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It Was What It Was : The Football History Podcast

Football's Dirtiest Ever Game: Battle of Santiago 1962

It Was What It Was : The Football History Podcast

The Overlap

History, Rob Draper, Jonathan Wilson, Football, It What Was What It Was, The Overlap, Football History, Premier League, Four Four Two, When Saturday Comes, English Football, The Blizzard, Stick To Football, Sports, Soccer

4.9667 Ratings

🗓️ 30 July 2024

⏱️ 67 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Welcome to the latest episode of The Overlap’s football history podcast, It Was What It Was.


This week, Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper delve into one of football's dirtiest ever games: the infamous Battle of Santiago in 1962.


Regarded as one of the most brutal matches in football history, the Battle of Santiago saw host nation Chile face Italy in a violent and chaotic encounter at the World Cup.


Jonathan and Rob detail the events leading up to the game and the explosive incidents on the pitch, where the first foul was committed within 12 seconds, and armed police entered the field three times. They also explore the lasting impact this notorious match had on the world of football.


Discover the political and cultural tensions that fuelled the animosity between the teams, and hear about the controversy surrounding Chile's hosting of the World Cup just two years after a catastrophic earthquake.


Learn how this game led to significant changes in football's officiating and disciplinary procedures, including the invention of the yellow and red card system by the match referee, Ken Aston.

Join us to uncover the full story behind the Battle of Santiago, a match that remains a stark reminder of the sport's darker side.


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Transcript

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0:00.0

The game you are about to see is the most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football in the history of the game.

0:15.2

This is the first time these countries have met. We hope it will be the last. The national motto of Chile reads, by reason or by

0:23.0

force, today the Chileans weren't prepared to be reasonable. The Italians only used force.

0:28.6

And the result was a disaster for the World Cup. If the World Cup is going to survive in its present

0:33.6

form, something has got to be done about teams that play like this. Indeed, after seeing

0:39.1

the film tonight, you at home may well think that teams that play in this manner all to be

0:44.3

expelled immediately from the competition. Well, I'm Rob Draper. I'm here with Jonathan Wilson,

0:51.6

and that was David Coleman, the legendary British commentator

0:56.2

talking about one of the most infamous clashes at the World Cup, the 1962 game between

1:02.6

Chile and Italy. And I do love a moral panic and it is hard not to snigger a little.

1:10.2

Coleman really getting upset about a game,

1:13.1

which we go on to see which kind of did have some real violence in it.

1:17.1

Some of it seems quite comic, but some of it is quite serious.

1:20.3

But I actually think he did have a point.

1:22.5

It was an awful game, a chaotic game, but one that goes down in World Cup history.

1:27.5

And Jonathan, why don't you set the context for this and set the tone for this amazing game?

1:34.4

Okay, so I think the first thing we have to say is the reason why he's introducing a game

1:38.8

like that, because this game wasn't shown live.

1:41.7

This is before live satellite broadcast.

1:45.2

So it took two days for the tape to get from Chile, where the 1962 World Cup was held, back to the UK.

1:51.0

So this is his introduction before it shown on British television. There have clearly been

1:55.7

newspaper reports about the game, warning people or perhaps advertising to people that this is hilarious. This is

...

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