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3 avril 2018
The Toulon Tournament’s most memorable moments : 1983, an epic final between Argentina and Brazil (3/16)
Ahead of the 46th edition of the Toulon Tournament, which will be held from 26th May to 9th June, we’ve delved into the archives to relive some of the most memorable moments in the tournament history. Every Tuesday and Friday, we look back at the most thrilling facts provided by the competition. Today, we talk about the Toulon Tournament 1983 final between Argentina and Brazil.
Every football fan is aware of this historical rivalry. The antagonism between Brazil and Argentina, two neighboring countries, exists for years. The rivalry was born in the second half of the 20st century when the Albiceleste emerged as a serious contender capable of ending the Brazilian reign like illustrated by the World Cup 1978 won by Argentina. Since that, each game between the two nations is special, intense, electric. The Toulon Tournament was the stage of one these famous clashes.
The 11th edition of the Maurice Revello Tournament occurred in 1983. The lineup is, like always, attractive: France, USSR, Ireland, Algeria, Federal Republic of Germany, China, Brazil and Argentina. The Albiceleste is drawn in the Group A alongside France, Ireland and USSR while the Auriverde faced FRG, Algeria and China in the Group B.
In the Argentinian squad, we note the presence of some future internationals like Oscar Ruggeri (97 international caps), Sergio Batista (40 international caps) or Ricardo Gareca (24 international caps). Same thing in the Brazilian squad : Nelsinho (17 caps), Mirrandinha (4 caps) and Wilson Gottardo (6 caps) notably.
Both teams finished at the top of their groups and had to face each other during a thrilling final at the Stade Bon Rencontre at Toulon.In order to test some experimental rules, the Tournament’s board has decided to introduce the temporary sending-off like in basket-ball or hockey : each booking is equivalent to a dismissal of few minutes.
Problem : the referee Joël Quiniou is forced to distribute several temporary dismissals during the final to calm players from both teams. Argentina received four temporary sending-offs and Brazil three which means that both teams were respectively reduced to seven and eight players during several minutes !
The Toulon Tournament 1983 final's scoresheet
Then, both Rinaldi and Urruti have been handed a red card. Eventually, after a 1-1 draw (goals from Nelsinho and Insua), the two nations went to penalties and Brazil clinched the title as they won the penalty shootout by 3-1.
At the FIFA’s request, the Toulon Tournament’s board decided to abandon the temporary sending off. Nevertheless, this rule allowed us to live one of the most spectaculars finals in the Festival’s history. Since that final, Brazil (16 appearances) and Argentina (18 participations) never faced each other at the tournament.
The Toulon Tournament’s most memorable moments : 1982, the emergence of the Koeman brothers (2/16)
Mathieu Lauricella
