1950 FIFA World Cup: the silence at the Maracanã

"The Maracanã did not erupt. It collapsed into a silence so total that players later said they could hear their own breathing. Brazil, a country built on music, had no music left. When the English referee George Reader signaled the end of the match, a black cloud fell over the stadium, and it became lifeless, like a cemetery. It was reported later that eight Uruguayans died that day, and several Brazilians committed suicide. In the hours that followed, the city dimmed. Radios went quiet. Celebrations dissolved into stunned stillness. Some fans never made it home. Others wandered the streets as if emerging from a natural disaster."

read article by CESAR CHELALA

1950 FIFA World Cup: the silence at the Maracanã | Meer