World Cup 2006

The 1934 World Cup was an international soccer event with evident political shades. Italia, host country, was under the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini, Il Duce, who wanted to show the "new image of the country" through soccer popularity.

The second World Cup faced a big problem: Uruguay, the first champion, was determined to boycott the competition like several European countries have done to that nation in 1930.

To win the title, Italians formed an international team, because at that time a player acting for a country could later on play for another provided he became nationalized. The Italian team was strengthened with Argentine players De Maria, Orsi, Guasita, and Monti, along with Brazilian player Filo.

The competition was dominated by European countries; during quarter finals, however, only a few from that continent had qualified. Everybody was fascinated by Austria, with the team soccer style known as "Wunderteam" (the German term for “Wonder Team”); in the semi-final match, however, they were defeated by the host team.

In the match for the final, Italy had been losing during 40 minutes of the second half when a tie forced its opponents to overtime. Schiavo became a hero, after scoring the victory goal to win the title.