Flashback: No 2: Italy 1934: Pozzo's victory overshadowed by Mussolini

Saul Brookfield
Friday 21 May 2010 19:00 EDT
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(Getty Images)

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Vittorio Pozzo, the coach of Italy, is carried aloft by his victorious players after the Azzurri won the 1934 World Cup by beating Czechoslovakia 2-1 in the final in Rome.

Pozzo, the only coach to have won two World Cups after Italy retained the trophy four years later, was a hard taskmaster but also a tactical innovator, developing Herbert Chapman's methods at Arsenal to forge his all-conquering side.

Unfortunately, the 1934 success for the hosts was seized upon for propaganda purposes by Benito Mussolini's fascist regime and doubts persist about some of the refereeing during the tournament. Most notorious is Italy's quarter-final against Spain when the legendary goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora was fouled in the build-up to Italy's equaliser in a 1-1 draw and was unable to play in the replay.

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