A PROLOGUE
— Maurice Pefferkorn | 08/03/1925 —

Soon, in front of an enthusiastic audience which still preserves the memory of this famous day of July 9, 1924 when the Colombes stadium concentrated the most beautiful sporting crowd that ever invaded a stadium in France, the Uruguayan players will operate again. Everything has been said about these football artists whose reputation is at least equal to that of the All Blacks in rugby and who came to the attention of the sporting world overnight, so to speak.

It is no exaggeration to say that we had never seen virtuosity greater than theirs in France. Only the England-Amateurs team of the great era can be compared to them. As for the English pros, who, thanks to their physical strength and rigorous preparation, might beat the Uruguayans, they have never made such an impression on us, because they have always operated in our country as dilettantes, concerned above all with showing off. The Uruguayans, on the contrary, had to reveal themselves. They had to win and successively beat the increasingly formidable opponents that an unprecedented eliminatory tournament pitted against them in quick succession. This is why their sporting effort was exceptional, as was their merit.

The success of the Olympic Games earned the Uruguayans numerous and flattering invitations to which they did not want to respond immediately, because they were anxious to keep their prestige intact. But no sooner had they returned home than they were asked for again. And here they are, ready to compete again with European teams eager to resist them and at the same time discover the secret of their art.

It is the Ligue de Paris which will today have the honor of being their first opponent. Twelve days later it will be the turn of the France team. And this meeting will take on exceptional importance in our eyes because the next day our internationals will leave for Turin where they will have to face the excellent and brilliant Italian team on March 22. The Uruguayans will also play in Bordeaux, Rouen, Roubaix, Strasbourg, Geneva, Genoa and Barcelona. They are expected everywhere; everywhere the ambition to beat them grows. Maybe we'll get there if we tire them out. But for the moment they are quite ready and quite reluctant to let themselves suffer a defeat.