Having already demolished their opponents in the 1923 South American Championship, including a 2-0 win over bitter rivals Argentina, Uruguay headed to Paris for the 1924 Olympic Games brimming with confidence. They had their doubters, but once they started playing, the team captivated the French crowds. The way their forwards passed the ball between one another was mesmerising; so much so that Jose Andrade came to be dubbed La Marveille Noire. Despite their Olympic dominance, little was known about this team from a distant continent. Uruguay had never played outside of South America before. In fact, their international experience basically consisted of travelling back and forth across the harbour between Montevideo and Buenos Aires for matches against the Argentines. However, Uruguay became the main talking point of the 1924 Olympic Football tournament. They vaporised Yugoslavia by 7 clear goals, and overcame the United States 3-0. They then beat hosts France 5-1, knocked out the Netherlands and took the gold medal against Switzerland. Uruguay then went on to dominate world football for the next six years.

It was more of the same at the next Olympics in Amsterdam, with Uruguay making easy work of a number of European teams who would become powerhouses in the future - Holland, Germany and Italy all suffered defeat at Uruguay’s hands. In the gold medal match, they met their bitter rivals Argentina who had trounced Egypt 6-0 in the semis. The Uruguayans came out with the gold medal, winning the game 2-1 in a replay following a tight 1-1 draw. FIFA’s decision to organise a professional international football tournament was made in 1928. With Uruguay the two-time Olympic champions, and with the nation about to celebrate its centenary of independence, the small South American country was elected as inaugural hosts of the Jules Rimet Trophy (later known as the FIFA World Cup). Seven South American teams, four from Europe and two North American sides entered the tournament. So few European teams entered due to the logistical difficulty of travelling to South America. At the time, it would involve a six-week boat trip across the Atlantic.

One hundred years to the day of Uruguay’s independence, the hosts won their first match 1-0 against Peru, before comfortably beating Romania 4-0. Uruguay’s semi-final match mirrored the game against Yugoslavia in 1924. On this occasion though, the Eastern Europeans took a surprise lead through a Vujadinovic goal. It wasn’t to be though, as Uruguay then put 6 into the Yuglosav net, including a hat-trick from Cea. Then it was on to the final against the old enemy: Argentina. Their fans had crossed the river into Uruguay with the war cry “victoria o muerte’. 93,000 passionate fans were present for what was the biggest football match in history at that time, between these two heated rivals. This rivalry was so intense, that the referee only agreed to officiate the match after being assured of his safety. Uruguay opened proceedings through a Pablo Dorado goal, to which Argentina responded strongly. Displaying a superb passing ability, they were level 8 minutes later, Carlos Puecelle doing the damage, and Stabile giving Argentina the lead just before half time. Uruguay then attacked in numbers, Cea getting the equaliser, before goals from Iriarte and Castro sealed the win. Uruguay were the first World Champions, and the day was declared a national holiday.

Achievements: FIFA World Cup – Champions x1
                        South American Championship – Winners x3 Runners up x1
                        Olympic Games – Gold Medal x2

Star player: Jose Leandro Andrade DoB 22 November 1901, Salto, Uruguay, nickname: La Marveille Noire

Nicknamed La Marveille Noire (The Black Marvel) following his perfomance at the Paris Olympics, Jose Leandro Andrade was one of the stars of this Uruguay team. He was a true trailblazer, being recognised as one of the first great black players in history and the first true international football star. Amazingly, his father was 98 years old at the time of Jose’s birth, and was an expert on African magic. Aside from football, Andrade had a number of jobs including carnival musician, shoe shiner and newspaper salesman. He was selected for the national team while playing for Bella Vista, with whom he played 71 matches. He then moved to Nacional and won 4 league titles and three cups, then it was on to Penarol where he played 88 games. He was an intelligent, fast, honest and highly technical player, noted for never celebrating his goals. After his career, he decended into alcoholism and died of tuberculosis in his small flat in a poor area of Montevideo in 1957.