THE MARACANAZO

ROSS KILVINGTON RECALLS BRAZIL’S WORLD CUP AGONY IN 1950 AND HOW THEIR GOALKEEPER SUFFERED FOR IT...

- ROSS KILVINGTON

MOACYR Barbosa was heralded as one of the finest goalkeepers in the world throughout the 1940s and 50s.

He stood in goal for Brazil during what should have been their finest honour - glory at their own World Cup.

It wasn’t to be for the team, the shining stars of a country that was desperate for success.

Newspapers even ran headlines the day before the match against Uruguay (which technically wasn’t an official final, but if Brazil drew or won the game, they would hold the trophy) proclaiming them to be champions.

Legend has it that in 1963, long after he had retired, Barbosa was presented with the old wooden goalposts at the Maracanã as a gift. The story goes that he took them home and burned them, maybe for his own piece of mind or to potentially banish the ghosts from that fateful day.

A life lived in despair from that moment on, this is the story of the most infamous day in Brazilian footballing history and the first World Cup of a world being finally free of global conflict.

The Second World War had caused destruction in Europe and, by 1950, much of the continent was still trying to recover. Italy had won the previous World Cup in 1938, which was the last one before war intervened and stripped many players of the chance to play on the biggest stage.

Football can be a platform to unite nations and spread overwhelming joy into the hearts of everyone, and after the Second World War, the World Cup was needed more than ever.

In stark contrast to Brazil’s impressive World Cup record since 1958, their early experiences were slightly underwhelming.