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At the age of
24,
Efrain
'Chico' Chacurian
was a fleet, left-footed forward on the U.S. National soccer
team. He also was homesick for his native Argentina after two
years in this country.
That
homesickness caused Chacurian to return home. It also caused him
to miss the U.S. team's 1-0 defeat of England in a 1950 World
Cup game. That game, unheralded at the time in this country, is
now considered by many as the greatest upset in history.
Now, 55 years later, a movie about that upset, "The Game of Their Lives,"
is set to premier April 22. And the fact that Chacurian missed
out on being portrayed in the movie irritates the Stratford
resident.
"I kick my
pants all the time," said Chacurian, 81, a Hall of Famer. "I'm
very upset about it."
During
Chacurian's six months away, the team lost track of him and
chose another player to be part of the lowly American World Cup
team that defeated England's, considered the world's best.
The English
team was humiliated enough after the loss to never again wear
the blue jersey worn for that game. Geoffrey Douglas, a
free-lance writer and University of Massachusetts-Lowell adjunct
writing professor, interviewed each American player and gave a
detailed description of the game played before 30,000 in Belo
Horizonte, Brazil. The movie of the same name is based on that
146-page, 1996 book. The film's director is David Anspaugh, who
also directed "Hoosiers" and "Rudy." Patrick Stewart ("X-Men")
as
Dent McSkimming,
a St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports writer and lone American who
covered the game, heads the cast of mostly unknowns. McSkimming
had to pay his own way on vacation time to do so.
Chacurian
knew all of the American players in that game and remains
friends with the five who survive.
Walter Bahr,
the center halfback who assisted on the lone United States goal headed by
Joe
Gaetjens
and later coached Penn State for 40 years, is sorry Chacurian
couldn't make the trip.
"Chico was a
good, talented, skillful forward who should have been on the
team, but was not," Bahr said in a telephone interview from his
home in State College, Pa. "I don't know what happened. We did
expect him to go."
Bahr and the
four surviving 1950 teammates (John 'Clarkie' Souza,
Harry
Keough,
Gino
Pariani,
Frank Borghi)
were inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta,
N.Y., in 1976. Once Bahr became chairman of the induction
committee for six years in 1990, he saw to it that Chacurian was
one of the inductees. That happened in 1992.
"He's been
dedicated to soccer and youth development all his life," said
Bahr, who is portrayed in the film by Wes Bentley ("American
Beauty"). "He still is, and still plays. He could put a wicked
slice on the ball. He still has a great kick."
Chacurian has
coached at just about every level, including at Bridgeport's
Vasco Da Gama semipro, at Yale and the University of Bridgeport,
and currently with the U13 Olympic Development Team. He came to
the United States in 1947. Chacurian had played professionally
in Argentina, but decided to visit relatives and try his luck in
this country after a players' strike left him jobless.
By 1948 he
was playing with the strong Brooklyn Hispano team of the
professional American Soccer League and working as a watchmaker.
It didn't take him long to make the league's all-star team and
then the national team.
"In the fall
of 1949, I felt homesick, so I took a ship home," said
Chacurian, today the father of three and grandfather of four. "I
got back in March, and by that time the World Cup team had been
picked and there was nothing I could do. They'd had the tryouts
and played a few games together. They told me they didn't know
if I was coming back. I wasn't mad, but I was upset."
He remembers
listening to the team's progress through nothing more than score
reports on the radio.
"I wasn't
surprised to hear they lost to Spain 3-1," he said. "But when I
heard they would play England next, I said oh boy.' So I heard
the score on the radio, and I was happy about it. But I couldn't
believe it. They had hardly ever practiced together, and England
was the greatest team in the world."
There was no
front-page news from this game in the United States. But it was
all over Europe, a true David beating Goliath. The English,
originally favored as a sure finalist, went home early that year
after losing two of their three first-round games. They had
beaten Chile 2-0, but lost 1-0 to Spain after the USA debacle.
"I never read the Douglas book, but I heard about it," Chacurian
said. "It's good that it was done, to give them some
recognition. I'm delighted to hear it's been made into a movie.
I can't wait to see it, and I hope it elevates the game."
Despite
missing a chance for a spot on the 1950 U.S. World Cup team,
Chacurian has been immortalized not only as a national Hall of
Famer, but in Stratford as well.
A soccer
field at Short Beach is named for Chacurian, where he still
plays every Tuesday during the warmer months. During the winter,
Chacurian and others on the Stratford Coaches Soccer team play
indoors at the "Goooal" Soccer Arena on Honeyspot Road. "He
plays 15 minutes and rests for 10," said longtime teammate
Richard Diedrichsen, 55, an English teacher at Bunnell High
School, of the six-on-six games. "Sometimes I have to remind him
to take a break. He passes, shoots and scores goals. It's a
thrill and an honor to play on the same field with him. He's
been as much a part of the game's growth as anyone in this
country." The second annual Chico's Soccer Camp, sponsored by
the Stratford Recreation Department for boys and girls in grades
4-11, is April 18-22 at Chico Chacurian Field. Call 377-6472.
This article was contributed
by
Bill McDonald
of the Connecticut Post
About the National Soccer Hall
of Fame and Museum
 Located in
Oneonta, NY, the National Soccer Hall of Fame opened a 30,000
square foot, state-of-the-art museum in 1999. The Hall of Fame
tells the story of soccer in
America through artifacts, photographs, and video clips. The new
Hall features an extensive interactive, youth oriented Kicks
Zone where visitors have fun kicking,
heading and playing computer trivia stations and video
soccer games. The VideoWall portrays some of the greatest
moments and the greatest goals in history as well as live soccer
action with World Cup, MLS, and U.S. Soccer matches. Unique and
rare artifacts on exhibit range from the world’s oldest soccer
ball to the FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy won by the USA in
1999,
Pelé's and Mia Hamm’s uniforms, Kristine Lilly’s golden
shoes, NASL championship rings, the original MLS championship
trophy, MLS gallery - it’s all at the National Soccer Hall of
Fame. In addition to the interactive Museum, the National Soccer
Hall of Fame complex boasts the
Kicks
Zone Store,
a research library, four world-class soccer fields and
office/meeting facilities. The Hall plans to add a stadium, an
indoor soccer arena and housing facilities in the future.
The mission of
the National Soccer Hall of Fame is to celebrate the history,
honor the heroes, inspire the youth and preserve the legacy of
soccer in the United States.
The National
Soccer Hall of Fame is open every day of the year, except
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. Admission is $9.00 for
adults, $8.00 for students, $6.50 for children 6 or older and
senior citizens. Children 5 and under are free.
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