VII. Olympiad Antwerp 1920 Football Tournament
Introduction | Tournament Set-Up | Venues and Attendances | Match Details | Final Ranking | Topscorers | Squad Lists | Referees | About this document
At the first Olympics after the Great War, the former "central powers" (Germany, Austria,
Hungary) and their allies (Bulgaria, Turkey) were not invited. The English F.A. had withdrawn
from F.I.F.A. (together with the junior partners from Scotland, Ireland and Wales) after their
demand that the federations of Germany, Austria and Hungary be excluded had been rejected,
in spite of support from Belgium, France and Luxembourg. F.I.F.A. nevertheless accepted the
entry of a Great Britain football team, judging that countries entering the Olympic Games
in other sports should not be hindered entering the football tournament.
However, the gold medalists of the previous two Olympic football tournaments would not
enjoy their participation long, as they were defeated 1-3 in the first round by Norway,
who thus celebrated the first of their four most iconic victories (followed by eliminating
Nazi Germany at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the 1993 win
over England in World Cup qualifying, and the 2-1 defeat of reigning world champions Brazil
at the 1998 World Cup).
Denmark, twice silver medalists before the war, fared no better, losing 0-1 to Spain in
the latter's first ever official international match, thanks to an outstanding young
goalkeeper by the name of Zamora. It was the beginning of
Denmark's Iberian curse.
That left the Netherlands and Sweden as the only other countries to have entered
both pre-war Olympic football tournaments,
and they duly met for the third time,
the Dutch winning an epic quarter-final
match 5-4 after extra time on their way to finish third for the third time in succession.
If that high-scoring match was a highlight, the final played four days
later remains one of the great Olympic scandals. In a hostile environment (after all, they were
playing the hosts; that, as alleged by [IFF 00 (Band 1)] and
repeated in [BuL (Band 3)], parts of the Belgian
press had poisoned the atmosphere by portraying Czechoslovakia as one of the aggressor
states in the Great War, for no other reason than that the country had emerged from
the Austro-Hungarian Doppelmonarchie, is not corroborated by study of the
contemporary papers available through
Belgica Press and thus may just be
slander), the Czechs (all players were based in Prague) felt the refereeing to
be biased against them; when Steiner was sent off for a violent foul against Coppée
(who was brought to hospital and could not have been substituted), they
walked off, two-nil down and apparently despairing of victory. After futile
attempts by the referee to convince them to return, the Belgian crowd invaded the pitch to
celebrate their team; that they also took the Czechoslovak flag down and tore it up, as
reported in the newspapers the next day, apparently was no more than an unsubstantiated
accusation (cf. [BuL (Band 3)], pp. 62-65).
Czechoslovakia were duly disqualified and barred from entering the (separate) tournament
to determine the silver and bronze medalists. The set-up of the 1920 football tournament
was a fairly complicated affair (see below) and is usually presented
incorrectly. The first correct explanation in a "modern" source that the author is
aware of is that by Martialay and De Salazar [MaS 97]
("Rocambole en Amberes", pp. 183-191; however, they unwarrantedly involved Poland as
first round opponents of Belgium, whereas in fact Poland, unlike Switzerland, never were
part of the draw); four years earlier, Fauria i
García [Fau 93]
had correctly cited the original regulations but then muddled up his argument by
identifying Spain with both the winners of the "matches among the quarter-final losers"
and the first round victims of Belgium (Spain were the first victims of
Belgium, but had played Denmark in the first round);
in addition, Buschmann and Lennarts [BuL (Band 3)] got it
almost right (considerably improving on Kluge [Klu 97],
only erring in assuming that the friendly between Egypt and Yugoslavia
was in some way part of the tournament); in contrast, the
IFFHS [IFF 00 (Band 1)]
fabricated fanciful fairytales, malevolently manufacturing malicious myths
in the process.
However, the undisputably most outrageous blunder was published a full century after
the tournament by World Soccer magazine ("Global football intelligence since 1960"),
which absurdly credited Czechoslovakia with winning the silver medal
([ws] issue "Winter 2020", Vol. 61, No. 4,
S. Kunti, "Antwerp clubs back on top", p. 84).
The team sports events at the 1920 Olympic Games were not set up as straight knock-out
tournaments, but were to be played according to the so-called Bergvall system. The
consideration behind this system, devised by Swedish sports official Erik Gustaf Bergvall,
is that it is not fair that a team losing in an early round to the eventual gold medalists
is out of the race for the remaining medals; after all, the draw could have paired the
two strongest teams in the first round.
The basic format of the Bergvall system is that after all teams have played out the gold
medalists in a straight knock-out tournament, the teams beaten during the tournament by
the gold medalists play out the silver medalists in another knock-out tournament; after
that, the teams to have been beaten by the silver medalists in either of those two tournaments
enter a third and final knock-out tournament to determine the destination of the bronze
medals.
As an aside, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carroll) already addressed
the same problem in 1883 in the context of lawn tennis [Dod 83]
and suggested a truly sophisticated solution, reminiscent of later double-elimination
systems, to assign the first three prizes fairly.
His method is (like that of Bergvall) mathematically sound but (again like Bergvall)
based on the assumption that the relative strength of the contestants is a transitive
relation and remains constant from one day to another. Experience shows neither applies.
For the football tournament, it was decided to adapt the Bergvall system, so that the silver
medal tournament could start before the gold medal tournament was finished (which is of course
not possible in a strict application of the Bergvall system, which requires that the final
be played before the entrants of the silver medal tournament are known – unlike
Dodgson's proposed method, which has the additional advantage of guaranteeing every entrant
at least two matches, as in the second round the first round losers are paired among
each other, just as the first round winners).
The actual set-up of the Olympic football tournament was as follows: first, a normal
knock-out tournament for the gold medal; meanwhile the losing quarter-finalists of the
gold medal tournament played out the best among them over two rounds; the winners
after those two rounds were then joined by all teams to have been beaten by the gold
medalists (in the final, the semi-final and the first round) for the semi-finals of
the tournament for silver and bronze medals (no separate bronze medal tournament was
foreseen).
As final losers Czechoslovakia were disqualified from further participation
following the scandal in the final and gold medalists Belgium had received a bye in the
first round, only two teams (Spain as winners of the
tournament among the losing quarter-finalists and the Netherlands as semi-final victims
of Belgium) were left, and they played out the silver and bronze medals between them.
The entire schedule, including all match dates, and the additional stipulation
that if two teams were to meet in the tournament for silver and bronze medals
who had already played each other in the gold medal tournament, then the earlier
result would be carried over, was published three weeks before the start of the
tournament in numerous Dutch newspapers (as one sample of many, we include the
relevant article from the evening edition of De Telegraaf of 7 August 1920),
so all claims in [IFF 00 (Band 1)] that the
organisers changed the set-up on several occasions during the tournament are ludicrous
(and, in fact, slanderous).
That said, the format did lead to a considerable amount of confusion, not only among
journalists but also among the organisers. The morning edition of the N.R.C.
of 4 September included a fairly amusing account, presumably written by Hans
Meerum Terwogt, of the discussions on the previous evening (after the exclusion of
Czechoslovakia) on the matches for second and third place. While it was clear that
Spain and the Netherlands were the only two teams left to contest the silver medals,
it clearly was not clear at all to Alphonse Istace, secretary of the Belgian
football federation, how the bronze medals were to be allocated – until the
Spanish cited the regulations, published in the newspapers four weeks earlier.
Presumably the confusion was partially due to the peculiar manner in which the
Bergvall system had been adapted – even the Italians insisted, rather
brazenly, they were still in with a shot at the bronze medals, in spite of having
already lost twice, to France and Spain (both eliminated from the gold medal
tournament before its final).
Curiously, Denmark and Luxembourg (who in a proper application of the Bergvall
system would have been entitled to compete for bronze in case Spain (for Denmark)
resp. the Netherlands (for Luxembourg) would have won silver) were not considered
at all. As the story might also explain the origin of the myth that the French
were unable to play for the silver medals (which had been out of their reach as
soon as Belgium had been declared winners of the final) because they had left
already, we here quote it ad verbatim.
(Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, Zaterdag 4 September 1920 - Ochtendblad, p. 6)
Om de tweede en derde plaats
Antwerpen, Vrijdagavond.
Na een langdurig onderhoud met den heer Istace, een van de leiders van het
Olympisch tornooi, dachten wij er eindelijk in geslaagd te zijn, nauwkeurig te
weten te zijn gekomen, hoe het systeem, dat bij deze wedstrijden den doorslag
geeft, eigenlijk werkt.
Zonneklaar had de heer Istace ons uiteengezet, dat Spanje, Tsjecho Slowakije
en Nederland de eenige landen waren, welke nog voor den tweeden prijs in
aanmerking kwamen.
Spanje was winnaar van de wedstrijden, gespeeld door de verliezers in de
kwartfinales. Tsjecho Slowakije had van België in den eindstrijd
verloren, terwijl ons land een ronde vroeger eveneens van België had verloren.
De Tsjecho Slowaken waren van verdere deelneming uitgesloten, zoodat alleen
Nederland en Spanje overbleven voor den strijd om de tweede plaats.
Er was echter nog om de derde plaats te spelen, waarvoor in de eerste plaats
in aanmerking kwam de verliezer van den wedstrijd Nederland-Spanje. Verder
kwam voor die plaats nog in aanmerking Jugo Slavië, dat in de eerste ronde had
verloren van Tsjecho Slowakije en dus verloren had van een elftal, dat voor de
tweede plaats in aanmerking komt. Verder Frankrijk, dat eveneens alleen van de
Tsjechen verloren heeft. Tusschen deze twee landen zou derhalve nogmaals gespeeld
moeten worden en de winnaar van dezen wedstrijd zou dan tegen den verliezer
van den wedstrijd Nederland-Spanje moeten spelen om de derde plaats.
Zoo was men na een langdurige berekening tot de slotsom gekomen, dat Zaterdag
gespeeld zou worden Nederland-Spanje en Jugo Slavië-Frankrijk. Zondag
zou dan om de derde plaats gespeeld worden tusschen den verliezer van den
eersten wedstrijd en den winnaar van den tweeden wedstrijd.
Verheugd, dat wij eindelijk de oplossing van de puzzle hadden gevonden, snelden
wij naar de telefoon om dit laatste nieuws aan ons blad te melden, toen wij
onderweg den heer Seeldraayers ontmoetten, in ernstig gesprek met
verschillende Italianen en Franschen. Wij begrepen dadelijk, dat er weer iets
nieuws dreigde, hielden daarom den ijverigen secretaris van het regelingscomité
even vast en zoo waar, het bleek, dat de Franschen vertrokken waren, waardoor alle
schoone plannen in duigen lagen. Bovendien meenden de Italianen, aanspraak
te moeten maken op het spelen van een wedstrijd voor de derde plaats.
Met hun bekende levendigheid meenden zij hun rechten te moeten verdedigen.
Juist op het moment, dat de heer Seeldraayers zijn laatste argumenten in het vuur
wilde brengen, verscheen de afgevaardigde der Spanjaarden, die kwam vertellen, dat
volgens de officieele regeling Nederland zou hebben te spelen tegen Spanje om
den tweeden en derden prijs.
De reglementen werden voor den dag gehaald en zoo waar, de Spanjaarden bleken
gelijk te hebben. En zoo werd dan besloten, Zaterdagmiddag alleen te laten spelen
den wedstrijd Nederland-Spanje, waarvan de winnaar dus nummer twee en de verliezer
nummer drie van het tornooi zou worden.
Alweer wandelden wij naar de telefoon om dit heuglijk nieuws nog in ons avondblad
te krijgen, maar al weer kwam er een kink in den kabel. Ditmaal kruiste de heer
Hirschman ons pad. Wij vertelden hem, dat Nederland Zaterdag tegen Spanje zou
spelen, waarop de voorzitter van onze elftalcommissie met de woorden: „het zal niet
gaan”, antwoordde.
Het bleek n.l., dat enkele dagen geleden de heer Seeldraayers had toegezegd, dat
Nederland eerst op a.s. Zondag zou spelen en in verband daarmede had de heer
Hirschman aan enkele spelers verlof gegeven, naar Nederland terug te keeren, mits
zij Zondag weer terug zouden zijn. Het zou hem onmogelijk zijn, Zaterdag
het elftal in Antwerpen te krijgen.
Tegen een dergelijke logica konden wij niets inbrengen. Wij lieten daarom de
telefoon nog maar wat aan den haak hangen en trokken voor de zooveelste
maal naar het langzamerhand beroemd geworden secretariaat, waar de heer
Seeldraayers in conferentie was.
Na enkele oogenblikken stelde hij zich voor den heer Hirschman beschikbaar.
Deze ontvouwde zijn bezwaren en 5 minuten later konden wij zeggen, dat thans
definitief was vastgesteld, dat voor de tweede en derde plaats alleen
gespeeld zal worden de wedstrijd Nederland-Spanje, Zondagmiddag om 3 uur,
op het Stadionterrein.
Wij vertrouwen, dat deze beslissing thans inderdaad definitief is, maar wij
moeten erkennen, dat wij daaromtrent nog geen zekerheid kunnen geven, wat
men na bovenstaande toelichting zal kunnen begrijpen.
The Bergvall system was (more strictly) applied in the waterpolo and ice hockey team
tournaments as well as in the Greek-Roman wrestling competition. (In fact, a variation
of the system had already been used in the waterpolo competition of the Stockholm
Olympics in 1912, at which Bergvall had refereed the (gold medal) final between
Great Britain and Austria; Austria lost that final and went home without a medal
after losing further matches to Sweden and Belgium, who both had lost to Great
Britain earlier in the tournament.) Its disadvantages most clearly came to light
in the ice hockey event staged at the end of April, four months before the football
tournament: one day after losing the gold medal final to Canada (by 1-12), Sweden
were forced to play the United States in the silver medal tournament, losing
again (by 0-7; the USA did deserve to finish second), and after defeating
Switzerland (4-0) in the first round of the bronze medal tournament, they lost 0-1
to Czechoslovakia (who before had been stuffed 0-16 by the United States in the final
of the silver medal tournament) in the bronze medal tournament final. (One of the
bronze medalists in the Czechoslovak ice hockey team was Karel Pešek "Káďa",
also the captain of their disqualified football side.) So, Sweden reached the
final of the (gold medal) tournament but left the Olympics empty-handed after playing
three more matches (apart from the final) in as many days. It is rather ironic that
Sweden were the main victims of a convoluted tournament system devised by a Swede.
Thankfully, the format was never again
applied in any Olympic football or ice hockey tournament, but still used in the waterpolo
event at the 1924 Olympics in Paris (to the advantage of
the United States, who had lost in the first round to eventual winners France but
nevertheless returned home with bronze) and in a modified form (the final losers in the
gold medal tournament won silver, but a separate tournament for determining the bronze
medalists was held) in 1928 in Amsterdam (as a matter
of fact, a similar set-up was used two decades earlier for the
football tournament at the 1908 Olympics).
No official report of the Antwerp 1920 Games was produced at the time, as the
local Olympic Organizing Committee went bankrupt. In 1957, the Belgian Olympic
Committee published a report "from the original data",
but it offers but little
information on the football tournament, and that faulty: the results overview
on page 152, scant as it is, contains five errors (to wit: that the tournament
started on 29 August; that Czechoslovakia defeated Yugoslavia 9-0; that France
defeated Switzerland 10-0; that Belgium were awarded the final by 5-0; and that
Spain played Italy to settle second place, omitting all other matches played in
the tournament for silver and bronze medals).
The attendance overview in that 1957 report (p. 171)
only lists the overall total
of tickets sold (63,612 for the football events), adding that 30,000 spectators
obtained free entry at football matches (these were in particular war invalids
and school children). That does not fit the attendances usually
reported (even adding all free tickets, one obtains only about two thirds
of the overall reported attendance of over 140,000), unless one assumes that
the attendances at each venue were counted per day rather than per match
(meaning only the best attended match, invariably the last one, counted).
See the summary below.
The sole and single certainty is that the final at the Stadion was the
one and only match sold out (although the second semi-final must have come
pretty close to having been so), resulting in a new record official attendance
of 35,000 for an Olympic football game.
Unofficially, the crowd at the final was much larger than that, with newspaper
estimates ranging up to 50,000; also for numerous other matches, in particular
the semi-final between the hosts and their northern neighbours,
contemporary newspapers reported considerably higher attendances than those usually
given in modern sources, which makes the discrepancy with the numbers in the
official report all the more
puzzling – indeed, suspect, as missing spectators would
imply missing tickets and missing money, thus raising questions about the bankruptcy
of the Olympic Organizing Committee.
While the main venue was the newly constructed stadium at "Het Kiel", the traditional
home of Beerschot AC, three other grounds, two of them in other cities, hosted some
matches: that of Beerschot's hated local rivals Antwerp FC at the Broodstraat, also
in the Kielwijk (the IFFHS, with perplexing
but typical disregard for historical accuracy,
instead claimed four matches were played at the Boschuil stadium, which is patently
impossible as that stadium, located in Deurne, was inaugurated on 1 November 1923,
more than three years after the Olympics,
cf. RAFC History),
the Stadium der ARA Gantoise (nowadays KAA Gent) in Gentbrugge, newly built,
inaugurated on 22 August 1920 and (much) later named after Jules Otten, and
the Stade du parc Duden in the Brussels suburb of Forest (Vorst), an emergency
venue, also known as Stade de la Butte, owned by Union Saint-Gilloise (in 1922
a new stadium was built at the same location, which was named after Joseph Marien
in the thirties).
Venue Capacity Matches Total Att. Average Paying Att. Average
Stadion, Antwerpen 35,000 12 128,000 10,700 n/a n/a
Broodstraat, Antwerpen 10,000 ? 1 1,000 600 n/a n/a
ARA Gantoise, Gent 22,000 ? 1 2,000 2,000 n/a n/a
Parc Duden, Bruxelles 25,000 3 10,000 3,300 n/a n/a
total 17 141,000 8,300 63,612 3,742
NB: capacity refers to capacity at the time of the tournament;
overall paying attendance based on p. 171 of the official report;
estimated total attendances rounded to thousands, corresponding averages to hundreds.
Alternative count by match day rather than match:
Venue Capacity Days Total Att. Average Paying Att. Average
Stadion, Antwerpen 35,000 6 85,000 14,200 n/a n/a
Broodstraat, Antwerpen 10,000 ? 1 1,000 600 n/a n/a
ARA Gantoise, Gent 22,000 ? 1 2,000 2,000 n/a n/a
Parc Duden, Bruxelles 25,000 2 7,000 3,500 n/a n/a
total 10 95,000 9,500 63,612 6,361
Gold Medal Tournament | Silver and Bronze Medals Tournament | Friendlies
GOLD MEDAL TOURNAMENT
NB: At the time of the draw (on the evening of 20 August), 14 countries had registered,
so two (Belgium and Czechoslovakia) received a first round bye. One day later,
the late registration of Yugoslavia (officially the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and
Slovenes, and often referred to as Serbia although the majority of their players
came from Zagreb) was accepted. On 22 August it was reported Belgium had agreed
to play Yugoslavia in the first round (on 28 August) but on 24 August Yugoslavia
had been fixtured to play Czechoslovakia; in retrospect, this was quite relevant,
given the peculiar set-up of the tournament for the silver and bronze medals and
the fact that both Belgium and Czechoslovakia reached the final: in fact, in case
Czechoslovakia would have won the final, Yugoslavia should have played France for
the right to contest the silver and bronze medals with Belgium (see below)!
On 27 August, Switzerland, which had been drawn to play France in the first round,
withdrew after a conflict between the French and German speaking representatives
within the Swiss federation, exacerbated by the friendly match against Germany
on 27 June 1920, which had been boycotted by the Romands; the conflict was only
resolved after a number of mutual concessions, which included the withdrawal
from the Olympics demanded by the Deutschschweizer, indignated by the exclusion
of Germany from the event ([BrK 14], p. 39); officially, albeit unconvincingly,
financial difficulties were given as the reason for the withdrawal.
Another country not to enter the football tournament was the United States, who
argued that the British team should not have been allowed to enter as England
was no longer a member of F.I.F.A., and its entry thus contrary to regulations;
however, at the time Czechoslovakia, Egypt and Greece were not affiliated to
F.I.F.A. either (Egypt and Greece did not even have a football federation) and
the Americans had not objected to their taking part in the tournament.
Finally, contrary to what is claimed in [BuL (Band 3)], p. 39 (viz. that there was
a new draw to establish the pairings ahead of each round, as was done in 1924 in
Paris) the entire tournament bracket was fixed at the draw on 20 August.
Gold Medal Tournament - First Round
28 August 1920 - Broodstraat, Antwerpen - Att: 600
Ref: Raphaël van Praag (Net) - Lin: Fanta (Cze), Radovinović (Yug)
CZECHOSLOVAKIA 7 (Vaník 20, 46, 79pen, Janda 34, 50, 75, Sedláček I 43)
YUGOSLAVIA 0
HT: 3-0
Czechoslovakia: Klapka - Hojer, Pospišil - Kolenatý, "Káďa" (cap), Perner -
Sedláček I, Janda, Pilát, Vaník, "Mazal".
Yugoslavia: Vrđuka - Župančić, Šifer - Tavćar, Cindrić, Rupec -
Vragović, Dubravčić (cap), Perška, Granec, Ružić.
NB: Rupec withdrew injured after 13 minutes;
Van Praag, usually listed as Belgian, was a Dutchman then living in Antwerpen.
28 August 1920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen - Att: 5,000 (double-header with Sweden-Greece)
Ref: Job Mutters (Net) - Lin: A. Lagesen (Nor), J. Lewis (Eng)
NORWAY 3 (Gundersen 13, 51, Wilhelms 63)
GREAT BRITAIN 1 (Nicholas 25)
HT: 1-1
Norway: Wathne - Aulie, Skou - Wold, Halvorsen, G. Andersen (cap) - Paulsen,
Wilhelms, Helgesen, Gundersen, Holm.
GB: Mitchell - Payne, Knight (cap) - Hunt, Atkinson, Harbidge - Nicholas,
Bunyan, Prince, Sloley, Hegan.
NB: Prince withdrew injured before the first goal but returned after the second;
Payne withdrew injured after the third goal but returned after a few minutes.
28 August 1920 - Stadium der ARA Gantoise, Gent - Att: 2,000 (was to be double-header with France-Switzerland)
Ref: Paul Putz (Bel) - Lin: Cornelis (Bel), Lippens (Bel)
ITALY 2 (Baloncieri 23, Brezzi 57)
EGYPT 1 (Allouba 30)
HT: 1-0
Italy: Giacone - Bruna, De Vecchi (cap) - Reynaudi, Meneghetti, Lovati -
Sardi, Baloncieri, Brezzi, Santamaria, Forlivesi.
Egypt: Taha - El-Sayed, Hamdi - Shawki, El-Hassani, G. Othman -
Abdullah, Allouba, Hegazi (cap), Abaza, Z. Othman.
NB: attendance usually given as 2,000 but one newspaper report gave it as 6,000.
28 August 1920 - Stade du parc Duden, Bruxelles - Att: 3,000 (double-header with Netherlands-Luxembourg)
Ref: Wim Eijmers (Net) - Lin: Paco Bru (Spa), P. Graae (Den)
SPAIN 1 (Patricio 54)
DENMARK 0
HT: 0-0
Spain: Zamora - Otero, Arrate - Samitier, "Belaúste" (cap), Eguiazábal -
"Pagaza", Sesúmaga, Patricio, "Pichichi", Acedo.
Denmark: S. Hansen - N. Middelboe, Blicher - Grøthan, Lykke (cap), Aaby -
Dannin, Rohde, Vig. Jørgensen, Olsen, Andersen.
28 August l920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen - Att: 5,000 (double-header with Norway-Great Britain)
Ref: Charles Barette (Bel)
SWEDEN 9 (Olsson 4, 79, H. Carlsson 15, 20, 21, 51, 85, Wicksell 25, Dahl 31)
GREECE 0
HT: 6-0
Sweden: Zander - Lund, Hillén - Nordenskjöld (cap), Wicksell, Gustafsson -
Bergström, Olsson, H. Carlsson, Dahl, Sandberg.
Greece: Fotiádis - Gkílis, Kaloúdis - Gótis, A. Nikolaïdis, Péppas - Kalafátis (cap),
Giá. Andrianópoulos, Th. Nikolaïdis, Chatziandréou, Dimitríou.
NB: Kaloúdis withdrew injured during the first half.
28 August 1920 - Stade du parc Duden, Bruxelles - Att: 3,000 (double-header with Spain-Denmark)
Ref: Georges Hubrecht (Bel)
NETHERLANDS 3 (J. Bulder 30, Groosjohan 47, 85)
LUXEMBOURG 0
HT: 1-0
Netherlands: MacNeill - Dénis, Verweij - Bosschart (cap), Kuipers, Steeman -
Van Rappard, Van Dort, Groosjohan, J. Bulder, De Natris.
Luxembourg: Krüger - Schmit (cap), Koetz - Hamilius, Ungeheuer, Schumacher -
Metzler, Langers, Elter, Massard, Leesch.
NB: originally John Langenus (Belgium) had been appointed referee for this match,
but he declined, according to [BuL (Band 3)] because he objected to matches
being played outside of Antwerp, his home town whose inhabitants nursed an
acrimonious relationship with Brussels (as also shown at the quarter-final
between Belgium and Spain); in 1930, he refereed the World Cup final.
28 August 1920 - Stadium der ARA Gantoise, Gent (was to be double-header with Italy-Egypt)
FRANCE won by walk-over.
SWITZERLAND withdrew on 27 August due to conflicts within the Swiss FA (see above).
NB: Belgium bye.
Gold Medal Tournament - Quarter-Finals
29 August 1920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen - Att: 5,000
Ref: Josef Fanta (Cze) - Lin: E. Bulder (Net), Stenborg [other source: Halling] (Swe)
NETHERLANDS 5 (Groosjohan 10, 57, J. Bulder 44, 88pen, De Natris 110)
SWEDEN 4 (H. Carlsson 16, 32, Olsson 20, Dahl 72)
AET; FT: 4-4, HT: 2-3; missed penalty: H. Carlsson (Swe, 70)
Netherlands: MacNeill - Dénis, Verweij - Bosschart (cap), Kuipers, Steeman -
Van Rappard, Bieshaar, Groosjohan, J. Bulder, De Natris.
Sweden: Zander - Lund, Hillén - Öijermark, Wicksell (cap), Gustafsson -
Bergström, Olsson, H. Carlsson, Dahl, Sandberg.
NB: this match started at 10 a.m.; both teams had played their first round match on
the previous evening (kick-off at 17.30); had the match been drawn after extra
time, it would have been replayed on 30 August (as announced before the start
of extra time) – no second extra time was foreseen in the regulations;
after the match, Sweden, which had been disadvantaged by the refereeing on a
number of occasions, demanded a replay but this was of course rejected; they
then withdrew from the silver and bronze medals tournament, forfeiting their
match against Spain scheduled for 31 August, before being persuaded to play
that match one day later (which in turn triggered Spanish protests);
venue often but erroneously given as Broodstraat, the originally announced
venue; however, eventually "het groote Stadion" at "Het Kiel" hosted three
of the four quarter-finals played that day.
29 August 1920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen - Att: 10,000 (highly questionable)
Ref: Henri Christophe (Bel) - Lin: G. Barreau (Fra), De Nardo (Ita)
FRANCE 3 (Boyer 10, Nicolas 14, Bard 54)
ITALY 1 (Brezzi 33pen)
HT: 2-1
France: Parsys - "Huot", Baumann - Batmale, Petit, Hugues -
Devaquez, Boyer, Nicolas, Bard (cap), Dubly.
Italy: Giacone - Bruna, De Vecchi (cap) - Sardi, Meneghetti, Lovati -
Ferraris, Baloncieri, Brezzi, Santamaria, Marucco.
NB: attendance usually given as 10,000 but various newspaper reports gave it as
at least 20,000.
29 August 1920 - Stade du parc Duden, Bruxelles - Att: 4,000
Ref: Charles Barette (Bel)
CZECHOSLOVAKIA 4 (Vaník 8, Janda 17, 66, 77)
NORWAY 0
HT: 2-0
Czechoslovakia: Klapka - Hojer, Steiner - Kolenatý, "Káďa" (cap), Seifert -
Sedláček I, Janda, Pilát, Vaník, "Mazal".
Norway: Wathne - Aulie, Skou - Wold, Halvorsen, G. Andersen (cap) -
Paulsen, Aas, Helgesen, Gundersen, Holm.
29 August 1920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen - Att: 18,000 (questionable)
Ref: Job Mutters (Net) - Lin: Schwachhoffer (Bel), Paco Bru (Spa)
BELGIUM 3 (Coppée 11, 52, 55)
SPAIN 1 (Arrate 62pen)
HT: 1-0
Belgium: De Bie - Swartenbroeks, Verbeeck - Musch, Hanse, Fierens -
Van Hege, Coppée, Balyu, Nisot (cap), Hebdin.
Spain: Zamora - Vallana, Arrate (cap) - Artola, Sancho, Eguiazábal -
"Pagaza", "Pichichi", Patricio, Vázquez, Acedo.
NB: when the Belgian side, whose line-up had not been announced beforehand, entered
the field, they were received by a hostile Antwerp crowd (which clearly exceeded
20,000 according to newspaper reports), as the team contained nine players from
Brussels clubs and only one from the host town (Fierens).
Gold Medal Tournament - Semi-Finals
31 August 1920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen - Att: 12,000 (highly questionable)
Ref: Job Mutters (Net) - Lin: "Ráca" (Cze) (60 H. Christophe (Bel)), G. Barreau (Fra)
CZECHOSLOVAKIA 4 ("Mazal" 18, 75, 87, Steiner 70)
FRANCE 1 (Boyer 79)
HT: 1-0
Czechoslovakia: Klapka - Hojer, Steiner - Kolenatý, "Káďa" (cap), Seifert -
Sedláček I, Janda, Vaník, "Mazal", Plaček.
France: Parsys - "Huot", Baumann - Batmale, Petit, Hugues -
Devaquez, Boyer, Nicolas, Bard (cap), Dubly.
Sent off: "Ráca" (60); Christophe took his place on the sideline.
NB: Mutters dismissed Czechoslovak linesman "Ráca" after 60 minutes for blatantly
incorrect calls (in particular numerous offside calls against the French; in
the incident leading to his dismissal, he had run onto the field to demand a
corner kick for his team); he was replaced by Christophe;
other sources credited the third Czech goal as an own goal and the last goal
to Janda;
attendance usually given as 12,000 but newspaper reports gave it as 20,000.
31 August 1920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen - Att: 22,000 (highly questionable)
Ref: Johnny Lewis (Eng) - Lin: A. Knight (Eng), Ch. Wreford-Brown (Eng)
BELGIUM 3 (Larnoe 46, Van Hege 55, Bragard 85)
NETHERLANDS 0
HT: 0-0
Belgium: De Bie - Swartenbroeks, Verbeeck - Musch, Hanse (cap), Fierens -
Van Hege, Coppée, Bragard, Larnoe, Bastin.
Netherlands: MacNeill - Dénis, Verweij - Bosschart (cap), Kuipers, Steeman -
Van Rappard, Bieshaar, Groosjohan, J. Bulder, De Natris.
NB: Lewis, who had been the referee of the 1908 Olympic final, had only travelled
to the Games as linesman (in the first round match against Norway); according
to Dutch newspaper reports, he was appointed referee for this semi-final after
Ruben Gelbord (Sweden) had declined, Hugo Meisl (Austria) had been considered
ineligible (presumably because of his nationality), and Giovanni Mauro (Italy)
had been rejected (this was before his inept performance in the game between
Spain and Sweden on 1 September); eventually the choice was made between Lewis
and Per Andersen (Norway; referee at the 1924 Olympics in Paris);
attendance usually given as 22,000 but newspaper reports gave it as 30,000
(which is far more plausible given the interest generated by this match, the
first Derby der Lage Landen since April 1914; one newspaper article described
the stadium as tjokvol, so it would appear impossible that it was filled for
less than two thirds as implied by the usually reported attendance figure).
Gold Medal Tournament - Final
2 September 1920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen - Att: 35,000 (highly questionable)
Ref: Johnny Lewis (Eng) - Lin: A. Knight (Eng), Ch. Wreford-Brown (Eng)
BELGIUM 2 (Coppée 6pen, Larnoe 30)
CZECHOSLOVAKIA 0
NB: match abandoned after 39 minutes; Czechoslovakia left the pitch in protest
to perceived biased refereeing; the referee asked them to return but they
declined to do so, and Belgium were proclaimed winners; Czechoslovakia then
lodged a protest with the Jury of Appeal, which rejected their protest on
the day after the match (3 September) and formally declared Belgium winners
by 2 goals to 0; it furthermore decided that there could be no question of
Czechoslovakia taking any further part in the tournament (see also below
for additional details);
attendance usually given as 35,000 (i.e. the capacity of the stadium) but
the stadium was completely overcrowded and newspaper reports estimated it
as between 40,000 and 50,000.
Belgium: De Bie - Swartenbroeks, Verbeeck - Musch, Hanse (cap), Fierens -
Van Hege, Coppée, Bragard, Larnoe, Bastin.
Czechoslovakia: Klapka - Hojer, Steiner - Kolenatý, "Káďa" (cap), Seifert -
Sedláček I, Janda, Pilát, Vaník, "Mazal".
Sent off: Steiner (39).
SILVER AND BRONZE MEDALS TOURNAMENT
Silver and Bronze Medals Tournament - First Round
NB: this involved the quarter-final losers of the gold medal tournament.
31 August 1920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen - Att: 500
Ref: Louis Fourgous (Fra) - Lin: G. (R.?) Aas [other source: Hos] (Nor), G. Milano (Ita)
NORWAY 1 (A. Andersen 41)
ITALY 2 (Sardi 46, Badini 123)
A2ET; AET: 1-1, FT: 1-1, HT: 1-0
NB: after 2x15 minutes extra time the match was still drawn; according to the
regulations, the match was to be replayed (as it had been announced before
the start of extra time in the quarter-final between the Netherlands and
Sweden), but after some discussions on the field, both captains agreed to
play an additional, second period of extra time of 2x15 minutes (according
to all Dutch and Belgian newspaper reports; [BuL (Band 3)] claims that 2x10
minutes were played in the second extra time but that is not substantiated
by any contemporary sources); the match had started at 10 a.m. and finished
after 150 minutes of play, several breaks and the lengthy discussions after
the first half hour of extra time, at 13.20, two hundred minutes later.
Norway: Wathne - Aulie, Johnsen - Mohn, Halvorsen, G. Andersen (cap) -
Paulsen, A. Andersen, Helgesen, Thorstvedt, Holm.
Italy: Campelli (cap) - Rosetta, Bruna - Reynaudi, Parodi, Burlando -
Roggero, Sardi, Ferraris, Badini, Forlivesi.
NB: venue often but erroneously given as Broodstraat; contemporary newspapers
clearly identified the venue as "Het Stadion", where three matches were
played that day (also the two semi-finals in the Gold Medal Tournament).
1 September 1920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen - Att: 1,500
Ref: Giovanni Mauro (Ita) - Lin: Paco Bru (Spa), Halling-Johansson (Swe)
SPAIN 2 ("Belaúste" 51, Acedo 53)
SWEDEN 1 (Dahl 28)
HT: 0-1; missed penalty: Wicksell (Swe, 65)
Spain: Zamora - Vallana, Arrate (cap) - Samitier, "Belaúste", Sabino -
"Pagaza", Sesúmaga, Patricio, "Pichichi", Acedo.
Sweden: Zander - Lund, Nordenskjöld (cap) - Öijermark, Wicksell, Gustafsson -
Bergström, Olsson, H. Carlsson, Dahl, Sandberg.
NB: match originally scheduled for 31 August, but Sweden had withdrawn from the
tournament out of protest against the refereeing in the quarter-final against
the Netherlands; after mediation by Baron de Coubertin they eventually agreed
to play Spain one day later; Olsson broke his collarbone after 75 minutes;
several other players were injured as well; at the end of the hostilities,
instigated by the Spanish players apparently incensed about having to play
Sweden after all, reportedly only 15 of the 22 combatants were still fit to
fight; one can only speculate whether the failure of the Italian referee to
do anything about this was motivated by the fact that the winners of this
battle were to play Italy the next day;
venue often but erroneously given as Broodstraat; contemporary newspapers
clearly identified the venue of the only football match played that day as
"Het Stadium".
Silver and Bronze Medals Tournament - Second Round
2 September 1920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen - Att: 10,000 (played before gold medal final)
Ref: Paul Putz (Bel) - Lin: H. Christophe (Bel), G. Hubrecht (Bel)
ITALY 0
SPAIN 2 (Sesúmaga 43, 72)
HT: 0-1
Italy: Campelli - Bruna, De Vecchi (cap) - Parodi, Meneghetti, De Nardo -
De Marchi, Baloncieri, Brezzi, Badini, Marucco.
Spain: Zamora - Vallana (cap), Otero - Artola, Sancho, Sabino -
"Moncho Gil", "Pagaza", Sesúmaga, "Pichichi", Silverio.
Sent off: Zamora (79); Silverio took his place in goal.
NB: "Pagaza" withdrew injured after 35 minutes;
attendance usually given as 10,000 but newspaper reports gave it as 25,000
(presumably mostly people waiting for the final two hours later).
Silver and Bronze Medals Tournament - Third Round
NB: between second round winners (i.e. Spain, as the "best quarter-final losers") and
the teams to have lost against gold medalists Belgium in the final, the semi-finals
and the first round of the gold medal tournament; as final losers Czechoslovakia
were disqualified and Belgium had received a first round bye, only the Netherlands
(as semi-final losers against Belgium) were entitled to join Spain in the tournament.
Note that the team to have lost the semi-final against the losers of the final of
the gold medal tournament (i.e. France) was not eligible to enter the tournament
for silver and bronze medals. Sources claiming that Spain were to play Egypt (as
winners of a supposed tournament between the first round losers, see below) or
that the Netherlands were to play France (who allegedly withdrew because their
players had left already) got it wrong.
There was another peculiar regulation, which would have been applicable if Belgium
had lost the final: in case two teams were to meet in the silver and bronze medals
tournament who had already played each other before in the gold medal tournament,
the result of that earlier match would have been carried over and no second match
would have taken place. Thus, if Belgium had lost the final for the gold medals,
they would have qualified automatically for the final of the silver and bronze
medals tournament, as they had already beaten Spain in the quarter-finals, and
France should have played Yugoslavia (first round victims of Czechoslovakia) for
the right to play Belgium in the silver and bronze medals tournament final.
4 September 1920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen
SPAIN won by walk-over.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA disqualified.
NB: Netherlands bye (as Belgium had had no first round opponents).
Silver and Bronze Medals Tournament - Final
5 September 1920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen - Att: 4,000
Ref: Paul Putz (Bel) - Lin: Gerbrants (Bel), A. Mussche (Bel)
SPAIN 3 (Sesúmaga 7, 35, "Pichichi" 56)
NETHERLANDS 1 (Groosjohan 68)
HT: 2-0
Spain: Zamora - Vallana, Arrate - Samitier, "Belaúste" (cap), Eguiazábal -
"Moncho Gil", Sesúmaga, Patricio, "Pichichi", Acedo.
Netherlands: MacNeill - Dénis, Verweij - Bosschart (cap), Kuipers, Steeman -
Van Rappard, Van Dort, Groosjohan, Von Heyden, E. Bulder.
NB: the N.V.B. had suspended four players (J. Bulder, Van Linge, De Natris
and Tempel) from this match for having sampled the Antwerp nightlife.
FRIENDLIES
NB: the match between Egypt and Yugoslavia below is often listed as one belonging to a
"consolation tournament" but such a tournament was not foreseen in the set-up of the
official tournament and the actual status of this match is that of a friendly, as
reported by Belgian and Dutch newspapers at the time. None of the other first round
losers entered this fictitious consolation tournament; only the team that had lost
in the first round to the later gold medalists was eligible to enter the tournament
for the silver and bronze medals, but as Belgium had had a first round bye, no such
team existed – 
however, had Belgium, as widely expected, lost the final, Yugoslavia
should have played France in a semi-final of the silver and bronze medals tournament,
which certainly was the main reason the Yugoslav team had remained in town after the
first round loss to Czechoslovakia. Exactly that scenario had been outlined in the
Nieuwe Haarlemsche Courant on 1 September 1920, the day after the semi-finals of the
gold medal tournament, additionally showing that at least one contemporary journalist
had grasped the peculiar set-up of the tournament (see the clipping to the right).
A clear additional indication that this was a friendly and not an official Olympic
match is the fact that Yugoslavia were allowed a substitution; that was not possible
in the tournament (even though Italy (chi altro?) had illegally managed to substitute
a player in 1912 against Finland). Note that the date often given for this match
(2 September) is incorrect; it was played the day after the final of the gold medal
tournament.
Both Egypt and Yugoslavia also played a friendly against an Antwerp city selection,
all after their first round loss in the gold medal tournament; prior to their first
round match, Egypt had already tested their side in Verviers, while Greece travelled
north after their elimination to play Amsterdam club side Blauw-Wit.
24 August 1920 - terrain du Panorama, Verviers
Ref: Henri Christophe (Bel)
CS VERVIÉTOIS 3 (Bragard 1, Houben 45, 57)
EGYPT 3 (scorers n/a)
HT: 2-0
Verviers: Jeunehomme - Roy, Quoilin - Degey, Renier, Grooteclaes -
Franck, Houben, Bragard, Halleux, George.
Egypt: line-up n/a.
30 August 1920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen
Ref: Raphaël van Praag (Net) - Lin: Delaunay (Bel), G. Othman (Egy)
ANTWERP XI 2 (P. Braine 2, Théron 78)
EGYPT 4 (Abaza 5, 35, 80, Hegazi 70)
HT: 1-2
Antwerpen: Van der Cloot (A) - Ruysseveld (B), Van der Gracht (B) - Ed. Bastin (A),
J. Suetens (A), Aug. Fierens (B) - A. Van Meenen (A), Dom (A), Théron (A),
P. Braine (B), Elst (B); (A) = (Antwerp), (B) = (Beerschot).
Egypt: Taha - Mokhtar, El-Sayed - Gabr, El-Hassani, Shawki -
Hosni, Allouba, Hegazi (cap), Abaza, Safwat.
NB: another source credited both first half Egyptian goals to Hegazi and both second
half goals to Abaza;
Van Praag, usually listed as Belgian, was a Dutchman then living in Antwerpen;
played after a ceremony at the Olympic Stadium at which King Albert handed the
prizes for the competitions which had already finished to representatives of the
respective countries.
3 September 1920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen - Att: 100
Ref: Raphaël van Praag (Net) - Lin: Ch. Malevez (Bel), Janssens (Bel)
EGYPT 4 (Allouba 3, Hegazi 46, Abaza ~85, 88)
YUGOSLAVIA 2 (Dubravčić 57, Ružić 80)
HT: 1-0
Egypt: Taha - El-Sayed, Hamdi - Shawki, El-Hassani, G. Othman -
Abdullah, Allouba, Hegazi (cap), Abaza, Z. Othman.
Yugoslavia: Vrđuka - Porobić, Šifer - Tavćar, Rupec, Vragović -
Šolc, Simić, Dubravčić (cap), Perška (46 Kojić), Ružić.
NB: Van Praag, usually listed as Belgian, was a Dutchman then living in Antwerpen.
4 September 1920 - Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen - Att: 2,000
ANTWERP XI 6 (Larnoe 1-0, 2-0, 5-0, P. Braine 3-0, 6-0, D. Bastin 4-0)
YUGOSLAVIA 0
HT: 3-0
Antwerpen: Van der Cloot - De Groof, De Clercq - Pelsmaeker, Ed. Bastin,
Mertens - Wertz, Thys, Larnoe, P. Braine, D. Bastin.
Yugoslavia: Vrđuka - Šifer, Župančić - Rupec, Cindrić, Tavćar -
Ružić, Granec, Dubravčić (cap), Perška, N.N.
NB: the missing player was listed as "A. Roupetz" (as opposed to "O. Roupetz", in midfield
and apparently referring to R. Rupec) in one article and as "Neagevitch" in another;
possibly Nikašinović (who was not part of the official Olympic squad) played;
other reports credited the sixth goal to Larnoe or Thys;
Antwerp started the match with nine men as Ruysseveld and André Fierens had failed to show;
eventually, Declercq and Mertens joined in their place at some point during the first half.
5 September 1920 - Nederlandsch Sportpark, Amsterdam
BLAUW-WIT 4 (scorers n/a)
GREECE 2 (scorers n/a)
HT: 3-0
Blauw-Wit: line-up n/a.
Greece: line-up n/a.
Records Gold Medal Tournament
Rk Country P W T L F A Pts GAvg
1 BELGIUM 3 3 0 0 8- 1 6 8.00
- Czechoslovakia 4 3 0 1 15- 3 6 5.00
3 Netherlands 3 2 0 1 8- 7 4 1.14
France 2 1 0 1 4- 5 2 0.80
5 Sweden 2 1 0 1 13- 5 2 2.60
Italy 2 1 0 1 3- 4 2 0.75
Spain 2 1 0 1 2- 3 2 0.67
Norway 2 1 0 1 3- 5 2 0.60
9 Egypt 1 0 0 1 1- 2 0 0.50
Great Britain 1 0 0 1 1- 3 0 0.33 [*]
Denmark 1 0 0 1 0- 1 0 0.00
Luxembourg 1 0 0 1 0- 3 0 0.00
Yugoslavia 1 0 0 1 0- 7 0 0.00
Greece 1 0 0 1 0- 9 0 0.00
- Switzerland withdrew
[*] Great Britain, no longer entitled to enter four teams, were in fact the England
Amateur side (as in 1908 and 1912, when the other Home Nations declined to enter).
NB: Czechoslovakia were disqualified after their walk-off in the final;
records do not include the silver and bronze medals tournament;
records do not include the Egypt vs Yugoslavia friendly;
teams are only ranked by the round in which they were eliminated;
some sources claim Poland did not show for a first round match against Belgium,
but they were never part of the first round draw, at which Belgium received a bye;
the confusion may be related to the late addition of Yugoslavia to the tournament
(they were first fixtured to play Belgium but eventually played Czechoslovakia).
Records Silver and Bronze Medals Tournament
Rk Country P W T L F A Pts GAvg
2 Spain 3 3 0 0 7- 2 6 3.50
3 Netherlands 1 0 0 1 1- 3 0 0.33
- Czechoslovakia disqualified
5 Italy 2 1 0 1 2- 3 2 0.67
6 Norway 1 0 0 1 1- 2 0 0.50
Sweden 1 0 0 1 1- 2 0 0.50
NB: teams are only ranked by the round in which they were eliminated.
NB: numbers based on goal scorers as listed above; for a few goals, some reports
gave different scorers.
7 H. Carlsson (Swe) [7 in gold medals tournament]
6 Janda (Cze) [6 in gold medals tournament]
5 Groosjohan (Net) [4 in gold medals tournament, 1 in silver and bronze medals tournament]
4 Coppée (Bel) [4 in gold medals tournament]
Vaník (Cze) [4 in gold medals tournament]
Sesúmaga (Spa) [ 4 in silver and bronze medals tournament]
3 J. Bulder (Net) [3 in gold medals tournament]
"Mazal" (Cze) [3 in gold medals tournament]
Olsson (Swe) [3 in gold medals tournament]
Dahl (Swe) [2 in gold medals tournament, 1 in silver and bronze medals tournament]
Belgium | Czechoslovakia | Denmark | Egypt | France | Great Britain (England) | Greece | Italy | Luxembourg |
Netherlands | Norway | Spain | Sweden | Yugoslavia
NB: countries could name up to 22 players;
Pos = Position (GK = Goalkeeper; DF = Defender; MF = Midfielder; FW = Forward); tr. = Trainer;
the part of the Full Name used in Match Details section is given in bold face;
DoB = Date of Birth; DoD = Date of Death;
Club refers to that at which player was active in the 1919/20 season;
Caps and Goals refer to full international matches in entire career (does not include matches for
the England Amateur side);
additions and corrections are welcome.
Belgium
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Jan De Bie 9- 5-1892 14- 5-1961 Racing CB 37 0
GK Léon Vandermeiren 8- 1-1896 3- 5-1955 Daring CB 3 0
DF Leopold De Groof 2- 2-1896 26- 6-1984 Antwerp FC 2 0
DF Armand Swartenbroeks 30- 6-1892 3-10-1980 Daring CB 53 0
DF Oscar Verbeeck 6- 8-1891 13- 8-1971 Union Saint-Gilloise 27 0
MF Félix Balyu 5- 8-1891 15- 1-1971 FC Brugeois 1 0
MF Julien Cnudde 22- 5-1897 9-1959 Union Saint-Gilloise 1 0
MF André Fierens 8- 2-1898 12- 1-1972 Beerschot AC 24 0
MF Emile Hanse 10- 8-1892 5- 4-1981 Union Saint-Gilloise 11 0
MF Joseph Musch 12-10-1893 25- 9-1971 Union Saint-Gilloise 24 3
MF Auguste Pelsmaeker 15-11-1899 19-11-1976 Beerschot AC 4 0
FW Désiré Bastin 4- 3-1900 18- 4-1971 Antwerp FC 35 7
FW Mathieu Bragard 10- 3-1895 19- 7-1952 CS Verviétois 7 5
FW Robert Coppée 23- 4-1895 1970 Union Saint-Gilloise 15 9
FW Frans Dogaer 6- 7-1897 5- 7-1926 RC de Malines 3 0
FW Georges Hebdin 19- 4-1889 23- 5-1905 Union Saint-Gilloise 12 0
FW Henri "Rik" Larnoe 18- 5-1897 22- 2-1978 Beerschot AC 22 11
FW Georges Michel 29- 4-1898 13- 6-1928 Léopold CB [-] 10 3
FW Fernand Nisot 11- 4-1895 31- 7-1973 Léopold CB [-] 14 10
FW Ivan Thys 29- 4-1897 15- 2-1982 Beerschot AC 20 7
FW Louis Van Hege 8- 5-1889 24- 6-1975 Union Saint-Gilloise 12 3
FW Fernand Wertz 29- 1-1894 28-11-1971 Antwerp FC 5 1
tr.: Willie Maxwell (Scotland) 21- 9-1876 14- 7-1940
[-] Léopold CB played at the second domestic level.
NB: the above 22 players formed the final squad; they were chosen from a preliminary squad of 23 players
announced on 18 August, from which George "Gust" van der Gracht de Rommerswael was deleted; the final
choice was made between him and De Groof:
DF Gust van der Gracht de Rommerswael 26-12-1894 10- 9-1966 Beerschot AC 0 0
Czechoslovakia
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Rudolf Klapka 24- 8-1889 11- 9-1951 SK Viktoria Žižkov 4 0
GK František Peyr 5- 8-1896 26-11-1955 AC Sparta Praha 2 0
DF Antonín Hojer 31- 3-1894 20-10-1964 AC Sparta Praha 35 3
DF Miroslav Pospišil 27- 9-1890 1964 AC Sparta Praha 5 0
DF Antonín Ratzensberger "Ráca" [*] 18- 6-1893 3-10-1963 SK Slavia Praha 1 0
DF Karel Steiner 26- 1-1895 29- 4-1934 SK Viktoria Žižkov 14 3
MF Jaroslav Hromadník AFK Union Žižkov 0 0
MF František Kolenatý 29- 1-1900 24- 2-1956 AC Sparta Praha 28 1
MF Josef Kuchař 2- 4-1901 13- 3-1986 AFK Union Žižkov 1 0
MF Antonín Perner 29- 1-1899 24-11-1973 AC Sparta Praha 28 1
MF Karel Pešek "Káďa" 20- 9-1895 30- 9-1970 AC Sparta Praha 44 1
MF Emil Seifert 28- 4-1900 20-10-1973 SK Viktoria Žižkov 18 0
FW Antonín Janda "Očko" 21- 9-1892 26-11-1960 AC Sparta Praha 10 12
FW Josef Janík [*] SK Slavia Praha 0 0
FW Václav Pilát 6- 5-1888 28- 1-1971 AC Sparta Praha 4 0
FW Jan Plaček 5-10-1894 18-12-1957 AC Sparta Praha 1 0
FW Václav Prošek [*] SK Slavia Praha 0 0
FW Josef Sedláček I 15-12-1893 15- 1-1985 AC Sparta Praha 13 6
FW Otakar Škvajn "Mazal" 3- 6-1894 12- 9-1941 AC Sparta Praha 6 3
FW Václav Šubrt AFK Kolín 0 0
FW Jan Vaník 7- 5-1891 12- 6-1950 SK Slavia Praha 12 10
tr.: Jake Madden (Scotland) 11- 6-1865 17- 4-1948
[*] Janík and Prošek were included in the squad list but did not travel to Belgium; one of them
may have been replaced by "Ráca" who was not included on the squad list available on 27 August;
Ratzensberger did not play in any matches but nevertheless managed to get himself sent off in
the semi-final – as linesman!
Denmark
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Poul Graae 20-10-1899 10- 8-1976 K.B. 5 0
GK Sophus Hansen 16-11-1889 19- 2-1962 Frem 31 0
DF Steen Steensen Blicher 11- 1-1899 1- 8-1965 K.B. 27 5
DF Christian Grøthan 19-11-1890 6- 4-1951 B. 93 31 3
DF Vilhelm Jørgensen 27- 5-1897 3-10-1967 B. 1903 15 0
DF Ivar Lykke Seidelin-Nielsen 7- 3-1889 9- 1-1955 K.B. 27 0
DF Nils Middelboe 5-10-1887 21- 9-1976 K.B. [+] 15 7
DF Svend Ringsted 30- 8-1893 16- 3-1975 A.B. 5 0
DF Fritz Tarp 2- 8-1899 9- 1-1958 B. 93 44 0
MF Gunnar Aaby 9- 7-1895 22- 8-1966 A.B. 7 1
MF Paul Berth 7- 4-1890 9-11-1969 A.B. 26 1
MF Jens Jensen 15-11-1890 16-11-1957 B. 1903 1 0
FW Bernhard V. Andersen 5- 2-1892 9- 9-1985 Frem 5 1
FW Leo Dannin 26- 3-1898 15- 9-1971 K.B. 9 0
FW Carl Hansen 17- 5-1898 19- 5-1978 B. 1903 7 3
FW Viggo Jørgensen 8- 8-1899 21- 5-1986 B. 1903 13 6
FW Poul Nielsen [*] 17- 6-1895 12- 2-1970 Ø.B. 1 0
FW Alf Olsen 3- 9-1893 18- 8-1976 K.B. 19 8
FW Michael Rohde 3- 3-1894 5- 2-1979 B. 93 40 22
FW Samuel Thorsteinsson 1- 1-1893 25-11-1956 A.B. 7 1
tr.: Jack Carr (England) 7-10-1878 17- 3-1948
[*] not to be confused with his namesake Poul "Tist" Nielsen, who played at the 1912 Olympic Games.
[+] Middelboe played for Chelsea during the 1919/20 season, which made him ineligible to play for Denmark
according to contemporary F.I.F.A. regulations; therefore, he had registered with K.B.
NB: the above 20 players formed the final squad; the squad list contained 2 more names to fill all 22 places,
but Forchhammer was a medical doctor assisting the team and K. Middelboe had finished his playing career
and represented the football federation:
N-P dr. Holger Forchhammer 21-10-1866 19- 5-1946
N-P Kristian Middelboe 24- 3-1881 20- 5-1965
Egypt
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club [*] Caps Goals
GK Mahmoud Marei [!] C.I.S.C.
GK Kamel Taha 1897 N.S.C.
DF Mohamed Gabr C.I.S.C.
DF Abdel Salam Hamdi 1894 C.S.C.
DF Mohamed El-Sayed E.S.R.I.
MF Ali Fahmi El-Hassani 1-1897 C.I.S.C.
MF Mahmoud Saqr Mokhtar A.S.C.
MF Gamil Othman C.I.S.C.
MF Reyad Shawki N.S.C.
FW El-Sayed Fahmy Abaza C.I.S.C.
FW Tawfiq Abdullah 23- 6-1897 1- 1-2000 C.I.S.C.
FW Hassan Ali Allouba N.S.C.
FW Hussein Hegazi 14- 9-1891 20-10-1961 C.S.C.
FW Khalil Hosni Amin G.O.A.C.
FW Zaki Othman 14-10-1898 28- 9-1985 C.S.C.
FW Abbas Safwat N.S.C.
[*] several players appear to have been affiliated to multiple clubs; the clubs listed here are those for
which the player in question usually played before the start of the Olympics (thanks to Neil Morrison);
clubs are given by their contemporary English names:
A.S.C. = Abbassia Sporting Club;
C.I.S.C. = Cairo International Sporting Club (El-Qahirah El-Mokhtalat Club), now Zamalek;
C.S.C. = Cairo Sporting Club (possibly an invitational team);
E.S.R.I. = Egyptian State Railways Institute (El-Sekka El-Hadid);
G.O.A.C. = Government Officials' Athletic Club (from Alexandria);
N.S.C. = National Sporting Club (Al-Ahly).
[!] instead of Marei, Mohamed El-Anwar was included in the squad list available on 27 August;
either Marei, who did not travel to Belgium, was a late replacement or there was a confusion
about names:
GK Mohamed El-Anwar
NB: the Egyptian FA was founded in 1921; the team was selected by the Union of Egyptian Sports Associations.
France
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Jean Le Bidois [#] 1898 13- 3-1927 Sotteville FC 0 0
GK Albert Parsys [!] 2- 6-1890 24- 2-1980 US Tourquennoise 5 0
DF Edouard Baumann 4- 3-1895 12- 4-1985 Racing Club de France 8 0
DF Léon Poissenot dit "Huot" 31-12-1898 26- 5-1961 CA Vitry 4 0
DF Pierre Mony 23- 3-1896 1- 1-1980 US Boulonnaise 5 0
DF Alfred Roth 1891 5- 9-1966 AS Strasbourg 1 0
MF Jean Batmale 18- 9-1895 3- 6-1973 USA Clichy 6 0
MF Philippe Bonnardel 28- 7-1899 17- 2-1953 Gallia Club 23 0
MF Pierre Gastiger 28- 2-1893 8- 3-1943 FEC Levallois 0 0
MF Maurice Gravelines 17- 7-1891 31- 1-1973 Olympique Lillois 2 0
MF François Hugues 13- 8-1896 15-12-1965 Red Star AC 24 1
MF Maurice Leroux FC Dieppe 0 0
MF Nicolas Marguères [*] AS Brestoise 0 0
MF René Petit de Ory 8-10-1899 14-10-1989 Stade Bordelais [+] 2 0
FW Henri "Bébé Cadum" Bard 29- 4-1892 26- 1-1951 CA Paris 18 6
FW Oscar Bongard 10- 4-1894 AS Strasbourg 0 0
FW Jean Boyer 13- 2-1901 24-11-1981 CASG 15 7
FW Jules Devaquez 9- 3-1899 11- 6-1971 Olympique de Paris 41 12
FW Raymond Dubly 5-11-1893 7- 9-1988 RC Roubaix 31 4
FW Maurice Gastiger 3-10-1896 22- 1-1966 FEC Levallois 3 1
FW André Lassalle Stade Bordelais 0 0
FW Paul Nicolas 4-11-1899 3- 3-1959 Red Star AC 35 20
tr.: Fred Pentland (England) 29- 7-1883 16- 3-1962
[#] Le Bidois died keeping goal for SO de l'Est against US Suisse, after having been kicked in the carotid
artery; cf. "pinte de foot" for his year of birth.
[*] Marguères was included in the squad list but did not travel to Belgium.
[+] Petit played for Real Unión de Irún in Spain, which made him ineligible to play for France according to
contemporary F.I.F.A. regulations; therefore, he had registered with Stade Bordelais.
[!] Parsys was a late replacement for the originally selected Charles Kuntz:
GK Charles Kuntz 10-10-1897 SC Sélestat 0 0
Great Britain (England)
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Fred Mitchell 18-11-1897 30- 5-1975 Manchester University 1 0
GK George Wiley Belmont Mines Athletic 0 0
DF Basil Gates 10- 5-1896 7- 1-1974 London Caledonians 0 0
DF Arthur Knight 7- 9-1887 10- 3-1956 Portsmouth 1 0
DF Humphrey Ward 20- 1-1899 16-12-1946 Oxford University 0 0
MF George Atkinson 3- 9-1893 29- 5-1967 Bishop Auckland 0 0
MF Charles Harbidge 15- 7-1891 1-10-1980 Reading 0 0
MF Rev. Kenneth Hunt 24- 2-1884 28- 4-1949 Corinthian 2 0
MF John Payne 3-12-1889 28- 8-1942 Leytonstone 0 0
FW Jack Brennan 11-11-1893 13- 8-1942 Manchester City 0 0
FW Harry Buck 1884 13- 2-1964 Millwall 0 0
FW Maurice Bunyan 14-10-1894 12-1967 Chelsea 0 0
FW Herbert Hambleton 25- 4-1896 1- 1-1985 Corinthian 0 0
FW Wesley Harding 1893 27-12-1925 Cambridge University 0 0
FW Kenneth "Jackie" Hegan 24- 1-1901 3- 3-1989 Corinthian 4 4
FW Charles Julian 26- 6-1897 7- 9-1955 Old Westminsters 0 0
FW Fred Nicholas 25- 7-1893 20-10-1962 Corinthian 0 0
FW Herbert Prince 14- 1-1892 12- 1-1986 Royal Army Med.Corps Aldershot 0 0
FW Dick Sloley 20- 8-1891 17-10-1946 Corinthian 0 0
tr.: George Latham (Wales) 1- 1-1881 9- 7-1939
NB: the above 19 players formed the final squad; Max Woosnam declined the invitation to captain the team in order
to concentrate on the tennis tournament (in which he won gold in the men's doubles and silver in the mixed):
MF Max Woosnam 6- 9-1892 14- 7-1965 Manchester City 1 0
Greece
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Dimítris Demertzís Panathinaïkós 0 0
GK Andónis Fotiádis 1899 Paniónios (Smýrni) 1 0
DF Agamémnon Gkílis 1891 Paniónios (Smýrni) 1 0
DF Nikólaos Kaloúdis 1899 Peiraïkí Énosis 1 0
MF Sotíris Despotópoulos Paniónios (Smýrni) 0 0
MF Dimítrios Gótis 1899 Apóllon Smýrnis 1 0
MF Apóstolos Nikolaïdis 19- 4-1896 15-10-1980 Panathinaïkós 1 0
MF Chrístos Péppas 1899 Peiraïkí Énosis 1 0
FW Giánnis Andrianópoulos 1900 6-11-1952 Peiraïkí Énosis 1 0
FW Giórgos Andrianópoulos 25-10-1903 24- 2-1980 Peiraïkós Sýndesmos 5 2
FW Giórgios Chatziandréou 1899 Peiraïkós Sýndesmos 1 0
FW Theódoros Dimitríou 1898 Paniónios (Smýrni) 1 0
FW Giórgos Kalafátis [*] 17- 3-1890 19- 2-1964 Panathinaïkós 1 0
FW Theódoros Nikolaïdis 1891 Goudí 1 0
Vasílis Sámios Apóllon Smýrnis 0 0
Giánnis Stavrópoulos Panathinaïkós 0 0
[*] Giórgos Kalafátis also was the trainer of the team.
NB: the Greek FA was only founded in 1926, so the match played at the 1920 Olympic Games is not an official
international (although it is counted here, as the 11 players listed with 1 cap above clearly represented
their country); the team was selected by SEGAS (Sýndesmos Ellinikón Gymnastikón Athlitikón Somateíon, the
Association of Greek Gymnastics Sports Clubs).
Italy
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Pierino Campelli 20-12-1893 20-10-1946 Internazionale 11 0
GK Giovanni Giacone 1-12-1900 1- 4-1964 Juventus 4 0
DF Antonio Bruna 14- 2-1895 25-12-1976 Juventus 5 0
DF Renzo De Vecchi 3- 2-1894 14- 5-1967 Genoa 43 0
DF Virginio Rosetta 24- 2-1902 29- 3-1975 Juventus 52 0
MF Guido Ara 28- 8-1888 2- 7-1975 Pro Vercelli 13 1
MF Luigi Burlando 23- 1-1899 12-12-1967 Andrea Doria 19 1
MF Gracco De Nardo 24- 9-1893 22- 4-1984 Spes (Genova) 2 0
MF Cesare Lovati 25-12-1894 22- 7-1961 Milan 6 0
MF Mario Meneghetti 4-12-1893 24- 2-1942 Novara 4 0
MF Giuseppe Parodi 17-12-1892 12- 3-1984 Pro Vercelli 4 0
MF Ettore Reynaudi 4-11-1895 9- 6-1968 Novara 6 0
MF Enrico Sardi 1- 4-1891 4- 7-1969 Genoa 7 4
FW Emilio Badini 4- 8-1897 4- 8-1956 Bologna 2 1
FW Adolfo Baloncieri 27- 7-1897 23- 7-1986 Alessandria 47 25
FW Guglielmo Brezzi 24-12-1898 7- 4-1926 Genoa 8 5
FW Adevildo De Marchi 16- 3-1894 20- 5-1965 Andrea Doria 1 0
FW Pio Ferraris 19- 5-1899 5- 2-1957 Juventus 4 1
FW Giuseppe Forlivesi 28- 3-1894 3- 1-1971 Modena 10 2
FW Giustiniano Marucco 22- 8-1899 24-10-1942 Novara 2 0
FW Rinaldo Roggero 21- 8-1891 6- 7-1966 Savona 1 0
FW Aristodemo Santamaria 9- 2-1892 10-12-1974 Genoa 11 3
tr.: Giuseppe Milano 26- 9-1887 13- 5-1971
Luxembourg
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Charles Krüger 9- 3-1896 8- 3-1990 Stade Dudelange 1 0
GK Jean Walin 21- 5-1899 US Hollerich 5 0
DF Joseph "Jos" Koetz 29- 5-1897 13- 6-1976 Fola Esch 11 1
DF J. Rémy The National Schifflange [-] 0 0
DF Thomas Schmit 26- 4-1894 9- 8-1944 US Hollerich 4 0
MF Emile Hamilius [+] 16- 5-1897 7- 3-1971 Fola Esch 2 0
MF Dominique Kelsen Fola Esch 0 0
MF Tiny Langers 29-12-1896 4-10-1929 Jeunesse d'Esch 8 4
MF Léon Metzler 4- 6-1896 13- 3-1930 Young Boys Diekirch [-] 1 0
MF Camille Schumacher 6- 5-1896 3- 8-1977 Fola Esch 2 0
MF Michel Ungeheuer 16- 6-1890 9- 2-1969 US Hollerich 3 0
FW Robert Elter 20- 4-1899 2- 5-1991 Sporting Luxembourg 6 5
FW Charles Kieffer Jeunesse d'Esch 0 0
FW Jean Kieffer Fola Esch 0 0
FW Arthur Leesch 23- 1-1894 8- 5-1905 US Hollerich 2 0
FW Jean Massard 17- 9-1894 3- 2-1930 Fola Esch 3 4
[+] while the rest of the team travelled to Brussels on Friday 27 August, Hamilius, who at first had not
obtained leave from his employer, only made the trip on Saturday 28 August, the day of the match.
[-] The National Schifflange played at the second domestic level; Young Boys Diekirch did not play in the
league structure after being relegated from the first level in 1919.
Netherlands
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Dick MacNeill 7- 1-1898 3- 6-1963 H.V.V. 7 0
GK Frans Tempel [#] 20- 3-1898 25- 7-1944 Tubantia (Hengelo) 0 0
DF Koos Boerdam [*] V.O.C. 0 0
DF Henri "Harry" Dénis 28- 8-1896 13- 7-1971 H.B.S. 56 0
DF Eb van der Kluft 23- 5-1889 5- 7-1970 Blauw-Wit (Amsterdam) 4 0
DF Ben Verweij 31- 8-1895 14- 7-1951 H.F.C. [-] 11 0
MF Leo Bosschart 24- 8-1888 9- 5-1951 Quick (Den Haag) [-] 19 1
MF jhr. Felix von Heyden 11- 4-1890 17-11-1982 Quick (Nijmegen) [+] 1 0
MF Frits Kuipers 11- 7-1899 10-10-1943 Quick (Nijmegen) 5 0
MF Herman Legger 7- 7-1895 7- 9-1978 Be Quick (Groningen) 2 0
MF Evert van Linge [#] 19-11-1895 6-12-1964 Be Quick (Groningen) 13 3
MF Henk Steeman 15- 1-1894 16- 2-1979 Sparta 13 0
FW Tinus van Beurden 30- 4-1893 29- 5-1950 Willem II 1 0
FW Arie Bieshaar 15- 3-1899 21- 1-1965 Haarlem 4 0
FW Evert Bulder 24-12-1894 21- 4-1973 Be Quick (Groningen) 1 0
FW Jaap Bulder [#] 27- 9-1896 30- 4-1979 Be Quick (Groningen) 6 6
FW Joop van Dort 25- 5-1889 1- 4-1967 Ajax (Amsterdam) 5 0
FW Ber Groosjohan 16- 6-1897 5- 8-1971 V.O.C. 14 5
FW Jan de Natris [#] 13-11-1895 16- 9-1972 Ajax (Amsterdam) 23 5
FW Piet Peereboom 14- 1-1897 14- 2-1980 H.B.S. 0 0
FW Oscar van Rappard [!] 2- 4-1896 18- 4-1962 H.B.S. 4 0
FW Jan de Vries [!] 2- 3-1896 19- 4-1939 Z.A.C. 0 0
tr.: Fred Warburton (England) 8- 8-1880 29-11-1948
[*] not to be confused with former international Willem Boerdam (Sparta, 2 caps 1909-1910).
[+] Von Heyden had left Quick after the end of the 1919/20 season and joined Helmond during the summer.
[#] these four players were suspended for the final of the silver and bronze medals tournament.
[!] Van Rappard and De Vries also entered track and field events (before the football tournament).
[-] Quick (Den Haag) and H.F.C. had been relegated to the second level at the end of the 1919/20
season and thus played at the second level at the time of the Olympic football tournament.
NB: the above 22 players formed the final squad; the following 4 players had been selected for the original
squad announced on 10 August, but withdrew for various reasons; instead Boerdam, Van Beurden, De Natris
and Peereboom were selected:
DF Piet Stevens 13-12-1897 26-10-1970 Willem II 5 0
FW George Beijers 3-12-1895 3- 6-1978 V.O.C. 1 0
FW Theo Brokmann 19- 9-1893 28- 8-1956 Ajax (Amsterdam) 1 1
FW Manus van Diermen 26- 9-1895 14-10-1946 Blauw-Wit (Amsterdam) 5 0
NB: the following player was originally chosen as replacement but failed to obtain leave from work:
MF Isaak Smitshoek Tubantia (Hengelo) 0 0
Norway
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Alf Lagesen 24- 6-1897 13- 2-1973 Drammen 1 0
GK Sigurd Wathne 12- 2-1898 26- 3-1942 Brann 14 0
DF Otto Aulie 27- 9-1894 9- 2-1923 Lyn 28 0
DF John Johnsen 17- 3-1895 2- 2-1969 Brann 9 0
DF Per Skou 20- 5-1891 24- 2-1962 Odd 41 1
MF Gunnar Andersen 18- 3-1890 25- 4-1968 Lyn 46 0
MF Erich Graff-Wang 15-10-1902 26- 6-1969 Ready 2 0
MF Asbjørn Halvorsen 3-12-1898 16- 1-1955 Sarpsborg 19 0
MF Ellef Mohn 13- 8-1894 4- 1-1974 Frigg 3 0
MF Adolph Wold 30- 9-1892 5- 2-1976 Ready 26 3
FW Rolf Aas 12-12-1891 9- 4-1946 Mercantile 19 2
FW Arne Andersen 21- 4-1900 26-12-1986 Kvik (Halden) 6 4
FW Kaare Engebretsen [*] 22- 8-1893 16-10-1960 Mercantile 20 8
FW Einar Gundersen 20- 9-1896 29-10-1962 Odd 33 26
FW Johnny Helgesen 1- 1-1897 26-12-1964 Kvik (Halden) 22 7
FW Per Holm 10- 1-1899 8- 9-1974 Sarpsborg 17 1
FW Michael Paulsen 1- 3-1899 18-10-1968 Ørn (Horten) 20 1
FW Rolf Semb-Thorstvedt 3- 4-1898 15-10-1972 Frigg 2 0
FW Einar Wilhelms 2- 8-1895 3- 8-1978 Fredrikstad 13 5
tr.: Jim McPherson (Scotland) 13- 4-1891 12- 8-1960
[*] Engebretsen was included in the squad list but did not travel to Belgium due to injury.
Spain
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Agustín Eizaguirre Ostolaza [*] 7-10-1897 28-11-1961 Real Sociedad 0 0
GK Ricardo Zamora Martínez 21- 1-1901 8- 9-1978 Barcelona 46 0
DF Mariano Arrate Esnaola 12- 8-1892 24-12-1963 Real Sociedad 6 1
DF Manuel Carrasco Alonso 27- 1-1894 Real Sociedad 0 0
DF Luis Otero Sánchez-Encinas 22-10-1893 20- 1-1955 Real Vigo Sporting 4 0
DF Pedro Vallana Jeanguenat 29-11-1897 4- 7-1980 Arenas Club (Guecho) 12 0
MF Juan Artola Letamendía 28-11-1895 1937 Real Sociedad 2 0
MF José María "Belaúste"
Belausteguigoitia Landaluce 15- 5-1889 4- 9-1964 Athletic Club (Bilbao) 3 1
MF Ramón Eguiazábal Berroa 14- 4-1896 1939 Real Unión de Irún 3 0
MF Francisco Emery Arocena [!] 21- 1-1899 19- 1-1965 Real Unión de Irún 0 0
MF Sabino Bilbao Libano 11-12-1897 20- 1-1983 Athletic Club (Bilbao) 2 0
MF José Samitier Vilalta 2- 2-1902 4- 5-1972 Barcelona 21 2
MF Agustín Sancho Agustina 18- 7-1896 25- 8-1960 Barcelona 3 0
FW Domingo Gómez-Acedo Villanueva 6- 6-1898 14- 9-1980 Athletic Club (Bilbao) 11 1
FW Patricio Araboloza Aramburu 17- 3-1893 10- 3-1935 Real Unión de Irún 5 1
FW Ramón "Moncho Gil" Gil Sequeiros 16- 8-1897 18- 1-1965 Real Vigo Sporting 2 0
FW Francisco "Pagaza"
Pagazaurtundúa González-Murrieta 20-10-1894 18-11-1958 Arenas Club (Guecho) 7 0
FW Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno Aranzadi 23- 5-1892 1- 3-1922 Athletic Club (Bilbao) 5 1
FW Ramón González Figueroa 10- 2-1899 4-11-1977 Real Vigo Sporting 0 0
FW Marcelino Silverio
Izaguirre Sorzabalbere 26- 4-1898 19-11-1935 Real Sociedad 1 0
FW Félix Sesúmaga Ugarte 12-10-1898 24- 8-1925 Barcelona 8 4
FW Joaquín Vázquez González 26- 8-1897 21-10-1965 Racing Ferrol 1 0
tr.: Francisco "Paco Bru" Bru Sanz 12- 4-1885 10- 6-1962
[*] Eizaguirre returned to Spain after the first match in which Zamora had excelled.
[!] Emery was a late replacement for the originally selected Ramón Encinas Dios, who did not obtain leave
from work; however, Emery did not travel to Belgium either due to illness:
MF Ramón "Moncho" Encinas Dios 19- 5-1893 21- 3-1967 Fortuna de Vigo 0 0
Sweden
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Sven Klang 22- 9-1894 26- 2-1958 Mariebergs IK [-] 1 0
GK Robert Zander 18- 9-1895 27- 6-1966 Örgryte IS 20 0
DF Fritjof Hillén 19- 5-1893 7-11-1977 GAIS 15 0
DF Valdus Lund 4- 4-1895 9- 5-1962 IFK Göteborg 29 0
DF Bertil Nordenskjöld 24- 5-1891 17- 3-1975 Djurgårdens IF 8 0
DF Vidar Stenborg [!] 21- 5-1894 30- 7-1960 IFK Eskilstuna 2 1
DF Henning Svensson 13-10-1891 23- 1-1979 IFK Göteborg 20 0
DF John Torstensson 5-10-1896 10- 8-1972 Malmö FF [-] 1 0
MF Karl Gustafsson 16- 9-1888 20- 2-1960 Djurgårdens IF 32 22
MF Nils Karlsson 26- 1-1900 16- 5-1976 GAIS 8 0
MF Rune Wenzel 4- 1-1901 29- 7-1977 GAIS 30 1
MF Ragnar Wicksell 26- 9-1892 29- 6-1966 Djurgårdens IF 33 3
MF Albert Öijermark 16- 2-1900 9- 7-1970 Djurgårdens IF 4 0
FW Rune Bergström 5- 9-1891 7- 5-1964 AIK 26 5
FW Fritz Carlsson 8- 6-1893 30- 1-1966 IFK Eskilstuna 0 0
FW Herbert Carlsson 8- 9-1896 21-10-1952 IFK Göteborg 20 19
FW Albin Dahl 2- 1-1900 15- 2-1980 Landskrona BoIS [-] 29 21
FW Erik Dahlström 26- 6-1894 30-10-1953 IFK Eskilstuna 3 2
FW Einar Halling-Johansson 14-10-1893 4- 2-1958 Örgryte IS 6 0
FW Erik Hjelm 22- 5-1893 30- 6-1975 IFK Göteborg 20 2
FW Albert Olsson 28-11-1896 20-10-1977 GAIS 10 5
FW Mauritz Sandberg 15-11-1895 4-11-1981 IFK Göteborg 11 0
tr.: Anton Johanson 28- 1-1877 24-12-1952
[-] Landskrona BoIS, Malmö FF and Mariebergs IK did not play in the Svenska Serien.
[!] Stenborg was a late replacement for the originally selected Karl Karlstrand:
FW Karl Karlstrand 3- 1-1893 9- 1-1942 Djurgårdens IF 8 2
Yugoslavia
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Nikola Stanković BSK (Beograd) 0 0
GK Dragutin Vrđuka 3- 4-1895 23- 1-1948 Građanski (Zagreb) 7 0
DF Mihailo Jovanović Jugoslavija (Beograd) 0 0
DF Branimir "Brana" Porobić 5- 1-1901 18-12-1952 BUSK (Beograd) 1 0
DF Jaroslav Šifer (Schiffer) 12- 8-1895 29-11-1982 Građanski (Zagreb) 6 1
DF Dragutin Vragović 18- 9-1897 22- 1-1973 Građanski (Zagreb) 7 0
DF Vjekoslav Župančić [!] 7- 2-1900 14- 2-1971 HAŠK (Zagreb) 1 0
MF Slavin Cindrić 10- 8-1901 29- 4-1943 Concordia (Zagreb) 5 3
MF Rudolf Rupec 17- 2-1896 3- 7-1983 Građanski (Zagreb) 9 0
MF Josip Šolc (Scholz) 30- 1-1898 24- 9-1945 Concordia (Zagreb) 2 0
MF Stanko Tavčar 2- 2-1898 11- 7-1945 Ilirija (Ljubljana) [+] 2 0
FW Artur Dubravčić 15- 9-1894 14- 3-1969 Concordia (Zagreb) 9 1
FW Ivan Granec (Granitz) 8- 9-1897 9- 1-1923 Građanski (Zagreb) 1 0
FW Andreja Kojić 28- 8-1896 7- 7-1952 BSK (Beograd) 1 0
FW Emanuel Perška 20- 6-1896 8- 5-1945 Građanski (Zagreb) 14 2
FW Jovan Ružić 12-12-1898 25- 9-1973 Jugoslavija (Beograd) 2 0
FW Nikola Simić 2-12-1897 22-12-1969 BSK (Beograd) 1 0
tr.: Veljko Ugrinić 28-12-1885 15- 7-1958
[!] Župančić was a late replacement for the originally selected Milivoj Sekulić:
Milivoj Sekulić 1893 10- 5-1941 Concordia (Zagreb) 0 0
[+] Tavčar temporarily played at HAŠK (Zagreb) during the summer of 1920.
NB: the above 17 players were registered for the tournament; three other players travelled with them to Antwerp:
GK Božidar "Boško" Simonović [*] 12- 2-1898 5- 8-1965 BSK (Beograd) 0 0
Jug Nikašinović BUSK (Beograd) 0 0
Vjekoslav "Slavko" Radovinović [#] Građanski (Zagreb) 0 0
[*] Simonović, coach of Yugoslavia at the 1930 World Cup, was baptised Simunović but always known as Simonović.
[#] Radovinović acted as linesman in the match against Czechoslovakia.
At most matches, both teams provided one linesman each, as was supposedly required
(presumably: allowed or recommended) by a supplementary circular to the official
regulations, although several exceptions to this were made, first in the first round
match between Italy and Egypt, officiated by three Belgians.
After Czech linesman Ráca had been sent off by the referee in
their semi-final against France for blatant partiality, the last two matches in the
gold medal tournament, the semi-final between neighbours Belgium and the Netherlands,
already then a rivalry with a long tradition,
and the final, were entrusted to an eminent and experienced English threesome:
Johnny Lewis, who had already refereed an Olympic final twelve years before,
Arthur Knight, gold medalist in 1912 and captain of the Great Britain side in Antwerp,
and Charles Wreford-Brown, a former captain of the full England side in the 1890s.
(Likewise, the final two matches in the tournament for the silver and bronze
medals, Spain's meetings with Italy
and the Netherlands, were both officiated by
three Belgians, possibly (post hoc ergo propter hoc?) because of the
scandalous encounter between Spain and Sweden.)
The first of the (three) grounds given by the Czechoslovak delegation for their
protest after abandoning the final was the use of neutral linesmen (that required
considerable cheek after what had happened to Ráca in their semi-final), about which
they complained to organisation committee secretary (and later F.I.F.A. president)
Seeldrayers after walking off (instead of before the match, as they could have; the
appointments for the final had been made two days earlier, immediately after the
semi-finals had been concluded). As second ground they gave the supposedly many
wrong decisions by the referee (against which, true or not, no protest was possible
according to the international regulations under which the match was played); the
third was the (allegedly provoking) presence of Belgian soldiers in the stadium
(stationed there to prevent pitch invasions during the match, a task they accomplished:
the spectators only entered the field after Czechoslovakia had already walked off).
On the day after the match, 3 July, the Jury of Appeal, formed by A.J. Duchenne
(France), Carl Hirschman (Netherlands) and Anton Johanson (Sweden) – the
Belgian and Czechoslovak members of the Jury, as representing the countries
interested, did not take part in the discussion, while the British and Italian
members were absent – unanimously rejected
the protest, qualifying it as "totally inadmissible" and "clearly unsportsmanlike",
ruled that Belgium had won the final by 2 goals to 0, excluded Czechoslovakia from
the tournament (i.e., that for silver and bronze medals) and gave the Czechoslovak
committee one day to withdraw the protest and send letters of apology to the
referee and linesmen, to the Executive Committee of the VIIth Olympiad, and
to the F.I.F.A. Unsurprisingly, the Czechs failed to do so, but at the
beginning of 1921 the Czechoslovak football federation, on the recommendation
of its national olympic committee, officially apologised for the behaviour of
its players.
Years after the match, Czech forward Sedláček claimed
that Lewis had been biased against Czechoslovakia because he had once been beaten up
in Prague by a
Czech crowd (on the occasion
of a "friendly" between Bohemia and England
in June 1908, cf. [Gro 47], p. 291), but they had
not protested his appointment ahead of the final and using (the surmised implications
of) their own gross lack of sportsmanship in the past to justify a new instance of it
sheds an even more unfavourable light on the Czech attitude.
There were several other refereeing controversies at the tournament.
In the quarter-final between the Netherlands and Sweden, Fanta, the
Czech (!) referee, made many incorrect calls (in spite of their win, the Dutch
press commented scathingly on his performance), mostly disadvantaging the Swedes,
who submitted a protest (of course rejected) and initially withdrew from their
match against Spain in the tournament for silver and bronze medals; when that
match was played one day later than originally scheduled, it degenerated into a
violent brawl, with Mauro, the Italian referee, merely
looking on and failing to send off a single player while one third of the combatants
was being incapacitated.
Full Name Country DoB DoD Matches Fin SF
D. Johannes "Job" Mutters Netherlands 19- 2-1889 8- 3-1974 3 1
Eugène Paul Fernand Putz Belgium 1-10-1880 1-10-1955 3
John "Johnny" Lewis England 30- 3-1855 13- 1-1926 2 1 1
Charles Barette Belgium 1873 11-10-1947 2
Henri Denis Christophe Belgium 23- 7-1884 17- 6-1968 1
Willem "Wim" Eijmers Netherlands 15-12-1885 15- 9-1932 1
Josef Fanta Czechoslovakia 29-12-1889 19-10-1960 1
Louis Fourgous France 1
Georges Louis Joseph Hubrecht Belgium 26- 7-1880 22- 9-1959 1
Giovanni Antonio Giuseppe Mauro Italy 21- 7-1888 13- 5-1958 1
Raphaël Leon van Praag Netherlands 12- 9-1885 31- 8-1934 1
NB: Johnny Lewis had also refereed the final in 1908;
Henri Christophe and Job Mutters both also officiated in 1924 and 1928 (where Mutters refereed
both the final and the final replay); they are the only two referees active at all three Olympic
football tournaments in the twenties; in addition, Wim Eijmers refereed two matches in 1928 and
was assigned two matches in 1924 but was replaced for both.
overview file 1920
olympic games 1908 match details |
olympic games 1912 match details |
olympic games 1916 match details |
olympic games 1924 match details |
olympic games 1928 match details |
olympic games 1936 match details
Sources included:
[BOC 57],
[BrK 14],
[BuL (Band 3)],
[Dod 83],
[Fau 93],
[Gro 47],
[IFF 00 (Band 1)],
[Jør 02],
[Klu 97],
[MaS 97],
Olympedia,
Linguasport
(archived by the Wayback Machine),
wikipedia,
eu-football.info,
pinte de foot,
RAFC History - Stadions en Terreinen,
various contemporary Belgian newspapers (available
through Belgica Press),
various contemporary French newspapers (available through
Gallica),
various contemporary Dutch newspapers (available
through Delpher).
Thanks to Khaled Abul-Oyoun, Cris Freddi, Thierry Glemet, Eduardo Mendoza, Neil Morrison
and Giampaolo Testero for additions and corrections and to Macario Reyes for an
earlier version of this file.
Prepared and maintained by Karel Stokkermans
for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Author: Karel Stokkermans
(karel.rsssf@gmail.com)
Last updated: 15 Oct 2024
(C) Copyright Karel Stokkermans and RSSSF 1999/2024
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper acknowledgement
is given to the author. All rights reserved.