World Cup 2014 countdown: The Battle of Santiago in 1962

Counting down the 100 greatest moments in the history of the World Cup

Simon Rice
Tuesday 15 April 2014 17:19 BST
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The World Cup in Brazil is coming into view and everyone is hoping this summer's carnival can take its place among some of the great tournaments of the past.

That won't be easy though, as this series will testify. In the run-up to the tournament, we're counting down the 100 greatest World Cup moments.

Check out our latest instalment below, and for any you missed, see the gallery at the end of the article.

The Battle of Santiago in 1962

When this match was shown on British television, it was introduced with the warning: "this is the most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football, possibly in the history of the game". And the presenter wasn't exaggerating.

The game has since become known as the 'Battle of Santiago' and involved red cards, dreadful tackles and the police being called upon to intervene.

The game took place at the 1962 World Cup in a clash between Chile and Italy. Tensions were raised prior to kick off when a couple of Italian journalists described Santiago in rather crude terms. The articles were then heavily edited for the local press and distorted the Italians' words in such a way that the resentment towards Chile's opponents prior to kick-off was palpable.

So when the game got underway, there were fears things might boil over. And they weren't wrong.

It took just 12 seconds for the first foul and what followed was the most unsavoury World Cup game of all time. Italy's Giorgio Ferrini was sent off after 12 minutes, and when he didn't leave the pitch, was dragged off by police. Punches and kicks flew later in the game, with another Italian, Mario David also sent off.

Humberto Maschio had his nose broken when Leonel Sanchez of Chile sent a left hook his way, and amid all the scuffles and spitting, the police intervened three times. Chile won the match, but the scoreline was by-the-by in such an ill-tempered match.

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