Obdulio Jacinto Muiños Varela (; September 20, 1917 — August 2, 1996) was a

Uruguayan Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player. He was the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Uruguay national team that won the

1950 World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

after beating

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in the decisive final round match popularly known as the '' Maracanazo''. He was

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d "El Negro Jefe" (The Black Chief) because of his dark skin and the influence he had on the pitch, especially during the unlikely victory over Brazil. He was of

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and

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ancestry. Commonly regarded as one of the greatest classic

holding midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

s, Varela was adept in

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and was renowned for his tenacity and leadership. He is regarded as one of the greatest captains in football history, and "he remains one of the biggest sporting heroes in Uruguay".

Club career

Varela, born in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, emerged as a centre half and senior player at

Deportivo Juventud ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable), an aerial lift station in Ecatepec, Mexico * Deport ...

, club which he joined in 1936. He debuted in first division with

Montevideo Wanderers Montevideo Wanderers Fútbol Club, usually known simply as Wanderers, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club are currently members of the Primera División and play at the Estadio Viera. Beside football, the cl ...

in 1938. Obdulio Jacinto Varela 1917-1996
/ref> In 1943, he joined

C.A. Peñarol CA or ca may refer to: Businesses and organizations Companies * Air China (IATA airline code CA) * CA Technologies, a U.S. software company * Cayman Airways, a Cayman Islands airline * Channel America, a defunct U.S. television network * Classi ...

, club for which he would play until his professional retirement in 1955.

International career

Varela's international debut came in a 3–2 win against

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in the 1939

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

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. Varela entered the match as a substitute. He played 45 international matches for Uruguay from 1939 to 1954, in which he scored nine goals. He's most remembered as the captain of the Uruguay team that won

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

, in which he "was the architect of" Brazil's downfall. The decisive match was against the hosts

. Uruguay needed to win, but Brazil could win the Cup with a draw. Then when the team were on the dressing room, Juan López, the coach of the Uruguayan team told his players that the best way they could get a chance against Brazil was if they adopted a defensive style, then he left the room and Varela told his teammates “Juan is a good man, but if we do defend ourselves then we will suffer the same fate of Sweden and Spain” (Brazil had beaten Sweden 7-1 and Spain 6-1), and then said “the game is played on the pitch, when you come out to the pitch, don't look to the crowd, those on the outside are made of wood”. The speech played a vital role on his teammates, who played without fear getting a 0–0 draw on the halftime. Five minutes in the second half, Brazil scored, and Varela took scene, when he intentionally walked slowly to his goal, picked up the ball and then argued with the English referee

George Reader George Reader (22 November 1896 – 13 July 1978) was the fourth man to referee a FIFA World Cup Final, the first Englishman (one of only 10 match officials from the United Kingdom) to do so, and the oldest match official at any World Cup in hi ...

about a nonexistent offside, with the intention of delaying the restart of the game so the crowd cooled off. After that he said to his teammates 'Now it's time to win the game' and the Brazilians in the crowd were in a silent mood. Uruguay scored through Schiaffino and then, 9 minutes before the finish, with a very nervous Brazil team,

Alcides Ghiggia Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia Pereyra (; 22 December 1926 – 16 July 2015) was a Uruguayan-Italian football player, who played as a right winger. He achieved lasting fame for his decisive role in the final match of the 1950 World Cup, and at the ...

scored the 2–1 for Uruguay, winning the World Cup. Following the win "Varela spent that evening drinking with shellshocked Brazilians in a Rio bar" ignoring the warnings of Uruguayan officials. He also played on the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerla ...

with Uruguay defending his 1950 title, but this time, Varela got injured celebrating a goal in the quarter final vs.

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, which Uruguay won 4–2, causing him to miss the semi final. Uruguay had never lost a World Cup match when Varela was present.

Post-playing career

His last match was on June 19, 1955 with Peñarol against ''América''. Varela, one of the team's coaches along with Roque Maspoli, came off the bench for the second half but when he realized he couldn't continue, he decided to end his career. Varela died on August 2, 1996. His remains are buried at

Cementerio del Cerro, Montevideo Cementerio del Cerro is a cemetery in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is located in the ''barrio'' of Villa del Cerro, behind the Fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, ...

Honours

With

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

: *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

winner in 1950 *

winner in 1942 *''Copa Baron de Rio Branco'' winner against Brasil in 1940, 1946, 1948 *''Copa Escobar Gerona'' winner in 1943 With

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

: * Uruguayan first division league champion in 1944, 1945, 1949, 1951, 1953 and 1954 *''Torneo de Honor'' winner in 1944, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952 and 1953 *''Competencia'' tourney winner in 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1951 1953 Varela was among the 13 best South American players of the 20th century according to the ''

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

' Century Elections''.IFFHS' Century Elections
– RSSSF

References and notes

External links

– career information and an interview with Varela
Varela at the Brazilian ''Museo dos Esportes'' (Museum of Sports)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varela, Obdulio 1917 births 1996 deaths Uruguayan people of Spanish descent Uruguayan people of Greek descent Uruguayan people of African descent Uruguayan footballers Uruguayan Primera División players Montevideo Wanderers F.C. players Peñarol players Uruguay international footballers FIFA World Cup-winning captains FIFA World Cup-winning players 1950 FIFA World Cup players 1954 FIFA World Cup players Uruguayan football managers Peñarol managers Burials at Cementerio del Cerro, Montevideo Copa América-winning players Association football midfielders Association football defenders