Quote · Fin vs History
First Port Stanley, Now This?? (with The Upshot!) | The History of The World Cup (Part 3/4)
Where this was said
Can A Man Not Change?
At 15:03 · chapter starts 13:21
This is the episode's darkest factual passage. Argentina needed to beat Peru by at least four goals to reach the 1978 final. They won 6-0. The alleged deal was extraordinary: Videla promised to take and 'process' — a bureaucratic euphemism for torture and disappear — 13 Peruvian political dissidents [1] — Fin Taylor "To reach the 1978 final, Argentina needed to beat Peru by at least 4 goals. They won 6-0. The alleged price: 35,000 tons of grain, $50 mill…" 08:24 . In exchange, Argentina shipped 35,000 tons of grain to Peru and released $50 million in previously frozen assets after the final whistle [2] — Fin Taylor "35,000 tons of grain shipped to Peru: Argentina allegedly shipped 35,000 tons of grain to Peru and released $50 million in frozen assets af…" 09:14 . Hours before kick-off, Henry Kissinger — fresh from Cambodia and still post-Watergate toxic — and Videla walked into the Peruvian dressing room, smiled, shook hands, and left. The Peruvian captain later recalled it felt like a silent threat disguised as a diplomatic greeting, and the players were unsettled by the fact that no one had visited the home team [3] — Fin Taylor "Henry Kissinger and Argentine dictator Videla walked into the Peruvian dressing room before their 1978 World Cup match. The Peruvian captai…" 11:47 . Fin compares this to the Brittney Griner-for-Viktor-Bout prisoner swap, noting Peru got a reasonably good deal — they were never going to win the tournament anyway.
