Alcides Ghiggia facts for kids
Ghiggia with A.S. Roma in the mid-1950s
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
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| Full name | Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia Pereyra | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 22 December 1926 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | ||||||||||||
| Date of death | 16 July 2015 (aged 88) | ||||||||||||
| Place of death | Montevideo, Uruguay | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.69 m | ||||||||||||
| Playing position | Winger | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||
| 1945–1948 | Sud América | ||||||||||||
| 1948–1953 | Peñarol | 169 | (26) | ||||||||||
| 1953–1961 | Roma | 201 | (19) | ||||||||||
| 1961–1962 | Milan | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 1962–1967 | Danubio | 128 | (12) | ||||||||||
| Total | 502 | (57) | |||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||
| 1950–1952 | Uruguay | 12 | (4) | ||||||||||
| 1957–1959 | Italy | 5 | (1) | ||||||||||
| Teams managed | |||||||||||||
| 1980 | Peñarol | ||||||||||||
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Honours
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Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia Pereyra (born 22 December 1926 – died 16 July 2015) was a famous football player from Uruguay. He played as a right winger, which is a player who runs down the side of the field.
Ghiggia became very famous for scoring the winning goal in the final match of the 1950 FIFA World Cup. This game was against Brazil. He passed away exactly 65 years after that historic game. At the time of his death, he was the last player still alive from that famous match.
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Playing Career
Alcides Ghiggia's family came from a region in Switzerland called Ticino. He played for the national teams of both Uruguay and Italy during his career.
He also played for several club teams. In Uruguay, he played for Peñarol and Danubio. In Italy, he played for Roma and Milan.
The 1950 World Cup Final
In 1950, Ghiggia was playing for the Uruguayan national team. He scored the winning goal against Brazil in the final match of the 1950 FIFA World Cup. This game is known as the Maracanazo. It is considered one of the biggest upsets in football history.
The match was played in Brazil at the Maracanã Stadium. This stadium was packed with around 200,000 Brazilian fans. Ghiggia once famously said that "only three people managed to silence the Maracanã: Frank Sinatra, the Pope, and me." This shows how shocking his goal was to the home crowd.
After Playing
After his playing career, Ghiggia also managed a team. He was the manager for Peñarol in 1980.
On 29 December 2009, Brazil honored Ghiggia. They celebrated his decisive goal from the 1950 World Cup. Ghiggia returned to Maracanã Stadium almost 60 years later for this special event. He placed his feet in a mold to join other football legends. These legends included Brazil's Pelé, Portugal's Eusébio, and Germany's Franz Beckenbauer. Ghiggia was very emotional and thanked Brazil for their warm welcome. He was grateful for the recognition, even though his goal was a very disappointing moment for Brazilian football.
Later Years
Alcides Ghiggia spent his final years living in his home in Las Piedras, Uruguay. He passed away on 16 July 2015 in a hospital in Montevideo. He was 88 years old.
It was a remarkable coincidence that he died on the 65th anniversary of the Maracanazo. At the time of his death, Ghiggia was the oldest living player who had won a World Cup. He was also the last surviving player from either the Brazilian or Uruguayan teams who played in that historic 1950 World Cup game.
Honours
Club
- Peñarol
- Primera División: 1949, 1951
- Roma
- Fairs Cup: 1960–61
- Serie A: 1961–62
International
Individual
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1950
- Golden Foot: 2006 (as a legend)
- A.S. Roma Hall of Fame: 2014
See also
In Spanish: Alcides Ghiggia para niños
