In a surreal, chilling moment, the Chilean national football team played alone in Santiago’s Estadio Nacional after the Soviet Union refused to compete in a stadium that the Pinochet regime had turned into a site of imprisonment, torture and death.
The referee blows the starting whistle and Chile launches into action. The ball is driven forward by the footwork of Captain Francisco Valdés. Behind him is the team’s back line, led by Elías Figueroa. Orchestrating the attack in midfield is the best man among them,...