AFTER TWO DECADES OF INFIGltTING AND CONSIDERABLE<br >procrastination， FIFA met again in 1924 at the Paris Olympics<br >to sketch out details for the first World Cup. In fact， the World Cup<br >tournament might never have evolved ff the Olympics had allowed<br >professional soccer players to compete. But since this was not to be，<br >FIFA recognized the need for a showcase soccer tournament that<br >would not penalize the European nations and their paraprofes-<br >sionals. The Olympic Committee has recently ruled that， begin-<br > ning in 1992， all players must be under twenty-three years old.) The<br > two Frenchmen who steered this tournament from conception to<br > the playing fields of Uruguay in 1930 were Henri Delauney， secre-<br > tary of FIFA， and president Jules Rimet， for whom the trophy<br > awarded to the winning team was later named.<br > By the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam， FIFA was ready to award<br > the World Cup to a worthy host for 1930. Five nations put in their<br > bids: Holland， Italy， Spain， Sweden， and Uruguay. Uruguay， want-<br > ing to celebrate its 100th anniversary of independence with great<br > flourish， agreed to foot the travel and hotel bills of all visiting teams<br > and to build a new stadium expressly for the World Cup. This was<br > an offer Rimer and FIFA could not refuse; however， the other four<br > bidding countries were unhappy with the outcome and， as a result，<br > the four losing bidders boycotted the first World Cup， as did<br > England， Hungar}; German}; Switzerland， and Czechoslovakia.<br > From a historical perspective， it would be their loss.<br >THE FIRST WORLD CUP WAS A SLAPDASH THIRTEEN-NATION AFFAIR，<br >with last-minute entrants and a long， arduous boat journey across<br >the Atlantic for the four European squads that agreed to participate:<br >Belgium， France， Yugoslavia， and Romania. The Romanians were<br >an odd lot， selected from company teams and afforded month-long<br >vacations by no less than King Carol himself. (Most World Cup<br >players are picked by a national selection committee， usually<br >including the nation s coach， manager， and "technical directors.")<br > Without the presence of Italy， Austria， Holland， Spain， Sweden，<br >Czechoslovakia， England， or Holland， Uruguay became the heavy<br >favorite by default. After all， it had won gold medals at the 1924<br >and 1928 Olympics， and had some truly creative attackers from<br >midfield: forward Pedro Cea， and halfbacks Lorenzo Fernandez，<br >Jose Andrade， and Alvaro Gestido.<br > Among the thirteen teams that attended this inaugural event<br >was the United States， which fielded a side of foreign-born players<br >strong enough to dominate weak members Paraguay and Belgium.<br > Matches were not always top-flight， but usually competitive， and<br >Montevideo responded with unreined enthusiasm. Individual<br > players like rough-and-tumble center-half Luisito Monti and center-<br > forward Guillermo Stabile of Argentina， not well known outside of<br > their own countries， became two of the world s first international<br > sports stars.<br > Argentina， Uruguay s chief rival， seemed to court controversy<br > and chaos: With France trailing Argentina 1-0， and with Marcel<br > Langiller on a breakneck dribble toward the goal， Brazilian ref<br > Almeida Rego stopped the game with his whistle. Rego incorrectly<br > believed time had run out when there were still six minutes<br > remaining. The match resumed， but Langiller no longer had his<br > chance and Argentina held on. In the Argentinians next match<br > against Mexico， a Bolivian official called five penalty kicks. Their<br > final Group I match against Chile was interrupted by a lengthy<br > brawl caused by one of Monti s patented loose tackles.<br > Finally， after knocking off the United States 6-1， Argentina<br > earned passage into the first final against Uruguay. A crowd of<br > 90，000 poured into Centenary Stadium， many of them Argentinians<br > who had caught a boat across the Plate River on the eve of the<br > match. Uruguay won a coin toss， which allowed the team to use its<br >