October 9, 1932 FIFA surprised by designating Italy as the venue of the world Cup of 1934since in that country –and in general in the European continent– there were moments of uncertainty due to the government of Benito Mussolinidictator who sought to take advantage of the popularity of soccer and the Nazionale –as they called the selection– to use them as propaganda tools.
Il Duce, as he was called Mussolini, searched for the headquarters of the World Cup for reinforce your identity within its population and also to unite historically opposed regions, an idea that was consolidated as the joust developed, although in forms that are shocking today, in which the obligation to win was indicated if they did not want to suffer the consequences.
Obtained the seat between doubts whether there was influence from the Fascist Party, Mussolini made coach Vittorio Pozzo and his players understand the need to stay with the contest that it was played at home, regardless of the forms and even putting pressure on as many as possible so that the victory was Italian.
the way of italy
Although the premiere was smooth with a 7-1 against the United States, the walk Italian in the joust it was full of complicationswhich even led to the whistlers became protagonistssince their decisions would end up benefiting the local team.
Although it had important players such as Giuseppe Meazza, Italy failed to be dominant in the rest of the phases, especially in their duels against Spain and Austriain which the work of the referees Louis Baert, René Mercet and Iván Eklind would mark the development of the parties.
Before the Iberians, the crossing was defined in two games after equalizing 1-1 in the first, with individual performances of the whistlers that were pointed out, since in the equalizer Baert chose not to annul Giovanni Ferrari’s goaldespite the fact that it was preceded by a foul by Angelo Schiavio on Ricardo Zamora, while in the tiebreakerwhich ended 1-0 in favor of the ItaliansMercet canceled goals that seemed legitimate to Regueiro and Quincoces.
In the Semifinals there would be a similar storyas referee Eklind considered a goal offside valid of Enrique Gaita, who would send Italy to the Final against Czechoslovakia, perhaps the representative who played the best at the time.
and strangely the match for the title would be whistled by Eklind himself, returned to have a shady performance highlighted by not having sanctioned a penalty that Monti committed against Oldrich Nejedlywith the proviso that the czechoslovaks would endure any adversity, to the degree of get 1-0 up with a goal from Antonin Puc at minute 71.
The obligation that made everyone tremble
Since the break, coach Pozzo had reminded them to his playersor important that it was to be victoriousespecially since in the stands of the Stadio Nazionale Mussolini was present: “I don’t care how, but they must win. If we lose, we will have a very bad time, ”he told his players, who, when they fell behind on the scoreboard, began to show signs of fear that had been recognized by their rivals.
Though Raimundo Orsi had tied the game at 81‘, the Czechoslovakians were still strong in their game, but there would be a fact that has raised suspicions since then, since the goalkeeper Frantisek Planicka failed to save a shot from Schiavio that was not very dangerous and that meant 2-1 in favor of Italy, a goal that Mussolini celebrated in style and that perhaps He saved the lives of the celestial selectedas Angelo Schiavio admitted the day he gave him the gold medal he won in that fair.
The Champions
Gianpiero Combi, Pietro Arcari, Luigi Bertolini, Felice Borel, Umberto Caligaris, Armando Castellazzi, Giuseppe Cavanna, Gianpero Combi, Attilio Demaria, Giovanni Ferrari, Atilio Ferraris, Enrique Guaita, Anfilogino Guarisi, Guido Masetti, Giuseppe Meazza, Eraldo Monzeglio, Luis Monti , Raimundo Orsi, Mario Pizziolo, Virginio Rosetta, Angelo Schiavio, Mario Varglien. DT: Vittorio Pozzo.