Brawls and broken noses: how Brazil’s 1954 World Cup campaign sparked uproar

The Seleção had high hopes before heading to Switzerland but the ‘Battle of Berne’ quarter-final ended in a riot

The fallout from the defeat to Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup final overshadowed Brazil’s buildup to Switzerland. Some of the Brazilian press had labelled the national team “bottlers” and what many saw as their inability to perform in crunch games had become a preoccupation.

The pressure had eased a little after the Seleção went unbeaten on their way to clinching the Campeonato Pan-Americano in 1952 – Brazil’s first tournament win on foreign soil. But losing the deciding match to Paraguay in the Sul-Americano the following year raised more questions over the team’s temperament. Alfredo Moreira Júnior had replaced Flávio Costa as manager. Zezé, as he was known, made fewer than 50 appearances as a midfielder at Flamengo, Palestra Itália (now Palmeiras) and Botafogo but would go on to clock up a staggering 474 games as Fluminense coach over several spells from the 1950s to the early 70s – a record that still stands today. Zezé was famed for being one of the country’s early strategists and tried to bring some balance to the Brazil squad that had fired in an impressive 22 goals in the World Cup in 1950 but were suspect at the back. The coach toyed with zonal marking, which made Brazil’s defence a little tighter but reduced their firepower.