Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

was one of the tournaments at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

. It was won by

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, and was the last Olympic football tournament before the inception of the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

, which was held for the first time in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

Venues

Background

Until 1928, the Olympic football tournament had represented the World Championship of football (the 1920 (14), 1924 (22) and 1928 tournaments (17) all had greater participation than that of the first World Cup in 1930). This presented a significant problem for the governing body,

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

, since the tournament, though organised and run by FIFA, was an event subject to the ethical foundation that underpinned the Olympic movement. At the time, all Olympic competitors had to maintain an amateur status, whereas professionalism was dominant in football. Increasingly, FIFA had sought to appease those nations that required concessions in order that players could participate in the Olympics. This required there to be an acceptance that irregular payment could be made to players by national associations: the so-called 'broken time payments' by which loss of pay and expenses would be met. On 17 February 1928, the four 'home' associations of the United Kingdom, voted unanimously to withdraw from FIFA in opposition to the manner in which the governing body was seeking to dictate on such matters and, as was noted 'that (the four Associations) be free to conduct their affairs in the way their long experience has shown them to be desirable'. Henri Delaunay, President of the

French Football Federation The French Football Federation ( FFF; french: Fédération Française de Football) is the governing body of football in France. It also includes the overseas departments ( Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion), the over ...

felt that FIFA needed to organise an international tournament outside of the Olympics. In 1926 he stated, at the FIFA Conference: 'Today international football can no longer be held within the confines of the Olympics; and many countries where professionalism is now recognised and organised cannot any longer be represented there by their best players'. The day before the tournament began, on 26 May 1928 the FIFA congress in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

presided over by

Jules Rimet Jules Rimet (; 14 October 1873 – 16 October 1956) was a French football administrator who was the 3rd President of FIFA, serving from 1921 to 1954. He is FIFA's longest-serving president, in office for 33 years. He also served as the presid ...

, voted that a new FIFA World Cup tournament be organised in 1930 and be open to all member nations. Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Uruguay would all lodge applications to host the event.

Participation

By 1926, three years had passed since the British Associations had asked

to accept their definition of what an amateur player was; FIFA had refused. The Rome Convention was called to try to coax the British and Danes back into the fold; it proved only to distance them.

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, a nation that favoured broken time payments suggested: ''It is not allowed to pay compensation for broken time, except in some well-circumscribed cases, to be fixed by each National Association''. This challenge to the centralised authority of FIFA was disputed by the Football Association. In 1927 FIFA asked the Olympic committee to accept the concept of broken time payments as an overriding condition for the competing members. The British Associations consequently withdrew from the Olympiad and a few months later withdrew from FIFA (''Association Football'' (1960)) Uruguay were considered to be the strongest side with the Argentinians shading the advantage between the two. Upon returning home in 1924 Uruguay had ceded to a request to play a disbelieving Argentina in a two staged contest; Argentinian fans hurling missiles at Jose Leandro Andrade to the extent that he had with adopt a position deep in-field. The Argentinians won. Uruguay, the defending Olympic champions, once again sent a side made up, predominantly, by the personnel of their two biggest clubs:

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

and, to a lesser degree,

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

The Europeans

The competition was more competitive than the 1924 edition. Ten European nations (17 in all) had made the journey to the Netherlands for the competition. The Italians had been defeated only twice in three years. The Italian coach,

Augusto Rangone Augusto is an Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish given name or surname. Notable people with the name include: * Augusto Aníbal * Augusto dos Anjos * Augusto Arbizo * Augusto Barbera (born 1938), Italian law professor, politician and judge * Augusto ...

, had been a beneficiary of the national federation's decision in 1923 to permit subsidies to cover player's lost wages. For two years his forward line had remained comparatively the same:

Adolfo Baloncieri Adolfo Baloncieri (; 27 July 1897 – 23 July 1986) was an Italian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Critically regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Gianni Brera considered him one of the greates ...

Virgilio Levratto Virgilio Felice Levratto (; 26 October 1904 – 18 September 1968) was an Italian association football player and later a coach, who played as a striker. Club career Levratto was born in Carcare. Throughout his club career, he played for F.C. ...

; even the loss of the Argentinian-Italian

Julio Libonatti Julio Libonatti (5 July 1901 – 9 October 1981) was an Argentine football manager and former footballer who played as a forward for the Argentina and Italy national teams. Born in Rosario, he started his career with Newell's Old Boys in 1917. I ...

before the tournament was made good by the inclusion of

Angelo Schiavio Angelo Schiavio (; 15 October 1905 – 17 September 1990) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward. Schiavio spent his entire career with Bologna, the club of the city where he was born and died; he won four league titles with the clu ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

had been defeated once since the last Olympic Games. After the first game, however, they lost their experienced captain

Pedro Vallana Pedro Vicente Saturnino Vallana Jeanguenat (29 November 1897 – 4 July 1980) was a Spanish footballer, referee and manager in Spain in the 1920s. He was of Italian and Swiss descent. He spent all 12 seasons of his playing career with Arenas de ...

Final tournament

Uruguay immediately dispatched the hosts, the Netherlands, 2–0 in front of 40,000 people with none of the controversy that had surrounded their previous encounter at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

. The game was controlled by Jean Langenus, a performance which was recognised. Meanwhile, the Argentinians had little difficulty against the United States winning 11–2. Elsewhere Germany were defeated by the Uruguayans 4–1. In another quarter-final the Italians encountered Spain. In the first game they reached a tie with the Spanish fighting back from a half time deficit to force a replay. In the replay three days later the Azzurri scored four without response before the break. Rangone kept faith in a largely unchanged team. Spain, on the other hand, had gambled by making five changes to Italy's two. Portugal, after wins over Chile (4–2) and Kingdom of SCS (2–1) lost to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

2–1. The African side advanced to a semi-final tie against

Bracket

Match details

Preliminary round

First round

----

Quarter-finals

----

Semifinals

This meant that in the semi-final Italy played Uruguay. The Italians selected

Giampiero Combi Gianpiero Combi (; 20 November 1902 – 12 August 1956) was an Italian footballer who played as a goalkeeper.Angelo Schiavio Angelo Schiavio (; 15 October 1905 – 17 September 1990) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward. Schiavio spent his entire career with Bologna, the club of the city where he was born and died; he won four league titles with the clu ...

, in attack. Both would be crowned World champions at the

1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in w ...

. In this game the Uruguayans stormed to a convincing lead by the break; Levratto's goal in the second half flattered the Italians because Uruguay ran out comfortable winners by the odd goal in 5;

José Pedro Cea José Pedro Cea (1 September 1900 – 18 September 1970) was a Uruguayan football player as a striker and coach. Playing career Club career Cea was born in MontevideoMontevideo. At club level, he played for Nacional, where he won several Uru ...

Héctor Scarone José Juan Héctor Scarone Berreta (26 November 1898 – 4 April 1967) was a Uruguayan footballer who played as inside forward. Scarone was considered one of the best players in the world during his time,. being nicknamed ''El Mago'' ("the Magic ...

scoring for the Celestes.

----

Bronze medal match

Gold medal match

In the final the Uruguayans played Argentina who had trounced Egypt (clearly out of their depth against more sophisticated opposition, they conceded 6 goals to Argentina and 11 to Italy in the bronze medal match). The final itself was a close-run affair. Both nations had been undefeated in competitive matches against other nations but had traded losses to each other since the last Olympic competition. The interest was immense. The Dutch had received 250,000 requests for tickets from all over Europe. Once again, there was little in it; the first game finished 1–1 and the tie went to a replay. Uruguay's Scarone converted the winner in the second half of that game.

Final

----

Rematch

Consolation first round

The consolation tournament was ratified by FIFA but, as it was not organized by the Amsterdam Olympic organization, Olympic historians do not consider these matches to be part of the

. ----

Consolation final

* ''Note: The Netherlands wins after drawing of lots but the Cup was awarded to Chile''

Medalists

Goalscorers

;11 goals *

Domingo Tarasconi Domingo Alberto Tarasconi (20 December 1903 – 3 July 1991) was an Argentine football forward. Raising from Club Atlético Atlanta, he played most of his career for Boca Juniors where he won 9 official titles and became the all-time 4th. He was ...

(Argentina) ;6 goals * Manuel Ferreira (Argentina) *

(Italy) ;4 goals *

Roberto Cherro Roberto Eugenio Cerro, named "Cherro" (23 February 1907 – 11 October 1965) was an Argentine football striker. He was born in Barracas in the city of Buenos Aires in Argentina. He played the majority of his career with Boca Juniors, he scor ...

(Argentina) *

Raymond Braine Raymond Ernest Michel Braine (28 April 1907 – 24 December 1978) was a Belgian football striker. He was also the first Belgian professional player, when he obtained a transfer to Sparta Prague in 1930. Braine played in 54 matches for the Be ...

(Belgium) * Ali Mohamed Riad (Egypt) * El-Tetsh (Egypt) *

Richard Hofmann Richard Hofmann (8 February 1906 – 5 May 1983) was a German football player. He played in 25 internationals for Germany as a centre forward, scoring 24 goals, including the first ever international hat-trick against England by a player from ...

(Germany) *

Elvio Banchero Elvio Banchero (; 28 April 1904 – 21 January 1982) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics with the Italy national football team, winning a bronze medal. Club career Banchero was born in Ale ...

(Italy) *

Mario Magnozzi Mario Magnozzi (; 20 March 1902 – 25 June 1971) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward. He competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics with the Italy national team. Club career Magnozzi was born in Livorno, and played for his home-town ...

(Italy) *

(Italy) * José Maria Yermo (Spain) *

Pedro Petrone Pedro Petrone Schiavone (11 May 1905 – 13 December 1964) was a Uruguayan footballer who played in the role of striker. His nickname was ''Artillero'', meaning artilleryman or gunner, in reference to his amazing goalscoring prowess. Club caree ...

(Uruguay) ;3 goals *

Raimundo Orsi Raimundo Bibiani "Mumo" Orsi (2 December 1901 – 6 April 1986) was an Italian Argentine footballer who played as a winger or as a forward. At the international level he represented both Argentina and Italy, winning the 1927 Copa América and ...

(Argentina) * Jacques Moeschal (Belgium) *

Guillermo Subiabre Guillermo Subiabre Astorga (25 February 1903 – 11 April 1964) was a Chilean association football, footballer. During his career he played for Colo-Colo (1927–1934), Santiago Wanderers, and the Chile national football team. He also participat ...

(Chile) *

Vítor Silva Vítor Marcolino da Silva (20 February 1909 – 21 July 1982) was a Portuguese footballer. Listed by Benfica, as one of the club's best forwards in history, Silva represented the club on 131 official games, scoring 108 goals. Club career Bor ...

(Portugal) *

(Uruguay) ;2 goals * Juste Brouzes (France) * Leonardus Ghering (Netherlands) *

Felix Smeets Felix Smeets (29 April 1904 – 14 March 1961) was a Dutch association football, footballer who earned 14 caps for the Netherlands national football team, Dutch national side between 1927 and 1927, scoring 7 goals. He was also part of the Netherla ...

(Netherlands) *

Pepe Soares José Manoel Soares (30 January 1908 – 24 October 1931), known as Pepe, was a Portuguese footballer. During his brief career, he played as an inside forward for CF Belenenses and the Portugal national football team, and was considered by man ...

(Portugal) *

Luis Regueiro Luis Regueiro Pagola ( 1 July 1908 – 6 December 1995), sometimes nicknamed ''Corso'', was a footballer, and an Olympian from the Basque Country in the north of Spain. Football career He began his career in 1924 playing for Real Unión in t ...

(Spain) ;1 goal *

Luis Monti Luis Felipe Monti (15 May 1901 – 9 September 1983) was an Italian Argentine footballer who played as a midfielder and an Olympian. Monti has the distinction of having played in two FIFA World Cup final matches with two different national teams ...

(Argentina) *

Florimond Vanhalme Florimond Vanhalme (21 March 1895 – 4 July 1979) was a Belgium football midfielder, who still is record Belgian international for Cercle Brugge, the team where he spent all of his career. After his playing career, Vanhalme stayed in football as ...

(Belgium) *

Louis Versyp Louis Versyp, or Versijp, (5 December 1908 – 27 June 1988) was a Belgian football player and manager. He earned 34 caps and scored 8 goals for the Belgium national football team. He was part of Belgium's team for the 1928 Summer Olympics. Clu ...

(Belgium) * Oscar Alfaro (Chile) * Alejandro Carbonell (Chile) *

Manuel Bravo Paredes Manuel Bravo Paredes (February 17, 1897 – November 7, 1974) was a Chilean footballer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics. During his career he played for Santiago Wanderers and the Chile national football team. He was also a goal scorer i ...

(Chile) * Guillermo Saavedra (Chile) * Moussa Hassan El-Ezam (Egypt) * Ali El-Hassany (Egypt) * Ismail El-Sayed Hooda (Egypt) *

Gamil El-Zobeir Mohamed Gamil El-Zobair (date of birth unknown; died 2 September 1983) was an Egyptian association football, footballer. He competed in the Football at the 1928 Summer Olympics, men's tournament at the 1928 Summer Olympics. References Externa ...

(Egypt) *

Robert Dauphin Robert Dauphin (5 February 1905 – 18 July 1961) was a French footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, America ...

(France) * Josef Hornauer (Germany) * Fulvio Bernardini (Italy) * Enrico Rivolta (Italy) *

Gino Rossetti Gino Rossetti (; 7 November 1904 – 15 May 1992) was an Italian football Manager (association football), manager and former association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He jointly holds the record for ...

(Italy) * Guillaume Schutz (Luxembourg) * Robert Theissen (Luxembourg) * Jean-Pierre Weisgerber (Luxembourg) *

Juan Carreño Juan Carreño Lara (14 August 1909 – 16 December 1940) was a Mexican footballer, and a participant of the 1930 FIFA World Cup. He was the first Mexican to score in the FIFA World Cup. During this tournament he was connected with Atlante F.C. ...

(Mexico) * Ernesto Sota (Mexico) *

Wim Tap Wim Tap (3 October 1903 – 24 September 1979) was a Dutch footballer who played club football for ADO Den Haag. He also earned 33 caps for the Dutch national side between 1925 and 1931, scoring 17 goals. He was also part of the Netherlands squad ...

(Netherlands) *

Valdemar Mota Waldemar Mota da Fonseca (18 March 1906 – April 1966), known as Valdemar Mota, was a Portuguese footballer who played as a midfielder and forward for FC Porto. He was born in Porto. International career Valdemar Mota played 21 games and sc ...

(Portugal) * Augusto Silva (Portugal) * Martín Marculeta (Spain) *

Ángel Mariscal Ángel Mariscal Beuba (17 August 1904 — 20 March 1979) was a Spanish footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of ...

(Spain) * Domingo Zaldúa (Spain) * Bekir Refet (Turkey) * Henry Carroll (United States) * Rudy Kuntner (United States) *

Antonio Campolo Antonio Campolo (born 7 February 1897 – 22 May 1959) was a Uruguayan Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward for Peñarol and the Uruguay national football team, Uruguay national team. Career st ...

(Uruguay) *

Héctor Castro Agustín Héctor Castro Rodríguez (29 November 1904 – 15 September 1960) was a Uruguayan football player and coach. He scored Uruguay's first ever goal in a World Cup against Peru at the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930 a tournament they wo ...

(Uruguay) *

Pedro Cea José Pedro Cea (1 September 1900 – 18 September 1970) was a Uruguayan football player as a striker and coach. Playing career Club career Cea was born in MontevideoMontevideo. At club level, he played for Nacional, where he won several Ur ...

(Uruguay) *

Roberto Figueroa Roberto Figueroa (20 March 1904 – 24 January 1989) was a Uruguayan footballer who played for the Uruguay national team. He was a member of the squad which won the gold medal in 1928 Olympics. Career Born in Montevideo, Figueroa played club ...

(Uruguay) *

Santos Urdinarán Santos "Vasquito" Urdinarán Barrena (30 March 1900 – 14 July 1979), known as ''El Vasquito'', was a footballer from Uruguay. He played for Nacional from 1919 to 1933 (318 matches and 124 goals), playing the position of right winger. He was ...

(Uruguay) *

Mirko Bonačić Mirko Bonačić (19 March 1903 – 18 October 1989) was a Croatian footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1928 Summer Olympics. International career He made his debut for Yugoslavia in a September 1924 friendly match again ...

(Kingdom of SCS)

References

External links

Olympic Football Tournament Amsterdam 1928
FIFA.com

Football Tournament Amsterdam 1928
{{coord, 52.3434, N, 4.8542, E, source:wikidata, display=title

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

1928 Summer Olympics events

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...