"Pepe" Schiaffino was Uruguay's tall, lean and hugely skilful center forward of the 1950s.
In the 1950 World Cup, host Brazil needed only to draw its final game with the Uruguayans to be crowned champion. With the home side leading 1-0, all seemed well in the Maracana, but then Schiaffino ghosted into the penalty area and headed Uruguay level.
His goal silenced the crowd and threw Brazil into disarray. Uruguay pressed forward, and Alcide Ghiggia scored the winner to send the Jules Rimet trophy back to Montevideo.
Schiaffino finished the tournament as second top scorer with five goals, although the other four all came in an 8-0 first round win over Bolivia.
In 1954, Schiaffino again impressed as Uruguay travelled to Europe for the first time. He scored against Czechoslovakia and also in the quarterfinal win over England.
But in the semifinals, the defending champion came up against the mighty Hungarians. Uruguay was eventually beaten 4-2 in extra time after fighting back from 2-0 down, its first ever defeat at the World Cup.
But Schiaffino's performances earned him a world-record US$100,000 transfer from Penarol to AC Milan, where he became one of the great players in the Italian league.
