World Cup 1950 – When Alcides Ghiggia silenced the Maracanã: "It was dead silent"

But despite all our joy, it was sad to see all the desperate, crying people in the stands. Even I felt a little sad myself. It was impressive how the sadness spread throughout the entire stadium, an unexpected experience. Only three people silenced the Maracanã: the Pope, Frank Sinatra, and me.

Even though the game ended at 5:45, we didn't leave the stadium until around 8:00 p.m. because we didn't know how the Brazilian fans would react to the defeat. There was no security, so we just left. At the hotel, we met some Uruguayans and celebrated with them. We looked for our treasurer to get some money to celebrate, but we couldn't find him. So we gathered among ourselves, bought sandwiches and beer, and then we all went to one room and celebrated.