![Brazil-CopaAmerica-1919](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Brazil-CopaAmerica-1919.jpg)
The 1919
South American Championship of Nations was the third continental championship for South American national football teams. It was held in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
,
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 ...
from 11 to 29 May 1919.
The participating countries were
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 ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and
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 ...
as the defending champion.
After finishing tied in the group standings on points, host Brazil beat Uruguay in the playoff match to win their first title.
The playoff was the longest match in the competition's history, and under current rules, will remain so indefinitely: with the scores tied 0-0 after 90 minutes had expired, both captains and the referee agreed to play an
extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
period of two 30 minute periods, meaning the playoff match lasted 150 minutes.
Format
There was no qualifying for the tournament. The participating countries were Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. All teams competed between each other in a single group. Two points were awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a defeat. If there was a tie of points at the top of the standings, a playoff match would be held to determine the champion.
Squads
For a complete list of participating squads see: ''
1919 South American Championship squads''
Venues
Final round
Each team played one match against each of the other teams. Two points were awarded for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a defeat.
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Play-off
Result
Goal scorers
4 goals
*
Arthur Friedenreich
Arthur Friedenreich (18 July 1892 – 6 September 1969) was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. He was nicknamed ''The Tiger'' or ''The Original "Black" Pearl'', and was arguably the sport's first outstanding mixed-race ...
*
Neco
Manoel Nunes (March 7, 1895 – May 31, 1977), also known as Neco, was an association football midfielder. With great skill and tenacity, he was the first idol of Corinthians, being the first player to get a statue in the team's gardens (in 192 ...
3 goals
* Edwin Clarcke
*
Carlos Izaguirre
*
Carlos Scarone
Carlos Scarone (10 November 1888 – 12 May 1965) was a Uruguayan footballer who played as forward. Despite he played in several clubs of Argentina and Uruguay, Scarone is mostly known for his tenure on Nacional, where he stayed nine years, sco ...
2 goals
*
Isabelino Gradín
Isabelino Gradín (8 July 1897 – 21 December 1944) was a Uruguayan footballer and athlete. He was considered to be one of the greatest footballers in the early era of Uruguayan football and is regarded as one of the greatest Uruguayan players ...
1 goal
*
Amílcar
*
Haroldo
*
Héitor
*
Millon
*
Alfredo France
*
José Pérez
*
Héctor Scarone
José Juan Héctor Scarone Berreta (26 November 1898 – 4 April 1967) was a Uruguayan footballer who played as inside forward. Scarone was considered one of the best players in the world during his time,. being nicknamed ''El Mago'' ("the Magic ...
Own goals
*
Manuel Varela (for Argentina)
Aftermath
The day after the final, Uruguayan goalkeeper
Roberto Chery
Roberto Chery (16 February 1896 – 30 May 1919) was a Uruguayan football goalkeeper who played during the days of amateur sport in the Uruguayan Primera División (1900–1931).
Chery made his club career entirely at Peñarol, where he had ...
died of strangulated hernia in a hospital of Río de Janeiro. He had injured after he made a wrong move to stop an attack, during the match v
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. Because of substitutions were not allowed by then, Chery had to play severely injured the rest of the match.
Brazil and Uruguay teams had scheduled a friendly match ("Copa Rio Branco") for 19 June 1919. Due to the Uruguayan side declined to participate because of Chery's tragic death,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
offered to replace the Uruguayan side. After the Brazilian Federation accepted, the match (now named "Copa Roberto Chery" to honor the goalkeeper) was finally played. Argentina entered to the field wearing Uruguay's traditional light-blue jersey while Brazil wore the
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 ...
jersey.
La más hermosa página de fraternidad
''El Gráfico''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:South American Championship 1919
1919
Events
January
* January 1
** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.
** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...
1919 in Brazilian football
1919
Events
January
* January 1
** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.
** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...
1919
Events
January
* January 1
** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.
** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...
1919 in South American football
1919 in Chile
1919 in Uruguayan football
1919 in Argentine football
May 1919 sports events
20th century in Rio de Janeiro