José Leandro Andrade

José Leandro Andrade (22 November 1901 – 5 October 1957) was an Uruguayan footballer who played at wing-half. He was nicknamed "The Black Marvel" (maravilla negra). During his prime he was regarded as one of the finest footballers in the world,[1] contributing to the Uruguay national football team's domination of international football during the 1920s, winning two consecutive Olympic Gold Medals and then the first FIFA World Cup.

For other people named José Andrade, see José Andrade (disambiguation).
José Leandro Andrade
José Andrade in 1926
Personal information
Full name José Leandro Andrade
Date of birth (1901-11-22)22 November 1901
Place of birth Salto, Uruguay
Date of death 5 October 1957(1957-10-05) (aged 55)
Place of death Montevideo, Uruguay
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Youth career
Misiones
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1921–1923 Bella Vista 71 (7)
1924–1930 Nacional 105 (29)
1931–1935 Peñarol 88 (3)
1933 Atlanta 1 (0)
1934 Lanús-Talleres 2 (0)
Wanderers 17 (0)
Total 284 (39)
International career
1923–1930 Uruguay 34 (1)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Uruguay
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place1924 ParisTeam
Gold medal – first place1928 Amsterdam Team
FIFA World Cup
Winner1930 Uruguay
South American Championship
Winner1923 Uruguay
Winner1924 Uruguay
Winner1926 Chile
Runner-up1927 Peru
Third place1929 Argentina
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life
Andrade (behind the bar) serving a drink to his Uruguayan teammates in Amsterdam (1928)

Andrade was born in Salto in 1901 to an Argentine mother. José Ignacio Andrade, who is believed to have been his father, was listed on his birth certificate as a witness. The older Andrade, who was 98 years old at the time of José Leandro Andrade's birth, had been an expert in African magic and is believed to have been an African-born slave who had escaped from Brazil.[2]

At an early age Andrade moved to the Palermo barrio in Montevideo where he lived with an aunt.[3]

Prior to the introduction of professional football in Uruguay he worked in a number of jobs. He at one time worked as a carnival musician playing the drums, violin and the tambourine,[4][5][6] and at another time led the drums corp for carnival comparsa Libertadores de Africa.[7] At various times in his life he also worked as a shoeshiner and as a newspaper salesman.[3][5]

Playing career

Club career

As a teenager Andrade played for Montevideo club Misiones.

In the early 1920s Andrade was signed by Bella Vista, where he played 71 matches and scored seven goals. It was at Bella Vista that he was first selected for the national team.[3][8]

Andrade later moved to Nacional where he won four Uruguayan Championships and three national cups.[9]

Andrade transferred to Peñarol in 1930 where he played 88 matches over the next few years. He had trained with Peñarol as a teenager but had not been accepted.[10]

From the mid-1930s he played for a number of teams in Argentina including Atlanta, and Lanús-Talleres. He also had a brief stint with Wanderers in Uruguay.

International career

Andrade earned 34 appearances with la Celeste Olimpica scoring one goal between 1923 and 1930.[11]

South American Championship

Andrade played in South American Championship (now known as Copa América) winning teams in 1923, 1924 and 1926.[12][13][14]

1924 Olympics

Andrade won his first Olympic gold medal at the 1924 Olympic football tournament in Paris.[15] He was recognised as being the first black international football player to play Olympic football.[16] He was nicknamed The Black Marvel and The Black Pearl, the latter a name later used in reference to Pelé.[17]

In reaction to the 1924 Olympic win the Uruguayan team were challenged to a two match series by Argentina. In the second match at the Estadio Sportivo Barracas in Buenos Aires Andrade was pelted with stones by the Argentine crowd to which Andrade and the rest of the Uruguayan team responded by throwing the stones back. In the ensuing riot a member of his team was arrested and the Uruguayans refused to play out the remainder of the match.[5]

1928 Olympics

In 1928 he won his second Olympic gold medal at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. During the semi-final match against Italy Andrade collided with a goal post, seriously injuring an eye. This later deteriorated to the point that he became blind in that eye.[10]

1930 FIFA World Cup

Despite not being at his peak he managed to be one of Uruguay's best players as they won the 1930 World Cup. At the end of the tournament he was selected in the All-Star team.[8][18][19] In 1994, he was selected by France Football as number ten in their World Cup Top-100.[20]

A plaque was placed at the Estadio Centenario in honour of his achievements.[21]

Playing style

Andrade was also credited with being an intelligent and honest player who never celebrated his goals. He was a dynamic, fast and highly technical player who was able to dominate the pitch without the physicality of many of his teammates.[2][10]

Later life

After touring nine European countries with Andrade's Uruguayan club side Nacional, in 1925, they attracted a total of over 800,000 spectators. Andrade played half of that tour when he was told by a doctor in Brussels that he had contracted syphilis. He disappeared to Paris upon hearing the news. Andrade did not return to Montevideo until two months later; there a reporter said he had lost weight and seemed in a state of depression. He then underwent a course of treatment. Andrade had lost some pace but none of his skill and went on to secure international titles for Uruguay. It was said that he had gone blind in one eye after a semi-final against Italy, Andrade had run into a goalpost and it was speculated that the injury was so serious he was later blinded in one eye. Others said his blindness and deteriorated health was caused by syphilis.

Andrade was a guest at the 1950 FIFA World Cup when Uruguay won their second world championship. His nephew Víctor Rodríguez Andrade, a member of the 1950 team, had adopted Andrade as his second surname in honour of Andrade. In 1956 German journalist Fritz Hack searched Montevideo for Andrade for six days. He found him living in terrible conditions in a basement of a flat. Andrade was too intoxicated to understand Hack's questions. Within a year, Andrade died, penniless and alcoholic, in an asylum in Montevideo at age 55.[22]

Honours

Club

International

Individual

References
  1. "Continental AG - Homepage". Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  2. Gumbrecht, Hans Ulrich (2006). In praise of athletic beauty. Harvard University Press. pp. 249–251. ISBN 0-674-02172-X.
  3. Abalos, Miguel. "José Leandro Andrade" (in Spanish). espaciolatino.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  4. Vickery, Tim (23 February 2009). "Music meets football in South America". BBC Online. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  5. Goldblatt, David (28 September 2006). "The Rules of the Game: International Football and International Politics, 1900–1934". The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football. Viking. pp. 244–247. ISBN 0-670-91480-0.
  6. Galeano, Edward (2006). El fútbol a sol y sombra (in Spanish). Siglo XXI. pp. 51, 53, 54. ISBN 968-23-2530-7.
  7. Andrews, George Reid. "Rhythm Nation". ReVista - Harvard Review of Latin America. David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (Winter 2003).
  8. "JOSÉ ANDRADE". World Football Legends. Archived from the original on 7 December 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
  9. Pannain, Guilherme (4 November 2008). "Andrade, a "Maravilha Negra"" (in Portuguese). Trivela.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  10. "FIFA World Cup Star 1930: Jose Leandro Andrade". ContiSoccerWorld. Continental. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
  11. "Appearances for Uruguay National Team". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  12. "Southamerican Championship 1923". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  13. "Southamerican Championship 1924". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  14. "Southamerican Championship 1926". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  15. "José Leandro Andrade". Olympedia. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  16. Findling, John E.; Pelle, Kimberly D. (2004). Encyclopedia of the modern Olympic movement. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 84. ISBN 0-313-32278-3.
  17. "Tournaments - Paris, 1924". FIFA. Archived from the original on 15 June 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
  18. "FIFA Player Statistics: Jose Andrade". FIFA. Archived from the original on 9 August 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
  19. "José Leandro Andrade". Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
  20. "France Football's World Cup Top-100 1930–1990". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  21. Murray, Bill; Murray, William J (1998). The world's game: a history of soccer. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06718-5.
  22. Oliver, Brian (25 May 2014). "Before Pelé there was Andrade". The Guardian. No. Online new site. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  23. "IFFHS All-Time Uruguay Men's Dream Team". IFFHS. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
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