Last survivor of 1930 FIFA World Cup dies

Buenos Aires, Aug 31 (IANS/EFE) Iconic Argentine football player Francisco Varallo, the last surviving participant of the first World Cup, died Monday at his home in Buenos Aires. He was 100.

Varallo was the youngest player in the Argentine national squad that lost to Uruguay by a score of 4-2 in the final of the first World Cup, played July 30, 1930, in Montevideo’s Centenario stadium.

“The little cannon”, as fans dubbed him, once held the all-time scoring record - 194 goals - with Boca Juniors, Argentina’s most popular club. He was surpassed last year by veteran striker Martin Palermo.

“I remember clearly that final with Uruguay, which marked me forever,” Varallo had recalled in February, on the occasion of his 100th birthday. “We had a great team, but some players weakened in the second half and we lost.”

“Everyone asks me about that match, in which I shouldn’t have played because I was very young, I didn’t have experience. Sometimes I prefer not to remember what happened in Montevideo,” he said.

–IANS/EFE