Who's the bastard in the black?
There's an interesting article on the 1969 'Football War' in this month's When Saturday Comes magazine. Though the emphasis here is on the football, in particular the three matches leading up to the war.
It makes the point that the final June 27 play-off between El Salvador and Honduras was not quite the bloodbath depicted in some reports, though Quintanilla's strike to Jose Cardona's throat, forcing a substitution, was probably the turning point of the match. Honduras couldn't put Salvador away and Rodriguez's goal settled the tie. Within days the border clashes began and El Salvador invaded on July 14.
Interestingly, the article covers the footballing aftermath of the war. El Salvador made it to the Mexico finals in 1970 after another three game series against Haiti in which Argentine coach Gregorio Bundio punched out a Haitian witch doctor who had allegedly terrified his players before the decisive match in Jamaica.
However, the war disrupted the tournament's preparations. Concacaf disqualified both El Salvador and Honduras from the 1969 Nations Cup, then in April 1970 the Salvadorian players walked out of training because of non-payment of a promised qualification bonus. The football federation hadn't received the cash from the government, which in turn claimed the bonuses had been spent on funding the war. The team, however, got their way, though Bundio lost his job for failing to inform the FA of the player's strike. In the finals Salvador was to lose all three matches conceding nine goals without scoring.
It makes the point that the final June 27 play-off between El Salvador and Honduras was not quite the bloodbath depicted in some reports, though Quintanilla's strike to Jose Cardona's throat, forcing a substitution, was probably the turning point of the match. Honduras couldn't put Salvador away and Rodriguez's goal settled the tie. Within days the border clashes began and El Salvador invaded on July 14.
Interestingly, the article covers the footballing aftermath of the war. El Salvador made it to the Mexico finals in 1970 after another three game series against Haiti in which Argentine coach Gregorio Bundio punched out a Haitian witch doctor who had allegedly terrified his players before the decisive match in Jamaica.
However, the war disrupted the tournament's preparations. Concacaf disqualified both El Salvador and Honduras from the 1969 Nations Cup, then in April 1970 the Salvadorian players walked out of training because of non-payment of a promised qualification bonus. The football federation hadn't received the cash from the government, which in turn claimed the bonuses had been spent on funding the war. The team, however, got their way, though Bundio lost his job for failing to inform the FA of the player's strike. In the finals Salvador was to lose all three matches conceding nine goals without scoring.