Greatest Games: Chile 2 Italy 0, 1962

On Greatest Games this week, Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller are joined by Cecilia Lagos to remember the 1962 World Cup group stage tie between hosts, Chile, and two-time World champions, Italy – the ‘Battle of Santiago’.

David Coleman’s introduction to the BBC’s broadcast of this game is the stuff of legends – “The game you are about to see is the most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football in the history of the game…” it began. 

Ceci, Jonathan and Marcus remember the remarkable events which unfolded just months after an earthquake devastated the host nation and were stirred by the comments of two European journalists.

About the panel:

Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to a number of publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored  Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others. 

Marcus Speller is a host of the Football Ramble podcast as well as Answerable Questions with Questionable Answers. Marcus also regularly hosts our live Q&A events across the country alongside Jonathan.

Cecilia Lagos is a Chilean freelance European football correspondent based in the Netherlands, football writer and content producer for The Tactical Room as well as her own YouTube channel, Sportiva. 

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