A TRAGIC ENDING
PETRONE, EL ARTILLERO, OUT OF THE GIRA

During Uruguay's performances on European soil, precisely at the Olympic Games held in Paris, several invitations were made to the Uruguayans, while the tournament was still in dispute, therefore that they could play more matches after the end of the VIII. Olympiad. Without the Primera División 1925 taking place, due to suspension, Club Nacional de Montevideo — constantly called Uruguay on European territory — left for the Old World, to hold what was called La Gira Europea. The Uruguay team, in fact, had several extraordinary footballers in its ranks. One of them, the acentre-forward, Pedro Petrone, was widely mentioned as one of the team's main footballers. Perucho Petrone, just 19 years old, demonstrated an extraordinary level of football, especially being feared for his shooting power and infiltration, which let him finish the Olympic Games as the tournament's top scorer.

Pedro Petrone, who had just moved from Charley F.C. to Club Nacional de Montevideo, had started La Gira Europea at the age of 19, just a few months away from turning 20.



El artillero started the tour in a formidable way, being the main key to the Uruguayan team's achievements. Petrone was in exceptional form, demonstrating high football performance and converting several actions into goals, especially on French soil, where he scored fourteen goals in just five matches. Petrone was difficult to stop, his physical capacity — a true tank — combined with his speed, high technique, impressive shoot and opportunism made him a true devil on the field. For instance, in the second match of La Gira Europea, Petrone's fourth goal proved to be a true spectacle. In an individual run, starting from midfield, Petrone dribbled past the half-backs and full-backs and converted a sublime action into a goal.

 
ALBERT BAKER D'ISY: Petrone, starting from midfield, dribbled around the half-backs and full-backs in a remarkable style and scored a fourth goal.


After the matches played on French territory, the Uruguyan side went to play on Italian soil, more precisely in Genoa. The meeting between Genoa F.C. and Club Nacional saw a clash between the local champions and the Olympic champions, where Petrone, once again, performed at a high level with his opportunism and ferocity against the opposing defensive system — led by Renzo de Vecchi. In the first minute of the match, the centre-forward, while being very attentive, scored after De Prà failed to catch the ball.

   Romano                  Petrone                  Urdinarán
H. Castro              Scarone

The last match played by Petrone was against F.C. Barcelona, ​​at Les Cortes, which ended 2:2. On that occasion, shortly before the end of the first half, Petrone suffered a serious injury that forced him to leave the match. There, it marked the end of La Gira Europea for the formidable Uruguayan footballer and which would affect the rest of his career. Regarding the injury, Petrone said:


We were playing against Barcelona at Les Cortes and the match was difficult. I was a little off, as if in a presumption. Suddenly, Héctor, in a beautiful play, sent the ball in front of me; I ran to it and when I stopped it I already had an opponent on me. I dribbled to the right. That day I was wearing ankle boots with high heels, which dug into the ground and when I tried to turn my foot it seemed to be stuck and with the effort I felt a terrible pain at the level of my knee, which forced me to drop to the ground, giving woe of pain. Without exaggeration I will tell you that the pain was such that, if I had had a weapon at hand, I would have desperately resorted to it.


Petrone was eventually replaced by other footballers, but the effectiveness, infiltration power and outstanding shooting ability had been mitigated in the Uruguaya team. Héctor Scarone, for instance, could match Petrone in terms of finishing, but he did not have the fit, the ferocity that Perucho possessed. Therefore, causing a drastic loss for Club Nacional de Montevideo.


ÁNGEL ROMANO: The tiredness and the missing of Petrone, which we have felt in a wat that cannot be imagined. 

» Petrone won't be able to play, because the poor guy will be out for a few months.