The legendary Uruguayan-Italian winger Alcides Ghiggia owned this passport during his time playing for Associazione Sportiva Roma in the Italian Serie A. Ghiggia, who was born in Uruguay and played domestically for Sud America, Peñarol, and Danubio, was responsible for scoring the most important goal in World Cup history at the 1950 edition of FIFA’s global tournament. Ghiggia’s Uruguay faced the host nation and prohibitive favorites Brazil in the tournament final in front of 200,000 rabid fans at the Maracanã Stadium, claiming a hard-fought 2-1 victory thanks to Ghiggia’s tiebreaking goal in the 79th minute of the match.

Three years later, Ghiggia earned a transfer to Italy, where he joined an up-and-coming A.S. Roma club. Ghiggia played for the giallorossi from 1953 to 1961, leading Roma to their first title outside of Italy in a commanding 4-2 defeat of Birmingham City in the 1960-61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. By the end of his time with Roma, Ghiggia had made 219 league appearances, played five times for the Italian national soccer team, and booked a spot in the A.S. Roma Hall of Fame. After his time with A.S. Roma ended, Ghiggia won the 1961-62 scudetto with A.C. Milan before returning to Uruguay, where the montevideano ended his playing career with Danubio.

Offered in this lot is Ghiggia’s personally owned passport issued in 1958. Ghiggia’s profession in this passport is listed as “deportista”. He has signed this passport in black pen, and his blue ink fingerprint is located next to a 2.75 x 2.25-inch photograph of the Uruguayan and Italian international footballer. Printed on the front cover of this blue passport is “Pasaporte” and “Republica Oriental Del Uruguay”. This passport is in very good condition. This item comes with a LOA confirming it is part of the Rony Almeida Soccer Collection.

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