1934 was year 12 (XII) of the fascist era in Italy and the visual language of fascism figured strongly in the presentation of the tournament.
The monumental player (who is reminiscent of Il Duce himself) stands with his arm raised, on a pedestal that features a fasces-like object.
There was no way that Italy were not going to win the World Cup in 1934. They benefited from some dubious refereeing. The shame is that this detracted from the real qualities of the players and the genius of coach Vittorio Pozzo and his innovative Metodo.
