Uruguay 1930: the first World Cup, with ocean voyages and two balls in the final
Thirteen teams, Europeans crossing the Atlantic by ship and a final with one ball per half: this is how the World Cup was born, won by Uruguay.
The World Cup was born in 1930 in Uruguay, which was celebrating the centenary of its independence and had just won two Olympic golds. Only 13 teams took part, all invited — there was no qualifying — : nine from the Americas and four from Europe.
For many Europeans, simply getting there was an adventure: they spent weeks at sea crossing the Atlantic. Teams from France, Romania and Belgium boarded the Conte Verde, alongside FIFA president Jules Rimet and the trophy itself.
The tournament wrote the first golden pages of history: France's Lucien Laurent scored, on 13 July 1930 against Mexico, the first goal in World Cup history; and the United States' Bert Patenaude netted the first hat-trick.
The final, on 30 July at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, pitted Uruguay against Argentina. There was such mistrust that it was agreed to play each half with a different ball: with Argentina's, half-time arrived with the Argentines 2-1 up; with Uruguay's, the hosts fought back to a decisive 4-2.
Uruguay were crowned the first world champions before some 68,000 spectators (some sources put it at 93,000). That is how the tournament that now stops the planet got under way, almost by hand.
Source: Wikipedia (1930 FIFA World Cup; 1930 FIFA World Cup final; Lucien Laurent).