José Leandro Andrade

1920 Miramar Misiones (URU)

1921/23 Bella Vista (URU) 71 games, 7 goals

1924/30 Nacional Montevideo (URU) 105 games, 29 goals

1931/32 then 1935 Penarol (URU) 88 games, 3 goals

1933 Montevideo Wanderers (URU) 17 games

1933 CA Atlanta (ARG) 1 game

1934 Union Talleres-Lanus (ARG) 2 games

With the National Team :

33 caps, 1 goal

(Friendly matches: 4 caps)

(World Cup: 4 caps)

(Copa America: 11 caps, 1 goal)

(Olympic Games: 9 caps)

(Copa Lipton: 3 caps)

(Copa Newton: 2 caps)

1st cap: June 24, 1923 against Argentina (0-0)

Last cap: July 30, 1930 against Argentina (4-2)

José Leandro Andrade

Born October 1, 1901 in Montevideo (URU)

Died October 5, 1957 in Montevideo (URU)

Uruguayan, half-right, 1m79

Nickname: La maravilha Negra (The Black Wonder)

José Leandro Andrade was born on October 1, 1901, a child of the new century, he would start playing football from a very young age. Andrade was the son of an African slave who had taken refuge in Brazil and an Argentinian. Very quickly, he made his debut with the first team of Miramar Misiones in Uruguay. Then he signed for Bella Vista where he would play alongside the legend José Nasazzi.

He began his adventure with the national team in 1923, on June 24 to be precise, during a match against Argentina, with a score of 0-0 at the end of the match. In 1923, he won his first two titles with his country, the Copa America and the Copa Lipton. At that time, Uruguay had a lot of competition and seeing a "black" player in the team was very surprising in an era where racism was high. But José Leandro Andrade was so strong that he imposed himself there and did not leave his starting position.

During the Paris Olympic Games in 1924, he played with Uruguay and successively beat Yugoslavia and France before beating Switzerland 3-0 in the final at a time when the Olympic Games served as the Football World Cup.

During the tournament, José Andrade did not go unnoticed and the French press was unanimous, this player nicknamed "La maravilha Negra" was one of the best players in the world and in history. A football star was born.

A player who was described as very humble, withdrawn at the beginning, stayed several months in Paris to enjoy Parisian life. He frequented the cabarets there and returned to Uruguay transformed. Now, the player wore leather gloves, hat, vest and boots, he was now a footballer who played on his charm. He became a slightly arrogant player but still as strong. In France, he was an idol, as evidenced by the fervor there was when his club Nacional toured Europe.

He was part of the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1928, Uruguay confirmed its status as the best team in the world but drew 1-1 in the final against Argentina. The The match was replayed, and this time Uruguay won 2-1. But during this tournament, the signs of the end of the prodigy's career were already showing.

Indeed, a doctor thought that he had contracted syphilis given his loss of influence in the game. But José Leandro Andrade remained the outstanding figure that he was. He was the leader of the midfield and a figure respected by his teammates. The spectators rejoiced at each of his touches of the ball. But during the semi-final, tragedy struck, the player hit his head against the goal post, he lost part of his sight.

Despite this enormous discomfort, he continued to play football and was selected for the national team, and in 1930 he was consecrated. Uruguay won the first edition of the World Cup with a very high-level José Leandro Andrade, he finished 3rd best player in the competition and established himself as one of the greatest midfielders of all time.

At the end of the competition, the player retired from international football at the age of 28, feeling that he was performing less and less well in the game. In total, he played 33 times for his country, scored 1 goal and, above all, only lost 3 times with Uruguay.

José Leandro Andrade was a player of great elegance, very technical, he was the star of the great Uruguay team of the 1920s. He was able to establish himself in a team exclusively composed of "white" players. Very fair play, he was adored by the spectators who could only fall in love with this player with a strong but flexible physique, his quality of finesse, speed and dribbling, in addition to an excellent vision of the game.

On the club side, he was always an influential player between 1921 and 1933. At the end of his career, in 1933, he decided to join Argentina and the CA Atlanta club but he only played 1 small match there before joining Union Talleres-Lanus for 2 matches and retiring.

- 3rd best player of the World Cup in 1930

- Voted best player of the Copa America in 1926

- Named in the typical team of the tournament of the World Cup 1930

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