Alcides Ghiggia, man who silenced Maracana, dies on 65th anniversary of Uruguay’s stunning World Cup win
Goalscorer was last survivor of 1950 victory
Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia, who scored the winning goal in the final game of the 1950 World Cup to give Uruguay a stunning 2-1 victory over Brazil – still recalled as Brazil’s greatest defeat – died on Thursday. He was 88.
The death of the legendary forward was confirmed by the secretary general of the Uruguayan Football Association, Alejandro Balbi. Ghiggia’s son Arcadio said his father died of a heart attack.
Ghiggia scored the deciding goal 10 minutes from time with the game tied 1-1. It gave Uruguay their second World Cup title in a match Brazilians fully expected to win before about 200,000 fans at Rio’s Maracana stadium. Even a draw would have given Brazil the title. The loss is still known in Brazil as the “Maracanazo.” Ghiggia also set up the tying goal by Juan Schiaffino earlier in the second half.
“Only three people have silenced the Maracana,” Ghiggia once said of the goal. “The Pope, Frank Sinatra and me.”
He was the last surviving Uruguayan player from the match and he died on the 65th anniversary of the game.
“It was a beautiful what happened” Ghiggia said. “It filled me with pride and was unforgettable. The biggest moment of my life was at the Maracana.”