1974 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA–CONMEBOL play-off)

October 2017 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification(UEFA–CONMEBOL play-off) Chile- el pueblo vencera cropped.jpg Soldiers at the Estadio Nacional in September 1973 during its use as a concentration camp 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification Soviet Union URS 1955 30px Chile CHI 30px Chile won on walkover and qualified for the 1974 FIFA World Cupnote URS-CHI First leg 0 0 1973 9 26 y Central Lenin Stadium Moscow Armando Marques (Brazil) 48,891 Second leg 0 2 Awardednote URS-CHI 1973 11 21 y Estadio Nacional Santiago Erich Linemayr (Austria) 15,000 1962 1978 250px The 1973 play-off for a place in the 1974 FIFA World Cup in West Germany, between the national football teams of the Soviet Union and Chile, is notable for the political circumstances that marked the second leg of the play-off on 21 November 1973. It was scheduled to take place in the Estadio Nacional de Chile in Santiago, the Chilean capital. There had been a coup d'état in Chile two months before, whereupon people deemed undesirable to the new regime of Augusto Pinochet had been held captive and executed in the stadium. The Soviet Union asked FIFA to find a different venue in Chile; when agreement could not be reached, the Soviet team did not take the field and was disqualified from the tournament, giving the Chilean team a victory by walkover. However, the match was still organised by FIFA as normal, but without any away team present. Chile scored 1–0 in an empty goal, and then the referee blew the game off. Chile advanced to the 1974 World Cup, where they were eliminated in the first round. Political circumstances Cold War Presidency of Salvador Allende Salvador Allende had been elected to power in Chile in 1970, but was overthrown by Augusto Pinochet in a coup d'état in September 1973, during which thousands of people deemed undesirable by the new regime were taken to the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, tortured and killed; this continued until 7 November. The football match between the Soviet Union and Chile in the same stadium was scheduled for 21 November. Prior qualification 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification Soviet Union The Soviet's qualification started on 13 October 1972 with a 1–0 loss to France, away in Paris. Five days later they faced the Republic of Ireland in Dublin and won 2–1. Their home matches were played in May 1973. On 13 May they won against the Irish by 1–0, and thirteen days later beat the French 2–0 with both goals coming in the last ten minutes. Rather than having the worst record among group winners, placing Soviet Union in the play-off was simply decided through allocation to Group 9 - Europe (UEFA). Despite 32 UEFA nations participating in the qualifying group stage, UEFA oddly chose to allocate only 3 teams to 4 of the 9 groups, instead of having 8 groups of 4 teams. Chile Chile was placed in Group 3 of the CONMEBOL qualification alongside Peru and Venezuela although the Venezuelans withdrew. On 29 April 1973 Chile was defeated 2–0 by the Peruvians in Lima. In the home game on 13 May 1973 Chile won 2–0, making both teams equal on points and goal difference. A play-off was held on neutral ground in Montevideo, Uruguay, where Chile triumphed 2–1 to face the Soviets by having the worst record among group winners. Matches First leg 1973 9 26 y 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification playoff First leg URS 1955 0–0 https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=4375/match=2008/report.html CHI Central Lenin Stadium, Moscow 48,891 Armando Marques (Brazil) _sovietunion70 ff0000 ff0000 ff0000 ffffff ff0000 Soviet Union _collar _whitesides ffffff ffffff ffffff 000099 ffffff Chile GK 1 Yevhen Rudakov DF 2 Revaz Dzodzuashvili DF 3 Mykhaylo Fomenko DF 4 Evgeny Lovchev DF 5 Vladimir Kaplichny (c) MF 6 Viktor Kuznetsov MF 7 Vladimir Muntyan MF 8 Oleg Dolmatov 46 FW 10 Vladimir Onishchenko FW 9 Arkady Andreasyan 30 FW 11 Oleg BlokhinSubstitutes: FW Anatoli Kozhemyakin 30 FW Vladimir Gutsaev 46Manager: Soviet Union Yevgeny Goryansky GK 1 Juan Olivares DF 2 Juan Machuca DF 5 Elías Figueroa DF 3 Alberto Quintano DF 6 Antonio Arias MF 12 Francisco Valdés (c) MF 10 Guillermo Páez MF 8 Juan Rodríguez FW 14 Carlos Caszely FW 16 Sergio Ahumada FW 22 Leonardo Véliz 57Substitutes: FW Julio Crisosto 57Manager: CHI Luis Álamos After the coup, the new regime had banned all Chileans from leaving the country: in addition due to its anti-communism it did not have a favourable view of the national team playing in the homeland of its staunch enemy. However, at the same time it was desirable to portray an image of normality, so the Pinochet regime let the national team travel on the condition that no one made political statements, since their relatives were under military surveillance. Some of the team members, like Véliz or Caszely, were politically close to the Allende government. In addition, the Soviet Union, an ally of the overthrown government, had condemned the military coup and did not recognise the new government, with which it broke diplomatic relations.https://www.miguelgarciavega.com/chile-vs-urss-1973-la-cara-negra-del-futbol Chile vs. URSS, 1973. La cara negra del fútbol 6 March 2017 García Miguel 17 May 2015 spanish At Moscow airport no Chilean authority received the team.http://www.eldesconcierto.cl/2016/09/27/urss-vs-chile-moscu-1973-la-historia-del-0-0-que-acerco-a-la-roja-a-alemania-74-a-solo-dias-del-golpe-militar URSS vs Chile, Moscú 1973: La historia del 0–0 que acercó a la Roja a Alemania '74 a solo días del golpe militar 6 March 2017 27 September 2016 El Desconcierto Santiago spanish In addition, Elías Figueroa and Carlos Caszely were detained by the immigration authorities for alleged irregularities in their passports.https://www.marca.com/2013/11/21/futbol/futbol_internacional/chile/1385026960.html El partido fantasma entre Chile y la URSS 6 March 2017 Soto Óscar 21 November 2013 Marca Madrid spanish Leonardo Véliz told the Chilean newspaper La Tercera that "In Moscow, I was approached by a Chilean student from Lumumba University, the son of a communist militant. I told him to forget to return to Chile, because any red dye was going to be a danger to his integrity". The first leg was played in Moscow on 26 September, two weeks after the coup, which brought a political dimension to the match. The Soviet authorities banned the entry of journalists and cameras into the stadium. It was a very tense game that was almost cancelled due to rumours of arrests of Chilean players in exchange for the release of political prisoners.https://curiosidadesdelfutbol.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/chile-urss-1973-el-partido-fantasma-57-2 Chile – URSS (1973) : el partido fantasma 6 March 2017 7 May 2012 Curiosidades del fútbol spanish The final result was a goalless draw.https://www.guioteca.com/seleccion-chilena/chile-vs-urrs-1973-el-partido-de-los-valientes Chile vs URSS 1973: El partido de los valientes 6 March 2017 González Ignacio 26 May 2011 Guioteca Empresa El Mercurio Santiago spanishhttps://www.latercera.com/noticia/a-40-anos-de-la-increible-aventura-de-chile-en-la-union-sovietica A 40 años de la increíble aventura de Chile en la Unión Soviética 6 March 2017 González Carlos 21 September 2013 La Tercera Grupo Copesa Santiago spanish The Soviet government and media were humiliated by the result, hoping for an easy victory on home soil.https://medium.com/off-the-field/the-soccer-match-that-should-have-never-been-played-8679e8d91191#.l50vh5yn9 The Soccer Match That Should Have Never Been Played 6 March 2017 Dev Ravi 16 April 2014 Medium Second leg 1973 11 21 y 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification playoff Second leg CHI 2–0 (w/o)note URS-CHI The Soviet Union refused to play in Chile for the second leg, so Chile were awarded a 2–0 walkover victory. https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=4375/match=21370/report.html URS 1955 Valdés Estadio Nacional, Santiago 15,000 Erich Linemayr (Austria) In the face of criticism of the regime regarding abuses against detainees, the Football Federation of Chile suggested other scenarios, but the military junta, in an effort to improve the climate of opinion, insisted on demonstrating normality and at the same time defeating communism playing on home ground. The Russians demanded to play the game in a neutral country, which both Chile and FIFA rejected. FIFA established a commission that inspected the National Stadium, which had been prepared for the occasion but which still had about 7,000 detainees. According to testimony of Gregorio Mena Barrales, a politician imprisoned in that stadium, that commission "visited the field, walked around the court, looked with distant eyes at the prisoners and gave the opinion: In the stadium you could play." While the FIFA commission examined the stadium, the detainees were hidden inside. Before the match, the detainees were transferred to a detention site in the Atacama Desert. But the Soviets never travelled, claiming political and security issues, arguing that the National Stadium was an illegal detention centre where more than 7000 political prisoners were crowded and where many dissidents were tortured after the coup d'état against Salvador Allende. The USSR's decision was supported by several of its allied countries, especially by East Germany which was already qualified and threatened not to appear at the World Cup event. The Soviets sent a letter to FIFA explaining that "For moral considerations, Soviets can not at this time play in the stadium of Santiago, splashed with the blood of the Chilean patriots".http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/videos/168659/retro-football-chile-qualify-for-74-world-cup-by-beating-ussr-with-a-single-shot-in-sinister-circumstances-video.html https://web.archive.org/web/20130718085133/http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/videos/168659/retro-football-chile-qualify-for-74-world-cup-by-beating-ussr-with-a-single-shot-in-sinister-circumstances-video.html usurped 18 July 2013 Retro Football: Chile Qualify For '74 World Cup By Beating USSR With A Single Shot In Sinister Circumstances 6 March 2017 Wright Chris 15 July 2013 Who ate all the pies Chile demanded a compensation of $300,000 if the Soviets did not appear, claiming that they could not place the tickets for sale and the cost of preparing the game. FIFA declared the match a 2–0 walkover victory for Chile. However, FIFA arranged for the match to be held anyway. The match was attended by only 15,000 people. The game lasted 30 seconds, which took the Chilean team to score a goal from the kickoff. When they arrived in the area, as they had agreed, it was the captain, Francisco "Chamaco" Valdés, who scored the empty goal. Aftermath Chile The Chileans were drawn alongside the hosts West Germany and two first-time entrants: East Germany and Australia. In the first game, Chile lost 1–0 to West Germany, the goal being scored by Paul Breitner in the first half. Sergio Ahumada equalised for Chile in the second game to draw against the East Germans, but a 0–0 draw to Australia eliminated Chile from the World Cup. The two German teams advanced. Soviet Union A period of decline started for the Soviets as they also missed out on the 1978 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championships of 1976 and 1980. Notes note References The Concise Encyclopedia of World Football 1999 edited by Glenn Moore Category:Cold War history of Chile Category:1974 FIFA World Cup qualification Category:Soviet Union national football team matches Category:Chile national football team matches Category:1973 in Soviet football Category:1973 in Chilean football Category:Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990) Category:FIFA World Cup controversies Category:Politics and sports Category:Cold War history of the Soviet Union Category:FIFA World Cup boycotts 1974 Category:September 1973 sports events in Europe Category:Chile at the 1974 FIFA World Cup Category:Chile–Soviet Union relations Category:Sports competitions in Moscow Category:1973 in Moscow Category:International association football competitions hosted by the Soviet Union Category:International association football competitions hosted by Chile Category:Football matches in the Soviet Union Category:Men's international association football matches in Europe Category:Football in Moscow Category:Men's international association football matches in South America Category:Football competitions in Santiago, Chile Category:1970s in Santiago, Chile Category:Football matches in Chile Category:1973 in Asian men's international football Category:1973 in European men's international football