After their very successful tour of Europe, Nacional fielded offers from all over the world to play friendly matches. In 1927, they decided to visit the United States, where soccer was experiencing a boom period, as well as Mexico and Cuba. A 21 match tour yielded 75 goals, 15 wins, two draws and a loss. Nacional were not warmly welcomed by their opponents, and the games were mostly violent affairs, comparable almost to American gridiron. The debut game was a 6-1 win over Indiana Flooring, where much of the American press became impressed with the play of Hector Scarone and Jose Leandro Andrade. A fight erupted against the Brooklyn Wanderers after Diego Fernandez began bleeding, which had to be broken up by the police. In the next game against the Newark Skeeters, play was suspended in the 20th minute when blows were again exchanged between Jose Pedro Cea and local star Daley. An angry mob of almost 500 people charged onto the pitch and as police struggled to control the situation, the referee stopped the match to prevent a riot. Nacional then defeated a combined ASL XI 4-2.

 

Outrageous scenes mired their game against Boston, when a brawl began involving all of the players, provoking a pitch invasion of 2,000 people from the stands. Nacional was escorted from the stadium by police. Wins over Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis and Chicago followed. Nacional then obtained permission to play Hakoah Vien, who were touring the States at the same time, but this didn’t eventuate due to the lack of a venue. Following some more wins, Nacional went to Cuba and Mexico, winning every game including a 3-1 victory over the Mexico national team. When football became a professional sport in Uruguay in 1932, Nacional acquired the nickname La Maquina Blanca (The White Machine), winning their 12th and 13th first division titles in the following two years. After the Argentinean Atilio Garcia joined the club in 1938, a period called the Quinquenio de Oro began in which Nacional won 5 championships in a row. In this period, Nacional also became the first team to win the Uruguayan Cup in 5 consecutive seasons. In those seasons, Nacional played 96 games, won 77, drew 9 and lost just 10 and in the 1941 season, the club played 20 games and won all of them, an historic achievement. This was part of a 32 game winning streak that lasted from October 13, 1940 to July 12, 1942.

Achievements: Uruguayan Primera Division – Champions x7
                        Toreno de Honor – Winners x7
                         Toreno Competencia – Winners x2
                         Copa de Oro Rioplatense – Winners x1

Star player: Schubert Gambetta, DOB 14 April 1920, Montevideo, Uruguay

Gambetta was a top-notch Uruguayan defender who was a member of the famous Maracanazo Uruguayan national team that defeated Brazil in the 1950 World Cup final. He was a Nacional player from 1940 to 1956, and as club captain he won ten national championships with the team. For the Uruguayan national team, he earned 36 caps and scored 3 goals, which isn’t bad for a defender. Gambetta was named on the All-Star team of the tournament following the 1950 World Cup. He was a very versatile player, having a crack at a range of positions including goal keeper. He was also known for his game winning spirit, bravery and self-sacrifical nature, which led to plenty of injuries.