. That shows how much they [the Brazilian people] value me as a person. Every time I come back it makes me feel very happy.
Would you class that decisive win in 1950 as the greatest feat in World Cup history?
Well, it was a real feat, because no other host nation had ever lost in a World Cup Final before then (Brazil-Uruguay was the final game of the four-game mini-league that decided Brazil 1950). That was the first time and, what’s more, I was fortunate enough to score a goal. What I always say is that only three people have ever been able to silence the Maracana: the Pope, Frank Sinatra and me. The stadium went totally quiet, you couldn’t hear a sound.
Do you still vividly remember that winning goal from 16 July 1950?
Of course. Their keeper Barbosa thought I was going to do the same thing as for our first goal, when I cut the ball back. So, he made a move and left me a gap. I was on the run and had to make up my mind in a matter of seconds. I shot at goal and in it went, between the post and the keeper. I can still remember how I thought about my family, my friends and how my team-mates all came to hug me. I’d given my country something to celebrate, though I also brought sadness to Brazil.
What was the mood in the stands after the final whistle?
You could see people crying. Even though we were happy to have won the game, once you looked into the crowd you couldn’t help but feel sad! People were crying inconsolably, you know? But football’s like that, you win some you lose some. In Brazil they thought the game was won before it was played, the newspaper headlines were already written, saying ‘Brazil are world champions’, with just the score to be added later. But it all turned out differently. (smiles)
There are a lot of myths about that game, one of which goes that Charrúa skipper Obdulio Varela said: ‘Forget about everybody else, on the pitch we’ll be 11 versus 11’. Was that really the case?
That came about because on the Saturday evening three Uruguay directors went to speak to Obdulio, [Roque] Maspoli and [Schubert] Gambetta, who were our oldest and most experienced guys. They told them we’d done enough already, that we should just try to behave ourselves well out on the pitch, not cause any trouble, and that we should be happy to lose by three or four goals. We only found out about that in the tunnel on the way to the pitch. Obdulio stopped us, told us what had gone on, and that phrase was born.
Another story goes that some of the players went out for a few drinks after the game, where they ended up commiserating with Brazilian fans. Is that true?
Again, it was Obdulio who went out. He just went for a beer at a bar round the corner from the hotel. The Brazilian fans there recognised him and hugged him and everything, even though they were in tears. He himself told us what happened. And he also told me that ‘I didn’t pay for a drink either!’ (laughs)
How important was Varela to the team?
As a captain, he was quite severe. Us younger guys weren’t informal with him – we used to say ‘yes, Obdulio sir’. And out on the pitch he was like a coach – he’d tell you what to do. But he was very friendly with it and got on well with all the players.
In November 2013, a tribute was paid to you prior to the Intercontinental play-off, second leg against Jordan in Montevideo’s Estadio Centenario. Do you see it as justice being done for you and your team-mates?
Definitely. In my country, what we achieved in 1950 was hailed for a year or two, then faded somewhat. And sometimes all you have left are people’s memories, or what’s in the minds of young people who weren’t alive at the time but were told the stories by their dads or their uncles. It’s something that keeps you going, because you can’t live on memories alone. It was really beautiful and emotional when the goal was replayed on the stadium’s giant screen and everybody cheered. It was the first time something like that was done in Uruguay. Look, I’ve travelled a lot around the world and I’ve had more recognition from other countries than my own, which is why it made me very pleased.
Had it been a while since you’d watched that goal?
At home I’ve got three CDs with commentaries of the goal from three Uruguayan radio commentators from the time, but my wife doesn’t let me listen to them because she says they make me upset. And I tell her ‘What do you want from me?’ – I was young once. I won a World Cup; I scored a goal. It was phenomenal. But as the years go by the more sentimental you get about it. So it makes you sad, you know? You get tears in your eyes.
How do you think you’re remembered from your playing days?
A lot of different ways. I’m remembered as a hero, some call me ‘Maestro’. I tell them I’m no maestro, I’m just like everybody else. I was fortunate enough to play football, score a goal in the final [game] of a World Cup and that’s it – I’m not from another planet. But there’s nothing you can do to stop people praising you, hugging you… it’s really lovely, a lovely feeling.
What has football meant to your life?
It’s been like a bride to me: you see it, you fall in love and you get married. That’s how much it means to me. You have to get to know the ball, handle it well. It’s what you love most.
–FIFA.COM
Kirsty Coventry became the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the most powerful person in sport, on Monday in a handover ceremony with her predecessor Thomas Bach.
The Zimbabwean is the first woman and African to head the body, and at 41, the youngest since Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who is credited with founding the modern-day Olympics.
Coventry accepted the Olympic key from Bach, who, like her, is an Olympic champion — he won a team fencing gold in 1976 and she earned two swimming golds in 2004 and 2008.
Stepping down after a turbulent 12-year tenure, Bach expressed his confidence that the Olympic movement was “in the best of hands” and Coventry would bring “conviction, integrity and a dynamic perspective” to the role.
Coventry, who swept to a crushing first-round victory in the election in Greece in March, leans heavily on her family.
Aside from her parents, who were present at the ceremony in Lausanne, there is her husband Tyrone Seward, who was effectively her campaign manager, and two daughters, six-year-old Ella, who Bach addresses as “princess”, and Lily, just seven months old.
“Ella saw this spider web in the garden and I pointed out how it is made, and how strong and resilient it is to bad weather and little critters,” said Coventry, who takes over officially at midnight Swiss time Monday (2200 GMT).
“But if one little bit breaks it becomes weaker. That spider web is our movement, it is complex, beautiful and strong but it only works if we remain together and united.”
‘Pure passion’
Coventry said she could not believe how her life had evolved since she first dreamt of Olympic glory in 1992.
“How lucky are we creating a platform for generations to come to reach their dreams,” she said to a packed audience in a marquee in the Olympic House garden, which comprised IOC members, including those she defeated, and dignitaries.
“It is amazing and incredible, indeed I cannot believe that from my dream in 1992 of going to an Olympic Games and winning a medal I would be standing here with you to make dreams for more young children round the world.”
Coventry, who served in the Zimbabwean government as sports and arts Minister from 2019 to this year, said the Olympic movement was much more than a “multi-sport event platform.”
“We (IOC members) are guardians of this movement, which is also about inspiring and changing lives and bringing hope,” she said.
“These things are not to be taken lightly and I will be working with each and every one of you to continue to change lives and be a beacon of hope in a divided world.
“I am really honoured to walk this journey with you.”
Bach, who during his tenure had to grapple with Russian doping and their invasions of the Crimea and Ukraine as well as the Covid pandemic, said he was standing down filled with “gratitude, joy and confidence” in his successor.
“With her election it sends out a powerful message, that the IOC continues to evolve,” said the 71-year-old German, who was named honorary lifetime president in Greece in March.
“It has its first female and African to hold this position, and the youngest president since Pierre de Coubertin. She represents the truly global and youthful spirit of our community.”
Bach, who choked back tears at one point during his valedictory speech, was praised to the rafters by Coventry, who was widely seen as his preferred candidate of the seven vying for his post.
After a warm embrace, she credited him with teaching her to “listen to people and to respect them,” and praised him for leading the movement with “pure passion and purpose.”
“You have kept us united through the most turbulent times.
“You left us with many legacies and hope, thank you from the bottom of my heart for leading us with passion and never wavering from our values.”
-AFP
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Former Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry took over the leadership of the International Olympic Committee from Thomas Bach in a ceremony on Monday with the 2028 Los Angeles Games already threatening to fill her in-tray to overflowing.
Coventry, who starts her eight-year spell officially on Tuesday as the most powerful sports administrator in the world, became the first woman and first African to be elected head of the Olympic ruling body in March.
Much of the discussion during campaigning focused on the IOC’s need for change in its marketing strategies with several top Olympic sponsors having left in the past 12 months.
However, with Los Angeles hit by protests against immigration raids, and relations tense between state and city officials, and the U.S. government, the 2028 Games have become the major talking point in the movement that would ordinarily be focusing on next year’s Milano-Cortina Winter Games.
Coventry has long-standing ties with the United States, dating back to her time as a leading swimmer at Auburn University in Alabama. That will prove useful ahead of LA 2028, and she has said she will seek to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss the Games.
Coventry will also need to find time to help secure the long-term finances of the movement. The IOC, which generates billions of dollars in revenues each year in sponsorship and broadcasting deals for the Olympics, has secured $7.3 billion for 2025-28 and $6.2 billion for 2029-2032. More contracts are expected for both periods.
COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES
Coventry is also expected to continue the IOC’s plans to expand commercial opportunities for sponsors at the Olympics with the organisation’s finances in a robust state and the privately-funded LA Olympics a good place to start.
Coventry needed only one round of voting to clinch the race to succeed Bach, beating six other candidates, making history for the African continent, with the IOC having been ruled for 131 years by European or North American men.
Her background and being the first female president will be assets in a diverse IOC membership and the international makeup of Olympic stakeholders.
On Monday she was handed the golden key to the IOC by Bach, who was the organisation’s president for 12 years.
“I am really honoured I get to walk this journey with you. I cannot wait for anything that lies ahead,” Coventry said in her address to IOC members and other Olympic stakeholders.
“I know I have the best team to support me and our movement over the next eight years.”
Coventry will hold a two-day workshop this week to get feedback from members on key IOC issues.
“Working together and consistently finding ways to strengthen and keep united our movement that will ensure that we wake up daily… to continue to inspire,” she said.
A seven-time Olympic medallist, Coventry won 200m backstroke gold at the 2004 Athens Games and in Beijing four years later.
“With her election, you have also sent a powerful message to the world: the IOC continues to evolve,” Bach said in his speech. “With Kirsty Coventry, the Olympic movement will be in the best of hands.”
-Reuters
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Penalties scored when a player accidentally touches the ball twice must be retaken, world soccer’s lawmaking body IFAB has said after Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez had his spot kick disallowed in a Champions League last-16 match.
During a tense shootout with Real Madrid in March, Argentine forward Alvarez slipped and the VAR spotted that his left foot touched the ball slightly before he kicked it with his right.
Although Alvarez converted the penalty, the goal was chalked off and Atletico went on to lose the shootout and were eliminated from the Champions League.
European soccer’s governing body UEFA said the correct decision was made under the current laws but IFAB (International Football Association Board) has said that in such cases the penalty must be retaken.
Atletico Madrid v Real Valladolid – Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain – April 14, 2025 Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez scores their first goal from the penalty spot REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo
“(When) the penalty taker accidentally kicks the ball with both feet simultaneously or the ball touches their non-kicking foot or leg immediately after the kick: if the kick is successful, it is retaken,” IFAB said in a circular.
“If the kick is unsuccessful, an indirect free kick is awarded (unless the referee plays advantage when it clearly benefits the defending team). In the case of penalties (penalty shootout), the kick is recorded as missed.”
The decision to disallow Alvarez’s penalty left Atletico boss Diego Simeone livid and the club’s fans outraged.
IFAB added that if the penalty taker deliberately kicks the ball with both feet or deliberately touches it a second time, an indirect free kick is awarded or, in the case of shootouts, it is recorded as missed.
The new procedures are effective for competitions starting on or after July 1, but IFAB said it may be used in competitions that start this month.
-Reuters
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