Football at the 1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Olympic football tournament, won by Italy, has, obviously, come to share an affinity with the political backdrop against which it was being played; in terms of the history of football, however, the tournament suffered as a reaction to the development of the FIFA World Cup.
The introduction of the first FIFA World Cup in 1930 (which had, in itself lead to the absence of a football tournament from the 1932 Games programme) lead to a devaluation in the strength of each subsequent Olympic football tournament. Competing nations would from now on only be permitted to play their best players if those players were amateur or (where national associations were assisted by interested states to traverse such a rule) where professional players were state-sponsored.
The reinstatement of Olympic football was ensured in 1936 because the German organisers were confident that such a competition would be justified by the income it would generate. The fear that any failure by the host side would result in a loss of income had been a matter of contention despite the fact that going into the competition Germany were one of the favourites. (They had only lost at home once in three years). In the event, the early failure of the national side did nothing to deter the supporters, as the bronze and gold medal games were watched by a combined total of 195,000 people.
Background
The Italian side, victors in the 1934 FIFA World Cup and managed by Vittorio Pozzo were favourites.
Squads
Medalists
Competition
The competition began in dramatic circumstances. The Italians, convincing winners against the Americans at the 1934 World Cup now found the Olympic side, with ten changes, a completely different proposition. The Azzuri could hardly argue that their side was without talent; Alfredo Foni, Pietro Rava and Ugo Locatelli would all play in their World Cup victory in Paris. That they eventually prevailed was due to two incidents: the first when their bespectacled forward Frossi scored, the second when Wiengartner, the German referee, was literally restrained from sending off Archille Piccini after fouling two Americans. Italian players held both his arms and covered his mouth in protest. Piccini stayed on the park, Italy won. [1]
This was something more than Sweden managed in their tie with Japan the next day in Berlin. Two-nil up within 45 minutes their demise was shockingly recorded by the legendary Swedish commentator, Sven Jerring’s, calling “Japanese, Japanese, Japanese” as they ran out 3-2 winners. It marked the first time an Asian side had participated in either the World Cup or Olympic Games football competition. Their neighbours, China, lost, immediately, to Great Britain the next day, although there was still no disgrace: Britain were being held at the break. Otherwise there were thumping wins for Peru and the hosts, 9-0 versus Luxembourg.
First round
Italy | 1–0 | United States |
---|---|---|
Frossi 58' | Report |
Referee: Carl Weingartner (GER)
Norway | 4–0 | Turkey |
---|---|---|
Martinsen 30' 70' Brustad 53' Kvammen 80' |
Report |
Referee: D. Scarpi (ITA)
Japan | 3–2 | Sweden |
---|---|---|
Kamo 49' Ukon 62' Matsunaga 85' |
Report | Persson 24' 37' |
Referee: Wilhelm Peters (GER)
Poland | 3–0 | Hungary |
---|---|---|
Gad 12' 27' Wodarz 88' |
Report |
Referee: Raffaele Scorzoni (ITA)
Austria | 3–1 | Egypt |
---|---|---|
Steinmetz 4' 65' Laudon 7' |
Report | Sakr 85' |
Referee: A. J. Jewell (ENG)
Germany | 9–0 | Luxembourg |
---|---|---|
Urban 16' 54' 75' Simetsreiter 32' 48' 74' Gauchel 49' 89' Elbern 76' |
Report |
Referee: Pal Von Hertzka (HUN)
Peru | 7–3 | Finland |
---|---|---|
Fernández 17' 33' 47' 49' 70' Villanueva 21' 67' |
Report | Kanerva 42' (p.k.) Grönlund 75' Larvo 80' |
Referee: Rinaldo Barlassina (ITA)
Great Britain | 2–0 | Republic of China |
---|---|---|
Doods 55' Finch 65' |
Report |
Referee: Helmut Fink (GER)
Quarter Finals
Italy, now finding their feet against Japan, (and having made but one change to their team) made no mistake in their tie, winning as comprehensively as they had struggled against the Americans. Pozzo’s decision to include Biagi bore instant fruit, Baigi scoring 4 second half goals.
The same day at the Poststadion, Berlin before a crowd that included Goebbels, Goering, Hess and Hitler, Germany were knocked out 2-0 by Norway. Goebbels wrote: 'The Führer is very excited, I can barely contain myself. A real bath of nerves.' There was no real surprise to the result to those outside the higher ranks of the Third Reich. Norway, went onto give Italy a tricky tie in the first round of the 1938 FIFA World Cup. But Germany lost 2-0 and Hitler, who had never seen a football match before, and had originally planned to watch the rowing, left early in a huff. [2] The following day at the Hertha Platz, Austria played Peru in an astonishing game leading to a huge political row not out of keeping with the times.
The Peruvians overturned a 2 goal deficit at the half to take the tie into extra-time. All was fine until Villanueva’s goal, Peru’s fourth, in the last minute of extra-time. Time Magazine reported: In Lima President Oscar Benavides of Peru last week addressed an angry crowd. Said he: "I have just received cables from the Argentine, Chile, Uruguay and Mexico solidifying the Peruvian attitude against the crafty Berlin decision." The crowd, which had already torn down an Olympic flag, surged on to listen to more speeches in the Plaza San Martin. Later it proceeded to the German Consulate to throw stones at the windows until police arrived in trucks. At Callao, Lima's seaport, workmen on the docks refused to load two German vessels.
The "crafty Berlin decision" concerned a soccer game. Last fortnight Peru's Olympic team won a hard match against Austria, 4 goals to 2. After the game, Austria protested that Peruvian players had manhandled them, that spectators, one brandishing a revolver, had swarmed down on the field. FIFA ordered the game replayed behind closed doors, so Peru's whole Olympic team of 50 promptly withdrew from the Games in protest; the game was awarded to Austria by default. Said Michael Dasso of the Peruvian Olympic Committee: "We've no faith in European athletics. We have come here and found a bunch of merchants."
[3]]
The last of the quarter-finals had all of the excitement but none of the fall-out; Poland, assisted by their forward, Hubert Gad, played out a nine-goal party to defeat the British side; at one time they were 5-1 to the better. The Casual's Bernard Joy scored two as Britain fought back gamely but they ran out of time. Prior to the Games Daniel Pettit received a letter from the Football Association which dealt mostly with the uniform he would wear. As he explained to the academic Rachel Cutler there was a handwritten PS that said: 'As there is a month to go before we leave for Berlin kindly take some exercise.' The obedient Petit ran around his local park. [4]
Italy | 8–0 | Japan |
---|---|---|
Frossi 14' 75' 80' Biagi 32' 57' 81' 82' Cappelli 89' |
Report |
Referee: Otto Ohlsson (SWE)
Poland | 5–4 | Great Britain |
---|---|---|
Gad 33' Wodarz 43' 48' 53' Piec 56' |
Report | Clemens 26' Shearer 71' Joy 78' 80' |
Referee: Rudolf Eklow (SWE)
Peru | 4–2 | Austria |
---|---|---|
Alcade 75' Villanueva 81' 117' Fernández 119' |
Report | Wergin 23' Steinmetz 37' |
Referee: Th. Kristiansen (NOR)
Semi Finals
Italy | 2–1 | Norway |
---|---|---|
Negro 15' Frossi 96' |
Report | Brustad 58' |
Referee: Pal von Hertzka (HUN)
Austria | 3–1 | Poland |
---|---|---|
Kainberger 14' Laudon 55' Mandl 88' |
Report | Gad 73' |
Referee: A. W. Barton (ENG)
Bronze medal match
Norway | 3–2 | Poland |
---|---|---|
Brustad 15' 21' 84' | Report | Wodarz 5' Peterek 24' (p.k.) |
Referee: Alfred Birlem (GER)
The Final (Gold medal match)
Italy now overcame Norway in a match refereed by Dr Peco Bauwens; the Austrians having defeated Poland to attend the final. Not that there was much in it; Frossi again scoring for the Azzuri and getting the winner just as extra-time got underway.
Italy | 2–1 | Austria |
---|---|---|
Frossi 70' 92' | Report | Kainberger 79' |
Referee: Peco Bauwens (GER)
Bracket
Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
03 August - Berlin | ||||||||||||||
Italy | 1 | |||||||||||||
07 August - Berlin | ||||||||||||||
United States | 0 | |||||||||||||
Italy | 8 | |||||||||||||
03 August - Berlin | ||||||||||||||
Japan | 0 | |||||||||||||
Japan | 3 | |||||||||||||
10 August - Berlin | ||||||||||||||
Sweden | 2 | |||||||||||||
Italy (AET) | 2 | |||||||||||||
04 August - Berlin | ||||||||||||||
Norway | 1 | |||||||||||||
Norway | 4 | |||||||||||||
07 August - Berlin | ||||||||||||||
Turkey | 0 | |||||||||||||
Norway | 2 | |||||||||||||
05 August - Berlin | ||||||||||||||
Germany | 0 | |||||||||||||
Germany | 9 | |||||||||||||
15 August - Berlin | ||||||||||||||
Luxembourg | 0 | |||||||||||||
Italy (AET) | 2 | |||||||||||||
05 August - Berlin | ||||||||||||||
Austria | 1 | |||||||||||||
Austria | 3 | |||||||||||||
08 August - Berlin | ||||||||||||||
Egypt | 1 | |||||||||||||
Austria | 2 | |||||||||||||
06 August - Berlin | ||||||||||||||
Peru (AET) | 4 | |||||||||||||
Peru | 7 | |||||||||||||
11 August - Berlin | ||||||||||||||
Finland | 3 | |||||||||||||
Austria | 3 | |||||||||||||
06 August - Berlin | ||||||||||||||
Poland | 1 | Third place | ||||||||||||
Poland | 3 | |||||||||||||
08 August - Berlin | 13 August - Berlin | |||||||||||||
Hungary | 0 | |||||||||||||
Poland | 5 | Norway | 3 | |||||||||||
06 August - Berlin | ||||||||||||||
Great Britain | 4 | Poland | 2 | |||||||||||
Great Britain | 2 | |||||||||||||
Republic of China | 0 | |||||||||||||