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Lolo Fernandez: One of Latin America’s Most Popular Footballers

Throughout his 12-year career with the Peruvian side, between 1935 and 1947, Lolo Fernández was not a World Cup player such as Obdulio Varela of Uruguay and Brazil’s Leonidas da Silva. Despite all this, he is still an inspirational leader in the history of Peru’s soccer. On the field, he did a lot to stimulate the men’s football in all of the country, one of the most soccer-crazed places on the planet. He was very popular in the outback of Peru, from Trujillo and Ica to Puno and Cajamarca. His passion for his homeland was reflected in all facets of his life.

He began to play soccer before it was a professional sport on Peruvian soil. Football — the world’s most popular sport— was imported by Britain’s expatriates in the second half of the 19th century and is known as Peru’s national pastime.

The oldest and most powerful of three soccer-playing Fernández brothers, he — known affectionately as «Lolo»— is considered as one of the country’s greatest athletes of all time, along with Edwin Vásquez Cam (Olympic gold medalist at the 1948 London Summer Games), Cecilia Tait Villacorta (among the world’s top volleyball players in the past century), Juan Carlos «Johnny» Bello (winner of 12 Bolivarian titles in the early 1970s), and Gabriela «Gaby» Pérez del Solar (silver medal in women’s volleyball at the 1988 South Korea Games).

During Fernández’s tenure with the national side, the Andean republic gained one South American Cup (1939) and one Bolivarian Championship (1938). At the club level, he earned the Peruvian League Cup — nationwide competition— six times with his club Universitario de Deportes, having scored a club-record of 157 goals — a record that remains unique. Also, he was the top goal-scorer in the country’s top division of football teams in 1932 (11 goals), 1933 (9), 1934 (9), 1939 (15), 1940 (15), 1942 (11), and 1945 (16). Additionally, he is one of best-known Peruvians Olympians of all time. He holds the distinction of being the first (and only) top player from that nation to compete in the modern Olympiad.

Peru’s First Genuine Top-Class Athlete

Since then, the apex of his career came in the late 1930s when he was the hero of Peru’s South American Football Confederation Cup win, putting the Peruvian flag on the sporting map and making him one of the most exciting players in the game. A Lolo Fernández-inspired Peru defeated Uruguay in the gold-medal match, a surprise to most fans and sportswriters on the American mainland (Campomar, 2014, Penguin). He had been called up by England’s coach Jack Greenwell. Before the championship, Peru’s sportsmen had never won a continental trophy (equivalent of the European Cup). Previously, this Cañete-born footballer was a member of the 1936 Peruvian Olympic football team, which competed in the Berlin Olympics. Curiously, Western Europe was the first continent to recognize Fernández’s talent. Although his homeland’s squad succumbed in a controversial game against Austria (a match they should have won) during the Men’s Olympic Games Soccer Tournament— the unofficial world cup of soccer at that time— he was regarded as one of the South America’s most celebrated sportsmen (Hilton, 2011).

Back in Peru, he led his own «soccer revolution» in Universitario de Deportes, winning many top division cups, setting off a wave of explosive emotion in Lima, the nation’s capital. In fact, he was one of the first superstars of that club. The national squad and his club had been his first loves. He could have played abroad, but decided to play for the Peruvian side and the Limean club, one of the nation’s premier clubs (Newton, 2011).

In fact, Lolo Fernández was Peru’s first genuine top-class sportsman in the world of sports in a time when some Spanish-speaking republics began to produce world-famous competitors. Already, in 1928, Argentina’s fighter Victorio Avendaño had caught the public’s attention with his Olympic gold medal in the Games of the IX Olympiad in Holland’s capital city of Amsterdam (Grasso, 2013). Two years later, the Soccer World Cup was won by the host country Uruguay— called the Celeste. Meanwhile, the men’s shooting contingent of Brazil picked up a total of three medals at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics in tiny Belgium (Almanaque Mundial, 1976). On the other hand, on March 19, 1938, four Ecuadorans — Ricardo Planas, Carlos Luis Gilbert, Luis Alcivar Elizalde and Abel Gilbert— swept the gold medals at the Swimming South American Tournament (Almanaque Guayaquil, 2003).

The Life and Times of Lolo Fernández

Teodoro Oswaldo Fernández Meyzán was born on May 20, 1913 in San Vicente, Cañete, near Lima, Peru’s capital. He was the seventh of eight children born to Tomas Fernández Cisneros, a farm administrator, and his wife, the former Raymunda Meyzan.

Cañete covers an area of 4,577 km2 — the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It lies around 140 km from Lima. This Connecticut-size territory is blessed with a fertile land and is well-recognized for its African-Peruvian culture, cuisine, fruits and birthplace of notable people such as Héctor Chumpitaz (footballer), Caitro Soto (musician), Enrique Verastegui (writer), and Rolando Campos (singer).

Fernández spent his early childhood on a farm in Cañete. Like many Peruvian children, he became fascinated with the game of soccer at an early age. But not everyone applauded that passion, among them his father.

He invested his life in this sport since he played for his hometown club Huracán of Hualcará in the early 1920s. The then little-known player was the first to arrive to the stadium and the last to leave. In his land, he trained with a lot of intensity. The exercise and fresh air made him feel better.

During his first appearance, he led his club to a victory over Alianza San Vicente in a local event in his native Cañete. His debut could not have been better: he scored the winning goal. The date was August 30, 1923. On that occasion, his play (without being paid a salary) impressed his team-mates early on. He was celebrated throughout Cañete, whose people are addicted to football and other Olympic sports as canoeing, boxing, and track-and-field.

Toward the end of the 1920s, he was allowed to leave his home and went to Lima to live with his elder brother, Arturo Fernández, who had played for Universitario de Deportes after being a member of Ciclista Lima. In this context, Lolo, as he was more often known, was introduced to Universitario by Arturo.

In the Peruvian place, his personal life underwent some significant changes. Unanimously elected player by the club’s chairman Placido Galindo, Fernández signed a contract for 120 soles a month. Relations between he and his new club were excellent and friendly since that day.

He kicked off his career with the Lima-based club when he made his official debut on November 29, 1931 during a friendly match against Deportes Magallanes of Chile. Some young athletes would have been intimidated in such situation, but not Lolo. The Lima-based club, with a young side, was the winner. The Peruvian victory was due largely to Fernández’s leadership. He scored the winner against Magallanes in a 1-0 win. Gradually, his talent was recognized by experts, coaches, and sportswriters in his homeland country. As a player, he was without peer in his generation.

An Athlete In Troubled Times

Like many Latino champions such as Alberto Spencer of Ecuador (football),Mateo Flores of Guatemala (track-and-field) and Chino Meléndez of Nicaragua (baseball), Lolo Fernández lived in a country plagued by political violence, poverty, and economic difficulties. Despite these hurdles, he emerged as one of Latin America’s top athletes in the first half of the 20th century.

In the 1930s, his native country had a record of short-lived governments and eight conservative rulers. By 1933, Peru’s military warlord Luis Sánchez Cerro was killed. At the same time, opposition-led demonstrations broke out in Lima in response to an electoral defeat (Loveman, 1999).

During the global financial crisis, the economy fell into chaos, which was vulnerable due to the nation’s dependence on minerals and agricultural products.

Due to these and other reasons, the country’s sport activities had been all but ignored by the governments. Under this atmosphere, Peru was one of the last countries to make its international debut in the Football South American Championship (known as the Copa America later), having competed for the first in the XI Cup in 1927.Similarly, their athletes could not attend the Summer Olympics between 1900 and 1932. But that wasn’t all. Upon competing in Great Britain in 1948, this Spanish-speaking republic did not have Olympic representation until 1956, despite having Pan American gold medalists —among them Julia Sánchez Deza and Edwin Vásquez— and continental champs.

Western Europe: From Spain to Great Britain

As guests of honor, Fernández and other players from Universitario played for Alianza Lima during a tour of Chile in 1933, accumulating wins over Colo Colo, Audax Italiano, Magallanes, and Wanderers. Lolo also played as a special guest for some foreign clubs such Racing Club,Club Atlético Banfield, and Colo Colo.

Between 1933 and 1934, Fernández went as a member of a Peruvian-Chilean contingent —composed of sportsmen from Alianza Lima, Colo Colo, Atlético Chalaco and Universitario– to Western Europe, where he played 33 men’s football matches (compiling 11 wins, 11 draws and 11 losses) against first-class squads from Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom, including Bayern Munich, Newcastle and Barcelona— his first time outside of Latin America (Witzig, 2006). Here, he earned the respect of fans and rivals. Lolo’s performance on the European tour was spectacular: despite his lack of international experience, he accumulated a record of 48 goals!

Berlin: 1936 Summer Olympics

After many obstacles, the Peruvian Olympic team, that included future South American champion Lolo, made a brief but historic trip to Germany to attend the 1936 Summer Games. It was the first time in Olympic history that Peru had sent an athletic contingent to the Summer Games. The nation’s sports officials brought an all-male team to Berlin, with Peruvians competing in aquatics, athletics, diving, basketball, cycling, fencing, modern pentathlon, shooting, and soccer.

There were 22 soccer players and they were Juan Valdivieso Padilla, Alejandro Villanueva, José Morales, Adelfo Magallanes, Víctor Lavalle, Enrique Landa, Eulogio García, Carlos Tovar, Orestes Jordán, Teodoro Fernández, Arturo Fernández, Andrés Alvarez, Arturo Paredes, Segundo Castillo, Teodoro Alcalde, Jorge Alcalde, Miguel Pacheco, Carlos Portal, Raúl Chappel, Pedro Ibañez, Guillermo Pardo, and Víctor Marchena. These players made up the country’s largest delegation in Berlin.

The Lolo’s squad was the first Peruvian team in the Olympic team sports history. Scoring five goals in a 7-2 victory over the Nordic nation of Finland, Fernández played one of his most memorable matches (Campomar, 2014). Without a doubt, he was a genius on the field. Subsequently, they beat Austria (it expected to finish in the top four in these Games). But it wasn’t a clear-cut victory for the Latin American republic (Witzig, 2006).

In the second time, Peru came back and won its match 4-2 after losing to Austria 2-0 in the first time in one of the most controversial games in the history of football (Mandell, 1971). Nonetheless, the Austrian delegation refused to recognize this triumph (Risolo, 2010). They said that Europe’s footballers were threatened by Peru’s attackers during the Olympic match (Murray & Murray, 1998).

Under pressure from Austria, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) pledged to hold other match (Campomar, 2014).

But the Peruvian dictatorship didn’t allow their countrymen to compete again. In an attempt to try to gain popularity within Peru, the nation’s strongman Oscar Raimundo Benavides forced the Peruvian Olympic Committee to agree to withdraw its delegation from the 1936 Berlin Games (Walters, 2012). Despite everything, Fernández was the second top scorer in the Olympic tournament with five goals, alongside Norway’s sportsman Arne Brustad. A year earlier, Lolo earned his first cap for Peru.

The tournament was won by Italy and was followed by Austria (silver medal), Poland (bronze), Norway (4th), Great Britain (5th),Germany (6th), Peru (7th), Japan (8th), Sweden (9th), USA (10th), Taiwan (11th), Egypt (12th), Hungary (13th), Turkey (14th), Finland (15th) and Luxembourg (last).

When the Olympian delegation arrived back in Lima, they were declared «national heroes» (El Comercio, 2009). In the next year, he married Elvira Fernández Meyer and had two children: Marina and Teodoro.

Lolo and the First Bolivarian Games

Despite missing the XI Olympiad in the German capital of Berlin, Fernández worked relentlessly to take part in the Olympic-type Bolivarian Games. The First Bolivarian Sports Games (one of the oldest multi-sport games of its kind) were held in Colombia’s capital of Bogota in 1938. At that year, all Limeans were anxious to see a national victory. Fortunately, there were good news. Fernández captained the Bolivarian winners by capturing the gold medal, providing a moment of enjoy for Peru’s population.

The 1938 men’s squad was the heavy gold medal favorite on Colombian soil. The victory was scored over squads from Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and the host nation. This accomplishment was greater than any previously achieved by the national squads. Ecuador was bronze and Bolivia won the silver medal.

Before and after the event, Fernández —his first international title outside his own land— brought his energy and passion to the national team.

Peru kicked off its campaign at Bogota’s Universitario Stadium,on August 8, when they beat Colombia 4-2 with goals of Pedro Ibañez (2), Lolo (1) and Teodoro Alcalde (1). In its second Bolivarian match, the Andean country slaughtered Ecuador 9-1 in a spectacular show of football— biggest margin of victory in the history of Peru’s soccer team. The best player was Alcalde (4 goals). On August 14, Peru blanked Bolivia 3-0. Lolo was the pivot of that game with two goals. This remarkable athlete knew what he needed to do to win the match.

On August 17,Venezuela was eliminated from the Games after losing to Peru 2-1. Before the Peruvian delegation left the stadium, they received a standing ovation.

Why one of Latin America’s Greatest Players Never Play in the FIFA World Cup?

Among Latin America’s greatest players during the first half of the 20th century, Fernández was the only one never to have appeared in a World Cup. There are different reasons why he could not compete in the global sporting event in the late 1930s and the 1940s. In 1938, the III World Cup was overshadowed by an Argentina-led boycott that was followed by almost all South American republics ( Reyna & Woitalla,2004). Officially, Peru did not participate in the international boycott, but it declined to send a delegation. SA boycotted that Cup in response to «Eurocentric policy» of FIFA. Europeans had hosted the last event and the next was scheduled to be held in France in that year. In the following decade, the world of sports was hard hit by World War II and the international events were canceled.

Lima: 1939 South American Championship

The year of 1939 saw a new hero in Latin America’s sport. A son of Cañete attracted admiration when he led Peru to win the (XV) South American Championship for the first time following a win against Uruguay, one of the powerhouses in the world of football since the 1910s. Four years ago, the national side failed to make the semis in the regional event at home. In 1937, Peru finished at the bottom of the six-team tournament.

The 1939 national side claimed the first place to defeat Uruguay 2-1 in the finals. It was a proud day for Peru. The country, under British coach Greenwell was a home grown champion (Campomar, 2014, Penguin). On paper, Uruguay’s background made it a strong opponent —three World Championships from 1924 to 1930, including two golds in the modern Olympics.

It was gratifying to see the progress that had made the national side, who were underdogs from the start. Thanks to this win, Peru became the four nation in the continent to win that event (after Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina), well ahead of Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, and Paraguay.

Fernández was the hero in the Continental Cup on his home soil— his second major international trophy. As well as winning the Most Valuable Player trophy, the Cañete-born striker was the top scorer.

The continental winners were Juan Humberto Valdivieso, Jorge Alcalde, Carlos Tovar, Teodoro Alcalde, César Socarraz, Alberto Baldovino, Pedro Reyes, Víctor Bielich, Juan Quispe, Segundo Castillo, Enrique Perales, Raúl Chapel, Pablo Pasache, Lolo Fernández, Adolfo Magallanes, Jorge Parró, Juan Honores, Pedro Ibañez, Arturo Fernández, Arturo Paredes, Rafael León and Feder Larios.

South American Championships

Back in the 1940s, Fernández, who was nicknamed «the Cannoneer» by the local media due to his aggressive style of play, was member of Peru’s national squad that competed in three South American championships. But he was less successful in these competitions.

Between February 2 and March 4, 1941, the Peruvian contingent participated in the international competition in Santiago (Chile). It was recognized as the unofficial SA Cup. Peru’s 22-man roster included: Gerardo Arce, Manuel Vallejos, Vicente Arce, César Socarraz, Teodoro Fernández, Juan Quispe, Alejandro González, Leopoldo Quiñones, Juan Honores, Carlos Portal, Marcial Hurtado, Enrique Perales, Guillermo Janneau, Roberto Morales, Orestes Jordán, Pedro Magán, Adolfo Magallanes, Máximo Lobatón, and Pedro Luna.

The men’s football tournament was marked by the presence of top-class athletes such as Lolo of Peru, Obdulio Varela of Uruguay, Sergio Livingstone from Chile, and Juan Andrés Marvezzi of Argentina.

The Bolivarian champions didn’t bring home any medals, but Fernández scored three goals and was ranked second to Marvezzi as the tournament’s most prolific scorer (sharing the honor with José Manuel Moreno from Argentina). His homeland’s squad placed fourth in the overall classification, ahead of Ecuador,in the five-team tournament, an event sponsored by the Chilean rule.

On February 9, the Peruvians were defeated by the host nation by a narrow margin (1-0). Shortly thereafter, Argentina won its match against Peru 2-1. The Argentine team was a powerful squad in the Americas and had gained two awards in 1937: The Soccer Pan American Cup in Dallas, Texas (U.S) and SA tournament (as a host country). On February 23, the squad’s star striker Lolo eliminated Ecuador 4-0 and obtained their first points. Fernández scored three goals. Three days later, his homeland’s team, however, could not win their last game. Uruguay won 2-0.The win helped avenge Uruguay’s 1939 loss to Peru.

By 1942, Fernández departed for Uruguay to attend the Latin American tournament (between January 10 and February 7), a year where Brazil was awarded the 1942 World Cup, but the event was cancelled. The men’s soccer of Peru placed a disappointing fifth on Uruguayan soil. The national side was represented by 22 players: Juan Quispe, Antonio Zegarra, Diego Agurto, Juan Soriano, Antonio Biffi, Leopoldo Quiñones, Alberto Delgado, Carlos Portal, Lolo Fernández, Enrique Perales, Luis Guzmán, Pablo Pasache, Teobaldo Guzmán, Tulio Obando, Juan Honores, Roberto Morales, Marcial Hurtado, Pedro Magán, Orestes Jordán, Adolfo Magallanes, Máximo Lobatón, and Pedro Luna.

Following an opening draw with Paraguay (1-1) at the XVIII South American Cup on January 18, Peru suffered defeats against Brazil (2-1) and Argentina (3-1).Over that time, the Brazilian side was a strong rival with a bronze medal in the 1938 global event after his international star Leonidas da Silva (known as the «Black Diamond») led Brazil to its first wins in a World Cup.

On January 28, the Peruvians dispatched Ecuador 2-1 at Montevideo’s Centenario Stadium, which is the nation’s symbol of sport. In the next days, they had drawn 0-0 with Chile after a 3-0 loss to Uruguay in the 65,000-seater Centenario Stadium, one of the most famous of all soccer stadiums around the globe. The Celeste —Spanish for sky blue due to the color of squad’s shirt— was all but unbeatable and it was seven-time winner of the SA Cup (1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926 & 1935) (Guevara & Chaname, 1998).

Lolo and his fellow sportsmen did not return to the regional championships until 1947. The Andean republic missed the next two international competitions (1945 & 1946).

In 1947, the Peruvian Soccer Federation sent a Lolo Fernández-led team to Guayaquil (Ecuador) to participate in the international meet. He and his fellow countrymen had drawn with Paraguay (2-2) and Ecuador (0-0), but there were two losses to Chile (2-1) and Argentina (3-2).

In front of over 20,000 persons, on December 20, 1947, Fernández played his last match on foreign soil at Guayaquil’s George Capwell when Peru made a tie of 0-0 with the host nation. He was on Peru’s South American Cup roster at the age of 34. Later on, Colombia —gold in men’s football at the 1946 Central American and Caribbean Games— was outclassed by a Peruvian side without its star Lolo (5-1).

In the 8-team tournament, the men’s side ranked fifth, behind Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay,and Chile. The country’s roster included 22 athletes: Guillermo Valdivieso, Rafael Asca, Carlos Torres, Guillermo Barbadillo, Luis Suárez, Félix Castillo, René Rosasco, Juan Castillo, Marín Reyna, Andrés da Silva, Domingo Raffo, Lolo Fernández, Enrique Perales, Carlos Gómez Sánchez, Lorenzo Pacheco, Máximo Mosquera, Alejandro González, Ernesto Morales, Luis Guzmán, Eliseo Morales, Cornelio Heredia, and Valeriano López.

In the wake of participating on Ecuadoran soil, Fernández no longer competed in the continental events.

Six National Championships From 1934 to 1949

Before embarking on a seven-month tour of Europe, Fernández was the most outstanding player in the 1932 National Cup with 11 goals. But that wasn’t enough to win the event. A total of eight clubs sent delegations: Alianza Lima, Sports Tabaco, Ciclista Lima, Sportive Union, Sport Progreso, Tarapacá Ferrocarril, Circolo Sportivo Italiano and Universitario.

Soccer became a national level when the domestic tournament began in the 1920s, making it one of the oldest events in the history of Peruvian sport.

By 1933, Universitario’s amateur side again made the final, but was runner-up and their star was top scorer for the second time in a row. Despite the loss, he had captured the attention of the spectators as no other sportsman when he produced nine goals in the men’s football national league.

After winning experience in European countries, Fernández and his fellow Peruvian athletes moved back to Lima to attend the 1934 domestic league. The youthful Universitario side reached the podium in the country’s top soccer division (Almanaque Mundial, 1977). Alianza Lima was extraordinary beaten by the Limean squad, beginning one of South America’s greatest derbies. AL and Lolo’s club are arch rivals and matches between two clubs are referred to as «El Clásico» (Newton, 2011). During that year, Fernández began to make a name for himself in the history of Peru’s football as he was the tournament’s top scorer.

The 1935 event was an event with five soccer clubs. It produced a surprise winner: Sport Boys. Fernández’s squad placed third.

By 1938, Universitario won the bronze medal. In the next year, the Limean side became one of the first clubs of Peru to appoint a foreign manager: Jack Greenwell of the United Kingdom. Under Geenwel’s guidance, Fernández and his fellow mates earned the national football league title with nine wins, three draws and two losses —improving on their third place finish in the past cup (Almanaque Mundial, 1977). Extraordinary, the Cañete-born athlete was the tournament’s dominant player in 1939 (Witzig, 2006).

In the wake of Fernández’s participation in the South American Cup, Universitario came close to a second successive tournament in 1940.

In 1941, the Lima-based club obtained the Peruvian trophy, after a series of home-and-home soccer matches. The Limean squad showed why it was one of the most powerful clubs on home soil. In the finals, there were wins over Atlético Chalaco (1-0) and Alianza Lima (3-1). The championship had been postponed for a while because of Peru’s participation in the South American Cup.

In the mid-1940s, Universitario came the attention when they won back-to-back national championships (Witzig, 2006). After breaking his own personal record of 15 goals in 1939, Lolo picked up a total of 16 goals in 1945. Curiously, these titles can be attributed to the Fernández family: Arturo, Eduardo and Lolo were members of that team.

Assembling one of the most powerful teams in the history of Peru’s football, Lima’s club earned the trophy in 1946. The key to the Peruvian club was the trio of Victor Espinoza, Eduardo and Lolo Fernández. Under a new system of qualifying matches, the Limean side obtained 11 wins.

Toward the end of his career, Lolo and his club recaptured the trophy: it defeated Atlético Chalaco 4-3 to claim the first place in the Peruvian Championship in 1949 (Almanaque Mundial, 1977). In that year, the club celebrated its 25th anniversary.

A Universitario Icon

In contrast to players from other parts of the world, Fernández was not an international player, being one of the few footballers who had stayed with one club (Universitario) his entire athletic career despite several offers from top clubs (including Racing club of Argentina, Peñarol of Uruguay and Colo Colo of Chile). He refused, citing his strong connections to Universitario. This club is one of the most-supported squads in Peru. Curiously, Lolo remains Universitario’s all-time goalscorer with 157 goals.

Fernández, at the age of 40, retired from the world of soccer in the early 1950s during a series of exhibition matches in a stadium built by the country’s head of state Manuel Odría. On August, 30, 1953, his team had a sensational victory over his traditional rival Alianza Lima (4-2). Here, Lolo scored a hat-trick, among the most notable of his more than 157 goals during his career with the Lima-based club.

Before an audience of some 30,000 spectators, Fernández played only six minutes with Universitario during a game against Centro Iqueño, the darkest day for Peru’s football. His presence was symbolic in a memorable event at Lima’s national stadium. He left the national stadium to a roaring ovation.

After retiring from soccer, he worked mostly with top junior soccer teams from Universitario.

After a battle with Alzheimer, on September 17, 1996, Lolo Fernández died in a Lima hospital at the age of 83. It was a great loss to South America’s sport.

Rivaled only by Teófilo Cubillas, he has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards both within and outside Peru, including a museum. The country’s legendary Olympian was immortalized by Lorenzo Humberto Soto Mayor, who wrote a song entitle «Lolo Fernández», a tribute to the Peruvian footballer. On October 27, 1952, the country’s ruler Odría conferred him the Sports Laurels, the highest sports award of Peru. In the early 1950s, the Universitario stadium was renamed in his honor (Witzig, 2006). Within Latin America, several sports-oriented magazines and Spanish-language newspapers have devoted many pages to Lolo.

Lolo Fernández died in the mid-1990s, but the legacy of this Olympic carries on. He was so advanced for his time and place. A man that always worked with love for his homeland country of Peru and a personal hero of mine.

Further Reading

(1)- Almanaque Deportivo Mundial 1977, Editorial América, Ciudad de Panamá, 1976 (Spanish)

(2)- Almanaque Deportivo Mundial 1976, Editorial América, Ciudad de Panamá, 1975 (Spanish)

(3)- Almanaque Guayaquil Total 2003, Editarsa, Guayaquil, 2002 (Spanish)

(4)- Campomar, Andreas. ¡Golazo!: A History of Latin American Football, Quercus, 2014

(5)- —————- Golazo!: The Beautiful Game From the Aztecs to the World Cup: The Complete History of How Soccer Shaped Latin America, Penguin, 2014

(6)- Dunmore, Tom. Historical Dictionary of Soccer, Scarecrow Press, 2011

(7)- «Fuimos Heroes». 170 Años Suplemento Especial, El Comercio, 4 de mayo del 2009 (Spanish)

(8)- Grasso, John. Historical Dictionary of Boxing, Scarecrow Press, 2013

(9)- Guevara Onofre, Alejandro & Chaname Orbe, Raúl. Enciclopedia Mundototal 1999, Editorial San Marcos, 1998 (Spanish)

(10)- Hill, Christopher. Hitler’s Olympics: The Berlin Olympic Games,The History Press, 2011

(11)- Loveman, Brian. For la Patria: Politics and the Armed Forces in Latin America, Rowman & Littlefield, 1999

(12)- Mandell, Richard D. The Nazi Olympics, University of Illinois Press, 1971

(13)- Murray, Bill & Murray, William. The World’s Game. A History of Soccer, University of Illinois Press, 1998

(14)- Newton, Paula. Viva Travel Guides Machu Picchu and Cusco, Viva Publishing Network, 2011

(15)- Parrish, Charles & Nauright, John. Soccer Around the World, ABC-CLIO, 2014

(16)- Risolo, Donn. Soccer Stories: Anecdotes, Oddities, Lore, and Amazing Feats, University of Nebraska, 2010

(17)- Reyna, Claudio & Woitalla, Michael. More Than Goals: The Journey From Backyard Games To World Cup Competition, Human Kinetics, 2004

(18)- Walters, Guy. Berlin Games: How Hitler Stole the Olympic Dream, Hachette UK, 2012

(19)- Witzig, Richard. The Global Art of Soccer, CusiBoy Publishing, 2006

Camiseta Inter De Milán 3ª Equipación 2019/2020 Noticias de Noticias Fútbol – Estadio deportivo.

FIFA’s recent award of the Ballon d’Or 2014 (World Player of the Year) to Cristiano Ronaldo proves that the accolade is more about politics and personal popularity than about performance on the field.

Although players from several nationalities are nominated and win the award, they always all play for European clubs while those active in other leagues such as in South America and Mexico are generally overlooked. The best player is chosen by players and managers based on favoritism rather than merit which often creates unworthy winners. Thus the award has lost its recognition and become the object of amusement and ridicule.

The Ballon d’Or was established by a magazine called France Football in 1956 to recognize the history-makers of the game. But that is not what it has turned out to be.

LA LIGA

Between January 1 and December 31, 2014 in this competition Lionel Messi scored 35 goals in 36 matches (11 with the right foot, 23 with the left and the other with the head) while Cristiano Ronaldo scored 38 but with less versatility as only 4 were with his head and unfavorable left foot.

In addition Messi created 97 chances, 24 more than any other player and completed 164 dribbles, 63 more than the nearest rival Iker Muniain of Atletico Bilbao (MAILOnline – Why Lionel Messi should win Ballon d’Or after a record-breaking year with Barcelona; by Kieran Gill, January 12, 2015).

EUROPE

Messi conquered the continent on November 25 when he became the all-time top goal scorer in the Champions League in Nicosia, Cyprus. It was his 23rd European city, his 16th European country and recorded the 24th different stadium in which he had scored (MAILOnline etc.)

WORLD CUP 2014

At soccer’s most important competition Messi led Argentina to the final, was voted Man of the Match in 4 games (the most of any player in the competition) and won the Golden Boot as the best player of the tournament.

He had the most impact on the competition. His goals were all match-winning goals which propelled Argentina to the final. He was the third joint highest goal scorer with 4 goals and 1 assist, created the most chances, had the most successful dribbling runs, made the most deliveries into the box and produced the most through balls of any player.

In contrast, Ronaldo was a non-factor and only scored a late goal against minnow Ghana and had an assist against the USA.

HISTORY MAKER

Messi’s performance in 2014 was what the Ballon d’Or is all about, namely, history-making performances. On March 16, he became Barcelona’s all-time top goal scorer (371). One week later he became the El Clasico (matches between Real Madrid and Barcelona) top goal scorer (21) with a hat- trick.

He scored his 400th career goal on September 27 against Granada and surpassed a 59-year-old record to become La Liga’s all-time top goal scorer (253) on November 22. Three days later he overtook Raul by scoring a hat-trick to become the top goal scorer in the history of the Champions League (74).

Given all these achievements one would think that of the three nominees Messi was the most deserving to win the award. Instead he not only lost to Ronaldo but he and the other nominee Manuel Neuer got less votes combined (31.48 %) than Ronaldo (37.66%).

In 2013 Ronaldo won nothing and Franck Ribery won everything but nevertheless Ronaldo beat him.

How can all this be explained?

POLITICS BEHIND THE VOTING

FIFA’s criteria call for national managers, captains and media officials to vote for the most outstanding performer of the previous twelve months.

Not unexpectedly players vote for their team-mates and compatriots. In the 2014 contest for example, Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) gave all three spots to Germans, Manuel Neuer, Phillip Lahm and Thomas Muller.

Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid) voted for his former team-mates Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois.

Vincent Kompany (Belgium) voted for team-mates Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard as the world’s two best players with Arjen Robben third.

The best example of the politics in all of this is illustrated by Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) who declared without giving a reason that he regretted voting for Ronaldo instead of his team-mate Neuer. This ‘change of heart’ can only be explained as coming from a player who wants to save face with team-mates in the dressing room rather than from a voter with any real conviction.

The same criticism applies to managers who only vote for national players. For example, Argentina’s manager Gerardo Martino gave all three places to his fellow countrymen namely, Lionel Messi, Angel di Maria and Javier Mascherano, Belgium coach Marc Wilmots voted for Belgian Thibaut Courtous for third place, Didier Deschamps (France) gave the final spot to French striker Benzema and Holland’s Guus Hiddink gave top honor to compatriot Arjen Robben.

Players will get a lot of votes if they are popular ‘with the boys’ and can play to the cameras to advertise commercial products. Those who defend the choice of Ronaldo as best player point to the fact that in the second half of 2014 he scored 32 goals. The problem is that 9 of those goals were penalties so his non-penalty goals were 23, the same amount as Messi who had no penalties. Ronaldo is nicknamed «Penaldo» because of his mastery of drawing and scoring penalties.

In a World Cup year such as 2014 your performance in that tournament is what defines you. On the world’s biggest stage Ronaldo was a nonfactor and his supporters excuse this by saying he was carrying an injury. If that is true that is unfortunate but injury is a misfortune, not a privilege and he can only be judged on actual performance and not on speculation as to what he might have achieved had he been fully fit.

The Player of the Year award has lost its authenticity. But it does not have to be so. It is not a personality or school prom contest. It is supposed to recognize performance on the field. Maybe the officials of FIFA should themselves become the judges, give more consideration to non-European clubs and use criteria like achievements and fair play to choose the winner. This would not be a perfect system but would be preferable to the present one which is deeply flawed and cannot be taken seriously.

Victor A. Dixon

January 18, 2015

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Rwanda —Welcome to London 2012

Sport is not a name associated with Rwanda, but by July 1996, the then war-torn nation (through the 70s, known as the «Switzerland of Africa» due to its extraordinary landscapes with lakes, rivers, and high mountains) made international headlines when it was represented by four athletes at the Atlanta Centennial Games. It was a memorable moment when Rwanda’s national contingent entered the Stadium, while behind them had a tiny country devastated by genocidal wars, killing fields, corruption, rapes, poverty, and killing of gorillas (the country’s national symbol). During the 1990-1996 civil conflict, over one million people were slaughtered.

Unlike its twin Burundi (which astonishingly won a gold medal in athletics at Atlanta’96), the Rwandan team did not win medals in Georgia, but they captured the hearts of people all around the globe through sport, becoming international heroes as occurred when the delegation of Bosnia Herzegovina came to Barcelona four years earlier. In fact, the country’s sportsmen gave a lesson of courage, determination, and Olympic spirit, after overcoming obstacles and setbacks to go to America. Without a doubt, runner Mathias Ntawulikura was one of them. With his eighth place in the men’s 10,000m (track & field), distance runner Ntawulikura had become the country’s most successful athlete on the Olympic stage (no other Rwandan athlete had ever reached the finals), followed by Marcianne Mukamurenzi, who placed 38th in the women’s marathon in Seoul in 1988.

In the Kingdom of Gorillas!

Traditionally, the country participates with distance runners and freestyle swimmers in the multi-sport event. In the meantime, it has not yet competed in team sports, such as football or basketball, in the Olympic Championships.

The Francophone nation of Rwanda, bordered by Burundi, RD of the Congo, Tanzania and Uganda, made its international debut in the event exactly in 1984 when the national delegation competed in the Games of the 23rd Olympiad in Los Angeles (CA). In the States, the landlocked nation of Rwanda -geographically it is the size of Maryland/Wales— was represented by one of the smallest athletic contingents of the Third World. It was a time when the African republic, independent since the early 1960s after being an absolutist monarchy for centuries, was ruled by Juvenal Habyarimana, a military warlord who came to power during a coup d’etat in the early 1970s.

Through the 1970s and 1980s, in many ways, the mountainous country —which has one of the world’s most delicious coffees– was a peaceful place and friendly land —unlike Uganda, Mozambique and Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe) at the time- despite being one of East Africa’s poorest republics.

In other aspects, this land began to be well-known worldwide for the mountain gorillas thanks to Dian Fossey’s works and articles, which were published in the prestigious National Geographic magazine. However, who could have imagined that Rwanda would be a war-torn country in the following decades.

Rwanda At the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games

Its second participation occurred in the 1988 Korea Olympiad, a year after attending the 1987 African Games. The Rwandan Olympic Committee sent a six-person team at Seoul, competing in athletics. On South Korean soil, Miss Mukamurenzi became one of the most successful national athletes at the Summer Olympics upon finishing 38th in the Second Women’s Olympian Marathon in October 1988. Historically, she was one of the two most respected runners in Africa’s Great Lakes region in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Aside from winning the 10,000 in the Regional Championships, she set two Rwandan records at that year. A year ago, she was runner-up to Leah Malot of Kenya in the women’s 10,000m in the 1987 Continental Games with a time of 33:58.55 and finished as one of the 27th best marathon runners in the World Tournament in Italy. In the early 1990s, she had her best performance when she was top ten in the Global Cup. Distance runner Mukamurenzi, on the other hand, trained in the altitude of Rwanda, a region ideal for runners and marathoners.

By 1992, four years later, in the Spaniard city of Barcelona, there were representatives in two sports: cycling and track and field, both traditional sports on Rwandan soil. With a total of 10 sportsmen and women, the 1992 national team is the largest delegation in country’s Olympic history.

In the quadrennial Olympic Games in Sydney (Australia) in 2000, there were national participants in athletics and swimming. There, the country’s sporting idol Ntawulikura made his fourth consecutive participation, leaving an important legacy for Rwanda’s Olympic system. In the next Summer Games, the nation’s sports officials sent runners and swimmers to Athens (Greece). By 2008, once again Rwanda’s athletic team competed in aquatics and track and field and was one of the smallest delegations on Earth in the multi-sport event in China mainland.

By July 2012, the Rwandan Olympic Committee plans to send a small delegation, integrated by four/five athletes, to the United Kingdom. Up to now, Jean Pierre Mvuyekure, a marathoner runner, and Adrien Niyonshuti, a cyclist, have qualified for the 2012 London Games. Rwanda’s cycling did not compete in the Games since 1992. Meanwhile, the landlocked nation could also compete in sports such as boxing, judo, and swimming. Currently, Mr. Fred Yannick Sekamana is by far the most outstanding athlete in the Francophone republic. Like most African athletes, this judoka lives and trains in France.

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Having won last season’s edition, Manchester United FC lead the entries for the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League, which will conclude on Wednesday 27 May 2009 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome; the question that rises is «can they repeat?»

Last season Manchester United could say they questionable had their best season for an extensive, lengthy time. Cristiano Ronaldo (Premier League top scorer and World player of the year) and Wayne Rooney helped win two big titles, the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. Both made millions of Euros.

The question this year will be in what order the ‘big four’ will be positioned. Can any team break into the elite group of clubs that are dominating English football? I will say it is possible!! Looking further down the league; can the newly promoted teams survive in the Premier League? Why not! They are prepared already.

Look at the ‘big four’. Manchester United has not brought any new bodies in (not that they need) but have lost someone significant, Tony Coton. Why will Coton be missed? Simple, best goalkeeping coach Manchester United has ever had and despite the fact the knee injury retired him for good, he will be someone to look for advice in a future.

Man Utd has survived the ‘Ronaldo saga’ and live to fight another day. All in all it has been a quiet summer for Manchester United. Alex Ferguson has said over the last few days that he hopes to sign an elite player soon (the name Robinho keeps popping in my head).

I don’t like to predict, but would expect Man Utd to be in the top two or I can foresee the future and say injuries could play a roll. Why? Well, besides the fact that this championship is being played in a «battle field» any injuries to key men like Ronaldo, Rooney or Tevez may mean they could struggle to score goals, has happened before; this was a problem that did occur at times last season, but like earlier mentioned, Ferguson is tracking a striker and this could put an end to any apparent flaw in the squad.

Now, how much is Chelsea willing to risk winning this year? Well, Scolari, Deco, Porto… need I say more? Of course I do, what about the dramatic change in tactics. Chelsea is going all the way, so don’t be surprised to see them playing another UEFA final game against Manchester United once again. Maybe you are wondering «will Chelsea focus more on the Champions League instead of the Premier League?» That sort of rational could ambition the title near Manchester.

Manchester United is with no doubt on top of the pile, not only locally, but on the European front. The current crop of players is certainly the finest manager Sir. Alex Ferguson has had at his retention in his twenty-two year influence, but who of the pretenders can make a strong claim as being genuine contenders this season? Will the ‘Big Four’ charge further away, or can others shorten the gap?

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Good Luck for London 2012!

1896 The States was one of the first 13 countries to send an athletic delegation to the Summer Games – among the world’s most high-profile sporting events– on Greek soil. This year was a key moment for the global’s sport.

1896 In Athens, the United States of America became the leading sports country of the world after finishing first in unofficial team standings in the First Modern Olympiad. There, the 1896 U.S. Olympic squad earned a total of 20 medals: 11 gold, 7 silver, and 2 bronze. Meanwhile, Boston-born James B. Connolly was the first person to claim a gold medal in Olympic history after winning the triple jump in Athens’ Panathinaiko Stadium. Back home in Boston, Mr. Connolly was given a hero’s welcome. Since 1896 -without interruption– America has been renowned for producing international champs.

1896 Thomas Burke’s rise to prominence came in Athens when he was the first winner of the men’s 100m in Olympian history, making him the world’s fastest sprinter. Mr. Burke was identified with the emerging generation of American athletes in the late 1890s when he realized his dream of winning the Olympic gold.

1896 What hurdler was the first American athlete to win an Olympic title? Answer: Thomas Curtis, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology student. He made a time of 17,6 seconds to win the gold in the men’s 110m hurdles in Greece.

1900 With 47 international medals (19 gold, 14 silver, and 14 bronze), the States once again became one of the world’s elite sports powers in the multi-sport event in Paris (France).

1900 Alvin Kraenzlein was in the spotlight as he, a born-athlete, led American team to win four golds in Paris: 60m, 110m hurdles, 200m hurdles, and long jump. To prepare himself to become an outstanding sportsman, the United States hurdler made his first overseas visit to the United Kingdom. Hailing from Milwaukee (Wisconsin), Kraenzlein was the American star in the Games of the Second Olympiad, followed by Ray Ewry (3 golds), Margaret Ives Abbot (first female in US history to capture an Olympian championship), and Irving Baxter (2 golds), among other high-profile athletes. On the other hand, Kraenzlein’s life has been an inspiration to several sports people in Wisconsin and the States.

1904 St. Louis (MO) was the site for the Games of the Third Olympiad. Unequivocally, the 1904 Olympics were in the focus of the attention of the world press.

1904 In the Olympic diving tournament in Missouri, the Americans swept the first three positions.

1904 Pittsburgh-born runner James Lightbody was the winner of the men’s 800m and 1,500m–He was the first male to win both these competitions at the same Olympics. Shortly afterward, he took a number of other major athletic titles, including the Intercalated Games in Greece.

1904 The host country’s team -made up of four stars: Herman T. Glass, Edward Hennig, Anton Heida, George Eyser- claimed first in the gymnastics tournament at the III Olympiad in St. Louis (MO).

1908 At the IV Summer Olympics in London (England), the US Olympic team was ranked second in the medal count -23 golds, 12 silvers, 12 bronzes-behind only Britain.

1908 With three wins (800m, 1500m and medley relay), New Jersey’s runner Mel Sheppard had an exceptional year in the Briton capital of London.

1912 Oklahoma-born Jim Thorpe won both the decathlon and pentathlon in the Summer Games at Stockholm, Sweden. Decades later, many sportswriters and sports experts selected Thorpe as both «the greatest football player and male athlete of the first half of the 20th Century».

1912 With three gold medals in the shooting tournament, New York City-born Alfred Lane became America’s most successful athlete at the V Summer Olympics on Scandinavian soil.

1912 Two future personalities competed in the Games in Sweden: Firstly, Avery Brundage in pentathlon-elected President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC); the first U.S. sports leader to occupy the post. Secondly, George S. Patton, General during World War II.

1920 At the Summer Olympic Games in Antwerp (Belgium), the States became undisputed champion when it was first in the medal standings with 95 medals. The U.S. team had more than 40 Summer Olympic Games Champions.

1920 In Belgium, Duke Kahanamoku earned the men’s 100m freestyle for the second time in a row. For the past four years, Hawaii’s sporting icon became the first islander to conquer the coveted title (Stockholm Games) and was a national-class swimmer in the States. Prior to 1916, the untapped athlete moved between his home, Hawaii, and frequent swimming events in the continental United States, where his only goal was to train to become the world’s fastest swimmer. There, he gained the national trials, capturing tickets for the Summer Olympics. As well as being one of the most outstanding swimmers on Earth since 1912, Duke Kahanamoku reintroduced the sport of surfing to the western world- he turned it into a great national passion in the continental U.S. Like Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop and the performer Don Ho, his immense personal popularity added to Hawaii’s international fame.

1924 In the Olympics in Paris, France, America’s strong squad was first in the medal count with 99 – 67 medals more than Finland (second in the Games).

1924 The US water polo team took third place in the international competition, becoming the first American squad to be medalist in the Olympiad.

1924 After gaining four golds, America’s sportsmen became champion in the free-style wrestling tournament in the Games of the VIII Olympiad in Paris. The winners were Robin Read, Russel Vis, John Spellman, and Harry Steele.

1924 The United States swimmer Albert White quickly established himself as the «undisputed champ» in the Olympian Diving Tournament in France, winning golds in both springboard and platform diving.

1928 During the IX Olympiad in the Netherlands, the States was the leading nation in the medal count, earning 22 global titles -12 more than Germany.

1928 Pennsylvania’s Olympic ambassador Johnny Weissmuller won the 100m freestyle for the second time in a row in Amsterdam (Holland/Netherlands). He was one of the top favorites to win the title. Over a sporting career that spanned more than 10 years, he obtained 52 national championships and five Olympian golds. Likewise, he set 67 world records in the States and Western Europe. After stepping down as swimmer, he became a top movie star in Hollywood and co-starred with such prominent actresses as Brenda Joyce and Maureen O’Sullivan.

1928 Elizabeth Robinson had the distinction of being the first female to win the 100m (track & field) in the IX Summer Olympics.

1932 The Games of the X Olympiad were held in Los Angeles (CA)-for the second time in the history of the United States (St. Louis, 1904).

1932 World-class athletes led the US delegation to win the Los Angeles Games: 103 medals! -well ahead of Italy (36). Among Summer Olympic stars: Jesse Owens (track and field), Jim Bausch (decathlon, athletics), Edward Flynn (boxing), Michael Galitzen (diving)…

1932 The home country took third place in the Water Polo Championship, earning a bronze. The local team gained that distinction by beating Japan and Brazil.

1932 America’s Olympian decathlon champion Jim Bausch obtained the James R. Sullivan Memorial Trophy as the top Olympic athlete. Few were surprised when he received that award.

1936 Despite a troubled relationship with the Germany of Adolf Hitler, Washington dispatched a national contingent to Berlin, home to the XI Games.

1936 Alabama-born Jesse Owens captured America’s attention by earning four world titles in Berlin— 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay, as well as the long jump. As a result of this, the United States sprinter was one of the globe’s most high-profile athletes in the 20th Century. This man is of great historical significance for America. Why? His big performance came at a time when there were fewer black athletes in the global sports arena, breaking down the barriers of prejudices, and occurred with the political backdrop of Germany’s Nazi regime. During Owens’ days as sprinter and long jumper, he became a symbol of the struggle against racism.

1936 The U.S. men’s soccer squad did not qualify for the second round after being eliminated by Italy-the world’s top-ranked team — but they finished 10th in the Olympic tournament, ahead of Taiwan, Egypt, Hungary, Turkey, Finland, and Luxembourg.

1936 The United States -a basketball-mad nation– placed first in the Inaugural men’s basketball championship in Germany, a feat they repeated from 1948 and ’68. The U.S delegation captured the universal trophy by beating Mexico (25-10) in the semis and then Canada (19-8) in the gold-medal match. On their way to win the event, the North American nation also defeated Estonia (52-28) in the second round and Philippines (56-23) in the quarter-finals.

1936 Glenn Morris, a native of Simla (Colorado), made headlines around the world when he obtained the James R. Sullivan Memorial Trophy as the top Olympic athlete in the States.

1940-1944 The Games were cancelled due to World War II.

1948 The United States received 23 golds in the Games of the 14th Olympiad in London, Great Britain, winning the unofficial team championship. In the meantime, in New York City, America’s win set off a wave of explosive emotion as it was announced on nationwide radio.

1948 In the United Kingdom, the young American Bob Mathias, who hails from Tulare (California), began to make a name for himself in track and field when he finished first in the decathlon with 7,139 points.

1948 The US basketball team claimed first place in the London 1948 Olympic basketball tournament, earning the title and allowing they to compete in the next Olympics in Scandinavia.

1948 Surprisingly Porter William led a United States sweep in the men’s 110-meter hurdles.

1948 Unbeaten in the decathlon, Robert Mathias –invariably known to his friends as «Bob»— earned the James E. Sullivan Memorial Trophy. He gained a gold medal the XIV Olympiad and those of the XV Olympiad in 1952.

1952 At the Helsinki Games, the United States delegation took first place in team standing by winning 40 global titles.

1952 With four trophies, America’s sportsmen finished first in the weightlifting competition in the 15th Summer Games in the Finnish capital of Helsinki, defeating the Soviet Union in the medal count.

1952 Pennsylvania’s runner Horace Ashenfelter was the first American runner to gain a gold medal in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase in Finland.

1952 The States captured a gold in basketball in the XV Olympics, giving the US squad access to compete in the upcoming men’s Olympic Games basketball championship in Australia in the mid-1950s.

1952 Upon winning an Olympic trophy in the men’s javelin throw in Scandinavia, Cy Young was the first person in America’s sporting history to receive that honor.

1955 Looking ahead to the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, the US Olympic Committee sent an important delegation (spearheaded by its top athlete Patricia McCormick) to Pan American Games in the Mexican metropolis—Among whom were the future Olympic winners: Rafer Johnson (decathlon), Parry O’Brien (shot put), Mildred McDaniel (women’s high jump), Huelet Benner (shooting), and Charles Vince (weightlifting).

1956 Norma Armitage, a fencer, was the flag-bearer for America’s fourteenth Olympian delegation at the 16th Olympiad at Melbourne, (Australia).

1956 The United States team took first place in the basketball tournament at the Melbourne Olympics following its impressive string of triumphs in the 1954 World Championships and 1955 Pan American Sports Games.

1956 Patricia McCormick gained two global titles (her fourth Olympian gold) in the diving championship at the Australia Summer Games, becoming a regional hero. Previously to her wins in Oceania, she had collected two golds in the Helsinki Olympiad and three women’s Pan American titles in 1951 and 1955. Hailing from Seal Beach (California), she was one of the most respect female divers in the world sports community in the 1950s.

1959 Santa Monica-born Parry O’Brien –who lived his dream of becoming an Olympic champ in 1952 and 1956 — earned the Sullivan award as the country’s top amateur athlete.

1960 In the Games of the XVII Olympiad in Italy’s capital, Rome, Wilma Rudolph was known worldwide by her triumphs in athletics — 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay.

1960 The national team won the men’s basketball tournament in Rome after losing to Brazil in the gold-medal match at the 1959 World Championship.

1960 Louisville-born Cassius Marcellus Clay Junior gained the gold medal in the Games of the Olympiad in Rome-This boxer was a fierce athlete (both amateur and professional) in every arena he competed, giving an extraordinary example for America’s sportsmen and women. In the wake of his victory on Italian soil, he turned pro at the age of 18. Afterwards, by the 70s, he was regarded as the greatest boxer of all time by many international sportswriters. He converted to Islam, changing his name to Muhammad Ali in the mid-1960s.

1964 At the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, the US contingent captured 90 medals – 36 gold, 26 silver, 28 bronze– winning the first place in the unofficial team championships.

1964 The non-favorite runner Bob Schul came in first in the men’s 5,000m (track and field) in Japan, being the first American to do so since it was included as one of the official sports in the First Olympic Games in 1896.

1964 At the Tokyo Games, Billy Mills was the first person in America’s sporting history to take a gold medal in the 10,000meters since 1908 when men’s 10,000m became a medal sport.

1964 The men’s basketball team defeated the USSR/Soviet Union for their sixth straight Olympic Cup (1936-1964) after failed to make the top three in the men’s basketball World Championship in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

1968 America’s sports system produced several Olympic champions and future new stars in the XIX Mexico City Games, defeating the USSR in the medal count. The States won 45 golds.

1968 New York’s Bob Beamon set a long jump world of 29 feet 2 ½ inches, earning the Olympic title in the Mexican metropolis—which stood until 1991.

1968 Despite being considered a strong contender to earn golds in men’s swimming, Mark Spitz only won two Olympic titles in the United Mexican States, but that was a prelude to his «big win» in the next Olympiad in West Germany.

1968 The U.S men’s basketball side, among the globe’s most high-profile sports teams, obtained the gold for the seventh time in a row during the Mexican Games.

1968 America’s discus thrower Al Oerter made Olympic history to win his fourth consecutive gold (from Melbourne 56 to Mexico 68).

1972 World-class swimmer Mark Spitz made international headlines in the Munich Olympics after winning seven golds: 100m frestyle, defeating 47 competitors from 29 countries and territories; 200m freestyle, with a victory over his fellow athlete Steve Genter; 100m butterfly, first among 39 swimmers from 29 nations; 200m butterfly, finished first over his countryman Gary Hall; 4x100m freestyle, alongside David Edgar, John Murphy & Jerry Heidenreich; 4x200m freestyle, with his fellow Americans John Kinsella, Frederick Tyler, and Steve Genter; 4×100 medley, with Mike Stam, Bruce Tom, and Heidenreich. On the other hand, America’s coach James Counsilman was the «hand behind» the victory of his compatriot Spitz.

1972 While America’s elite swimmer Mark Spitz made Olympic history in the Summer Olympics at West Germany’s city of Munich, the basketball national team failed to earn the Olympian championship for the first time, after losing to the Soviet Union, led by its star and future famer Sergei Belov. Since 1936, the US squad went undefeated to win the Olympian championship.

1972 Olga Connolly –a gold medalist Olympic athlete for Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic since 1993) in 1956- was named as the flag bearer of the US Olympic delegation at the Opening Ceremony of the Summer Olympics at Munich, West Germany.

1972 Finishing ahead of the world’s top four runners — among these were Ethiopia’s Mamo Wolde and Japan’s Kenji Kimihara– Frank Shorter, a gold medal-winning marathoner at the VI Pan American Games in 1971, stunned West Germany by becoming the first American to gain the marathon since John H. Hayes in 1908.

1976 The women’s basketball squad of America earned the Pre-Olympic Cup in the Canadian city of Hamilton, qualifying for the Games of the Olympiad in Montreal. In Canada, that winning team defeated such teams as Cuba (89-73), Mexico (80-57), France (79-59), Poland (84-66), and Bulgaria (76-75).

1976 With Darrell Pace and Luann Ryon, the States finished first in the archery competition in the XXI Summer Olympics at Montreal, Canada.

1976 Surprisingly, with a world record of 49,99 seconds, Jim Montgomery captured the men’s 1oom in the Olympic Swimming Tournament. He achieved his greatest success at Montreal after gaining a bronze medal in the 100m at the II FINA World Championships in Cali, Colombia (South America), in July 1975.

1976 America’s charismatic athlete Bruce Jenner defeated West Germany’s Guido Kratschmer and Nikolai Avilov from the Soviet Union -winner at Munich’72– to earn the decathlon with 8.618 points. During his brief stayed in Montreal, he was regarded as one of the «most popular athletes» by sportswriters and Canadian fans. Upon his win, he became the face of the Summer Olympics during the 1970s.

1976 Women’s basketball debuted in the Olympiad with the US squad gaining a silver medal.

1979 As a warm-up to the 1980 Moscow Olympics, America’s sportsmen and women competed at the VII Soviet Spartakiad,between July 21 and August 5, 1979, in the Russian capital of Moscow–the world’s largest multi-sport event in the 70s.

1980 The world of sport was mourning the death of Jesse Owens-who had hundreds of fans outside the United States.

1980 After capturing the FIBA Seoul World Championship and the William Jones Cup on Taiwan, the women’s basketball side obtained a spot at the Moscow Olympics following a historic win over the host nation 76-75 in the World Olympic Qualification at Varna, Bulgaria.

1980 The men’s soccer squad made an unexpected returned to the Olympic scene when they qualified for the Moscow, but the American could not go the USSR.

1980 At the request of President Jimmy Carter,the U.S. Olympic Committee decided to boycott the Moscow Games after a votation, becoming a project against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and then followed by 60 other governments and anti-Soviet rulers –as Albania’s Maoist chairman Enver Hoxha– around the globe. It was a major blow to America’s Olympian sport.

1980 Ahead of the Moscow Games, the American team were planning to spend many days training in West Germany.

1983 With the leadership of the future Hall of Fame player Michael Jordan, the American basketball team claimed first in the IX Pan American Sports Games at Venezuela, the most important pre-Olympic event in the Western Hemisphere.

1983 In preparing for its upcoming event -Los Angeles ’84, the U.S. Olympic Committee sent five future Olympian champs to the Venezuelan capital of Caracas to compete in the Pan American Boxing Tournament. They were Henry Tillman (heavyweight), Jerry Page (lt.welterweight), Pernell Whitaker (lightweight), Steve McCrory (flyweight), and Paul Gonzalez (super heavyweight).

1984 The Kremlin and its satellites in the developing world – the likes of Laos and the backed-Soviet Angola– and Eastern Europe decided not to participate in the Los Angeles Games. Similarly, four anti-American states, Albania, Burkina Faso, Libya and the Islamic republic of Iran, declined to send athletes to these Olympics. By contrast, Guinea, Guyana, Madagascar, Nicaragua, Romania, Seychelles, and Yugoslavia –states with difficult ties to Washington-competed at Los Angeles’84.

1984 Los Angeles (CA) was transformed into an «Olympic paradise» with the famous Olympic Stadium as backdrop. The largest city of America’s western coast, hosted the Summer Games for the second time, regarded as one of the greatest multi-sport events in Olympian history despite an international boycott.

1984 Guyanese-born Innis Jennifer became the first naturalized American to compete in the women’s long jump in the Olympics. As a United States athlete, she was runner-up in the Pan American Games at Indianapolis in late 1987. While competing for Guyana -an Anglophone republic on the South American continent– she placed 13th in the 1980 Olympiad. Jennifer’s athletic career dates from the time when she went abroad to compete in the 1979 Pan American Games.

1984 Edwin Moses came in first in the men’s 400m hurdles, capturing its second Olympian title. Curiously, he won all his races between 1977 and 1987.

1984 In California, the American track-and-field athlete Valerie Brisco-Hooks defeated the up-and-coming Florence Griffith Joyner to win the 200 meters. Brisco-Hooks also was the winner of the women’s 400m-she was the first sportswoman to earn both these competitions at the same Olympic Games.

1984 The 1984 U.S. Olympic team came close to winning the water polo gold after losing to Yugoslavia -an ex champion in 1968– in the finals.

1984 After being runner-up in the 1976 Montreal tournament, the US women’s team gained the III basketball championship in the Los Angeles Olympiad, securing a berth in the 1988 Olympiad in South Korea. The North American squad was one of the world’s most high-profile teams, attending every Olympic event from 1984 onwards.

1984 At Los Angeles, Mary Lou Retton won a gold medal in women’s gymnastics, becoming the first US women to do so. Aside from that, she won five 1984 Olympic medals.

1984 Surprisingly, Joan Benoit was the first person to gain the inaugural women’s marathon at Los Angeles by defeating Grete Waitz of Norway and Rosa Mota of Portugal (both world-class runners).

1984 America’s handball players participated in women’s tournament– It was the first appearance for the US side on the Olympic stage.

1988 At the United States Olympic Track and Field Trials at Indianapolis, California’s sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner, under Bobby Kersee’s watchful eye, lowered the previous world record of 10,76 seconds (established by her fellow team-mate Evelyn Ashford) in the 100m four times -a 10.60, 10.49, 10.71, and 10.61.

1988 Surprisingly, the men’s basketball team of America –often the favorites to obtain the competition-earned a bronze medal. In the last global tournament in Spain, by 1986, the national team placed first by defeating the Soviet Union.

1988 Astonishingly, America’s top swimmer Matt Biondi lost to Suriname’s Anthony Conrad Nesty in the men’s 100m butterfly.

1988 After finishing second in the women’s 200m in the Games of the 23rd Olympiad on US soil in 1984, Griffith Joyner became the globe’s fastest woman when she obtained three golds in the Seoul Games:100m, 200m and 400-meter relay. She added a silver medal in the 1,600-meter relay. But that wasn’t all. On September 29, 1988, she broke the world record twice in the women’s 200m — 21.56s (semi-finals) and 21.34s (finals). At the medalist’s press conference following his victory in South Korea, she said: «When you’ve been second-best for so long, you can either accept it, or try to become the best. I made the decision to try and be the best in 1988». As well as being named as the «sportswoman of the year» by sportswriters, sports comentators, and other experts in Western Europe and the States, she was praised in the Communist-controlled newspapers in the Soviet Union. By the end of the year, she obtained the 1988 Sullivan Award.

1992 John Smith, Kevin Jackson, and Bruce Baumgartner were the first American wrestlers to capture golds in non boycotted Olympic events since 1972.

1992 The so-called «Dream Team» made its long-awaited international debut in the Games of the 25th Olympiad in the Spaniard city of Barcelona, after beating Angola (African champion) 116-48. Later on, the team became Olympic champion. The US delegation included the NBA stars Patrick Ewing, Magic Johnson, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Chris Mullin, Clyde Drexler, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, Larry Bird, and the young-up-and-coming player Christian Laettner. From the beginning, the American side was the «big favorite» by the media in Spain. Four years earlier, the 1988 U.S. Olympic squad-made up of American collegians– claimed third in the Olympiad -its worst result since 1972-previously they had a bad year in the pre-Olympic year of 1987 when the North American team losing to Brazil in the gold-medal match during the X Pan American Games in Indianapolis (IN). At the time, under Soviet/East German pressure (during Cold War, exactly), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) refused to accept professionals in the multi-sport events. Nonetheless, by 1989, the IOC ruled that professional athletes were eligible to participate in the Summer Olympics (1992-).

1992 The 19-year-old boxer Oscar de la Hoya, nicknamed «Golden Boy», gained the Olympian lightweight boxing title, upon a win over Marco Rudolph (Germany) in the finals–America’s only boxing gold in the 25th Olympiad,

1992 Evelyn Ashford qualified for the Olympics for the fifth time (from Montreal’76 to Barcelona’92).

1992 After not even qualifying for the 1988 South Korea Games, New Mexico-born Trent Dimas was the first American gymnast to become an Olympian champ during the Post-Cold War era.

1996 Kentucky-born Muhammad Ali-the Greatest– lit the cauldron for the Centennial Games in Atlanta, giving one of the more memorable moments in the Summer Games.

1996 After capturing the gold in the men’s long jump by defeating James Beckford of Jamaica, Carl Lewis, whose career spanned three decades, earned his ninth Olympic gold medal. Due to these trophies, he was considered one of the 20th Century’s greatest athletes. He began to represent the States in the international meets in July 1979 as he attend the VIII Pan American Games on Puerto Rico in July 1979-at the time Carl Lewis was an pre-Olympic hopeful.

1996 The men’s soccer team competed in the Games after being absent for two editions -Seoul’88 & Barcelona’92.Nonetheless, they placed ninth — the nation’s best result!

1996 The U.S women’s soccer team, one of the most popular squads on the North American continent, won the Olympic Cup at the Atlanta Games, the first time women’s soccer was included in the Summer Olympics. As host nation and medalist in the last global championship in Scandinavia, the U.S. team was the heavy favorite to gain the Olympic contest, well ahead of Norway’s side (the current world champ). Meanwhile, the backbone of America’s undefeated 1996 championship squad, Mia Hamm was the most outstanding player.

2000 Rulon Gardner defeated three-time Olympic champ Aleksadr Karelin of Russia -known during Cold War’s time as the Soviet Union/USSR — to win the Greco-Roman super heavy-weight final; Karelin had never lost an international championship. Gardner is widely regarded as the most remarkable wrestler in history of the US Olympic wrestling team.

2000 Baseball history was made in the Summer Games when the US side received the gold by defeating Cuba.

2000 The US women’s team finished first in the Sydney Olympic softball tournament, earning the gold. In the finals, they defeated Japan in extra innings, 2-1.

2004 The US took first place at the 2004 Athens, capturing 103 medals (35 gold, 39 silver, 27 bronze).

2004 Astonishingly, America’s basketball players won the bronze medal in the men’s Olympic championship, behind Argentina (gold) and Italy (silver). In Athens, the national squad was considered a strong contender to earn the event.

2004 Steven Lopez, whose parents are from Nicaragua (Central America), won a gold medal in taekwondo for the second time in a row. With two golds between 2000 (lightweight) and 2004 (middleweight category), he is the greatest American taekwondo fighter of all time.

2008 America’s soccer players obtained their Olympic ticket for men’s tournament in Beijing 2008.

2008 President George W. Bush made a special trip to the People’s Republic of China to attend the Summer Games.

2008 With special pride, Lopez Lomong –a former refugee during Sudan’s civil war 1983-2005– accepted to carry the American flag in the four-and-a-half-hour-long opening ceremonies of the Summer Games in Beijing’s National Stadium.

2008 After many disappointing years in which the States repeatedly lost the big events – 2004 Olympiad, 2006 FIBA World Cup (third ), 2007 Pan American Games (5th place), the national team won the basketball tournament.

2008 Maryland-born swimmer Michael Phelps shocked the world by winning eight Olympics golds in Beijing, China’s capital. This sports star — whose supporters number among them President George W. Bush– won the 200m individual medley, the 400m individual m, the 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 200m freestyle, the 4x100m freestyle relay, the 4x200m freestyle relay, and the 4x100m medley relay–breaking the 36 -year-old record of Mark Spitz. His victory in the Asian country was the subject of considerable media attention and was the most recognize face on the planet in 2008. The United States athlete is the most decorated sportsman in Olympian history.

2012 America’s modern democracy and political-economic system has produced a host of top-class athletes since 1896 (not as a political propaganda as occurred in the former Soviet Bloc): Alvin Kraenzlein (1900), Mark Spitz (1972), Mary Lou Retton (1984), and Greg Louganis (1984-1988), among other high-profile sports figures. Unlike many countries around the world, its sportsmen and women are lionized by their compatriots. In fact, they are Goodwill Ambassadors. At London 2012, the States might send 580 athletes, having strong chances in several sports as athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, gymnastics, swimming, tennis, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and wrestling. In the last FINA World Aquatics Championships at Shangai, China, for example, the US delegation captured 17 golds with sports stars like Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Rebecca Soni, Jessica Hardy and Missy Franklin. Meanwhile, in the 2011 Athletics Global tournament, there were 12 winners from America.

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