Consequence of political choices, soccer-related clashes and a policy of isolation that ultimately proved costly.

Argentina is today considered one of the greatest soccer powers in the world. However, for nearly a quarter of a century, it was essentially absent from the World Cups. Its absence from the World Cup in Switzerland in 1954 was not an isolated incident, but the culmination of a policy and soccer isolation that had already begun in the 1930s.

It all began in 1938. The Argentine Football Association believed it had priority to host the World Cup, as it was believed that the FIFA would alternate between Europe and South America. However, when France was selected, the reaction was intense. Argentina withdrew from the tournament, despite later attempting unsuccessfully to overturn the decision. Thus, the opportunity was lost to showcase internationally one of the strongest teams of the era, featuring players such as Antonio Sastre, José María Mineggia, and Carlos Peucelle.

The 1950, at the first postwar World Cup, the absence had different causes. Relations with Brazil were strained, while the country’s president, Juan Domingo Perón, did not want to risk a failure that could result in political consequences for his regime. The national team stayed home once again.

Four years later, the situation had not improved. The strike by soccer players in 1948 had triggered a mass exodus of star players to Colombia, while the AFA with other South American federations remained problematic. Players such as Adolfo Pedernera, Alfredo Di Stefano, and Nestor Rossi were outside the federation’s direct control, a fact that exacerbated the isolation of Argentine soccer.

After the end of the World Cup in Switzerland, the national team coach Guillermo Stabile, top scorer of the World Cup of 1930, stated his opinion in no uncertain terms: the boycott was a mistake, and Argentina could have been a contender.

The return to the World Cup in 1958 did not vindicate those who had opted for isolation. The crushing 6-1 defeat by Czechoslovakia revealed just how far behind the country had fallen in relation to European developments. After three decades of introversion, Argentina was forced to admit that political decisions and the soccer egos had cost one of the world’s most talented academies dearly.

You can read more stories like this in a 640-page, large-format investigation,
in the book “World Cup Confidential,” published by Historical Quest