1919 South American Championship
The 1919 South American Championship of Nations was the third continental championship for South American national football teams. It was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from May 11 to May 29, 1919.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Brazil |
| Dates | May 11 – May 29 |
| Teams | 4 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| Runners-up |  |
| Third place |  |
| Fourth place |  |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 7 |
| Goals scored | 27 (3.86 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | (4 goals each) |
The participating countries were Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay as the defending champion.
After finishing tied in the group standings on points, host Brazil beat Uruguay in the playoff match to win their first title.
The playoff was the longest match in the competition's history, and under current rules, will remain so indefinitely: with the scores tied 0-0 after 90 minutes had expired, both captains and the referee agreed to play an extra time period of two 30 minute periods, meaning the playoff match lasted 150 minutes.[1]
Format
There was no qualifying for the tournament. The participating countries were Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. All teams competed between each other in a single group. Two points were awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a defeat. If there was a tie of points at the top of the standings, a playoff match would be held to determine the champion.
Squads
For a complete list of participating squads see: 1919 South American Championship squads
Venues
| Rio de Janeiro |
|---|
| Estádio das Laranjeiras |
| Capacity: 20,000 |
 |
Final round
Each team played one match against each of the other teams. Two (2) points were awarded for a win, one (1) point for a draw and zero (0) points for a defeat.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 5 |
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 5 |
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | −11 | 0 |
| Brazil | 6–0 | |
|---|---|---|
Friedenreich  Neco Haroldo |
| Argentina | 2–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Izaguirre Varela |
C. Scarone H. Scarone Gradín |
| Argentina | 4–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Clarcke Izaguirre |
France |
Play Off Match
| Brazil | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Friedenreich |
Goal scorers
4 goals
3 goals
|
|
|
2 goals
1 goal
|
|
|
Own goals
Aftermath
The day after the final, Uruguayan goalkeeper Roberto Chery died of strangulated hernia in a hospital of Río de Janeiro. He had injured after he made a wrong move to stop an attack, during the match v Chile. Because of substitutions were not allowed by then, Chery had to play severely injured the rest of the match.[3]
Brazil and Uruguay teams had scheduled a friendly match ("Copa Rio Branco") for June 19, 1919. Due to the Uruguayan side declined to participate because of Chery's tragic death, Argentina offered to replace the Uruguayan side. After the Brazilian Federation accepted, the match (now named "Copa Roberto Chery" to honor the goalkeeper) was finally played. Argentina entered to the field wearing Uruguay's traditional light-blue jersey while Brazil wore the Peñarol jersey.[4]
References
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Campeonato Sudamericano de Selecciones 1919. |
- La subyugante historia de la Copa América
- Oliver, Guy (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness publishing. p. 551. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.
- Una historia trágica en la Copa América on Prensa Libre, 13 Jun 2016
- La más hermosa página de fraternidad, El Gráfico