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The 1921
South American Championship A South American Championship is a top level international sports competition between South American athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships * ATP Buenos Aires, a tenni ...
was the fifth continental championship for nations in South America. It was held in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
,
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, from 2 to 30 October 1921. The participating countries were
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
(which debuted in this edition) and
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
.
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
was also invited but withdrew before the draw due to internal dissent, and an invitation was sent to Argentine dissident
Asociación Amateurs de Football The Asociación Amateurs de Football (AAmF) was a dissident football association of Argentina that organised its own championships from 1919 to 1926. The Argentine Football Association did not recognise those championships until both associations ...
that originated a conflict with the
Argentine Football Association The Argentine Football Association ( es, Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, ; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine league system (from Primera División to Tor ...
(the official local governing body and organiser of the competition). Argentina won the tournament, being also its first official title,Sudamericano 1921. La Primera Copa América que ganó Argentina
from ''Héroes de Tiento'', book by Carlos Aira on Xenen, 25 June 2016
after several friendly competitions won such as
Copa Lipton The Copa Lipton or Copa de Caridad Lipton was a football friendly competition contested between Argentina and Uruguay national teams. The competition was held 29 times between 1905 and 1992. History The trophy was donated by the Scottish tea ...
or
Copa Newton Copa Newton was a football friendly competition contested between Argentina and Uruguay. The trophy, donated by Nicanor Newton, was contested 27 times between 1906 and 1976. History Nicanor Newton, director of ''Sportsman'' magazine, donated t ...
.


Squads

For a complete list of participating squads see: ''
1921 South American Championship squads These are the squads for the countries that played in the 1921 South American Championship. The participating countries were Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. The teams plays in a single round-robin tournament, earning two points for a win, one ...
''


Venues


History


Background

The tournament was marked by the strong dispute between the
Argentine Football Association The Argentine Football Association ( es, Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, ; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine league system (from Primera División to Tor ...
(AFA) and dissident
Asociación Amateurs de Football The Asociación Amateurs de Football (AAmF) was a dissident football association of Argentina that organised its own championships from 1919 to 1926. The Argentine Football Association did not recognise those championships until both associations ...
(AAmF, formed one year before). The AAmF had received an invitation from the
Football Federation of Chile The Football Federation of Chile ( es, Federación de Fútbol de Chile or ) is the governing body of football in Chile. It was founded 19 June 1895, making it the second oldest South American association football federation, and is a founding me ...
to play a tournament in that country. Most of the '' Big Five'' (with the exception of Boca Juniors) were affiliated to AAmF, which had 20 teams competing in their own championship. After the AAmF accepted the invitation, some of its most prominent players trip to Chile by train.
Manuel Seoane Manuel Seoane (19 March 1902 – 21 August 1975), nicknamed ''La Chancha'', was an Argentine footballer who played as a striker for Independiente and Argentina national team. Seoane is considered one of the best all-time players for Independi ...
, Humberto Recanatini, Luis Célico, Cándido García, Albérico Zabaleta, were among them. The invitation was taken as a pure provocation by the AFA, which requested
South American Football Confederation The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL, , or CSF; es, Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol; pt, Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Suri ...
(CSF) the FFCh to be punished. Being aware that they could receive a punishment, the FFCh retired its team from the competition so
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
did not attended the cup.
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
did not include ''Paulista'' players (only ''Cariocas'') due to a strong conflict, similar to what happened in Argentina.
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
arrived in Buenos Aires via Rosario, where the squad played some friendly matches v
Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...
and
Tiro Federal Club Atlético Tiro Federal Argentino (mostly known just as Tiro Federal or Tiro Federal de Rosario) is an Argentine football club from the city of Rosario, in Santa Fe Province. The team currently fun plays in Torneo Argentino A, the third divis ...
. As a curious fact, it is worth mentioned that the Paraguayan ship also brought Rosarian players
Ernesto Celli Ernesto Celli (1895 – 1925) was an Argentine footballer. He played in six matches for the Argentina national football team The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered ...
,
Gabino Sosa Gabino Sosa (4 October 1899 – 3 March 1971) was an Argentine football forward who spent all his career for Central Córdoba de Rosario, playing 24 years for the club.Julio Libonatti Julio Libonatti (5 July 1901 – 9 October 1981) was an Argentine football manager and former footballer who played as a forward for the Argentina and Italy national teams. Born in Rosario, he started his career with Newell's Old Boys in 1917. I ...
(called up for Argentina) to Buenos Aires. On 29 September, there was a meeting where the Chilean case was debated. Argentine
Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
,
Honorio Pueyrredón Honorio Pueyrredón (June 9, 1876 – September 23, 1945) was an Argentine lawyer, university professor, diplomat and politician. Born in San Pedro, Buenos Aires, Pueyrredón graduated at the Faculty of Law of the University of Buenos Aires in 1 ...
, host the meeting, where the Paraguayan delegate complained about the few time to train before their debut, contrasting with other teams that would play their first matches with more time to rest. That was solved after Argentina and Brazil agreed to open the competition. Following that discussion, the Chilean representative stated that the invitation sent to AAmF had to be seen as "a step forward to the reunification of Argentine football". On the other hand, the Uruguayan representative threatened to suspend the competition in case of Chile was penalised. After the other delegates supported the argument, Argentina was forced to accept those conditions and the competition was held with no punishment for Chile. The AAmF ignored the competition, with its Primera División championship running at the same time that Campeonato Sudamericano. In fact, the 35th. round was scheduled for 30 October, the same day as the final match where Argentina crowned champion.


Tournament

The inaugural match between Argentina and Brazil was attended by 30,000 spectators (although the maximum capacity of Estadio Sportivo Barracas was 22,000) due to reselling ticket for twice or more its original value. Brazil came into the field with no black players because they had been banned after a ''suggestion'' from the President of Brazil,
Epitácio Pessoa Epitácio Lindolfo da Silva Pessoa (; 23 May 1865 – 13 February 1942) was a Brazilian politician and jurist who served as 11th president of Brazil between 1919 and 1922, when Rodrigues Alves was unable to take office due to illness, after bein ...
. Therefore Arthur Friedenreich, considered the first star of Brazilian football, was not part of that team. Argentina won 1–0 with a goal scored by Julio Libonatti. There was great expectations for the final match between Argentina and Uruguay. Sebastián García, president of
Liga Rosarina de Football The Liga Rosarina de Football was the main body that organised the practice of association football in Rosario, Argentina, from 1905 to 1930. Rosario Central, Newell's Old Boys, Rosario A.C. and Atlético Argentino were its founding members.< ...
, made the arrangements for people to attend the match travelling from Rosario to Buenos Aires, with tickets at low prices. Near 3,000 people from Rosario travelled to support fellow citizens Julio Libonatti, Blas Saruppo, Adolfo Celli and Florindo Bearzotti. The train departed at 6 a.m., returning to Rosario at 6 p.m. To take pressure off the players, Argentine executives carried them to a training camp in
Tigre, Buenos Aires Province Tigre (, ''Tiger'') is a city in the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, situated in the north of Greater Buenos Aires, north of Buenos Aires city. Tigre lies on the Paraná Delta and is a tourist and weekend destination, reachable by bus and tr ...
.
Bocce (, or , ), sometimes anglicized as bocce ball, bocci or boccie, is a ball sport belonging to the boules family. Developed into its present form in Italy, it is closely related to British bowls and French , with a common ancestry from ancie ...
, fishing and music were some of the activities during their time there. The Friday before the final, while the Uruguayan players played
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
in their camp in Vicente López, the Argentine executives moved the players from Tigre to a hotel in Buenos Aires downtown, where they were strictly controlled. No one could escape from there, although the duo Carlos GardelJosé Razzano were performing at Teatro Esmeralda, not far from the hotel. The championship received wide media coverage, especially from ''Crítica'', a newspaper founded and directed by Natalio Botana which increased its sales to become the most selling newspaper in Argentina. Botana would be then preside the AFA for a brief period in 1926. The newspaper took on a critical position regarding the AAmF and its leaders, sometimes in very harsh terms, even calling them "cretins".A 100 años del primer gran título de la Selección Argentina
by Carlos Aira on Abrí la Cancha, 10 November 2021
The final was attended by near 40,000 people, who were at the stadium three hours prior to the start. Argentina beat Uruguay 1–0 in the last match and won the competition after earning the most points (6 in 3 games). When the match ended, the players of both teams were raised by the crowd that had entered to the pitch and carried them to the hotel where the Argentine stayed during the competition, sited on the corner of Florida and Cangallo streets. Argentina won all the games without conceding any goal, helped by the good performance of goalkeeper
Américo Tesoriere Américo Miguel Tesoriere, sometimes nicknamed ''Mérico'' (Buenos Aires, March 18, 1899 – December 30, 1977), was an Argentine football goalkeeper who spent most of his career in Boca Juniors, where he became an early idol and remaining as a ...
, one of the most notable footballers of the team along with Julio Libonatti, who scored three goals (one per match).


Aftermath

The large number of people who attended the matches at Sportivo Barracas and the celebrations after the victory consolidated football as a popular passion throughout the country.1921: el primer grito de campeón en la Copa América
on AFA, 3 June 2019
The South American championship was also a commercial success, with $147,033 income from ticket sales and a $15,000 donation from the Buenos Aires City Council against total expenses of $113,801; this gave a profit of $48,232, a substantial sum at a time when football was still amateur in Argentina.


Final round

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Argentina: Tesoriere; Celli, Bearzotti; J. López, Dellavalle, E. Solari; Calomino, Libonatti, Saruppo, Echeverría, González 1921. Los primeros criollos campeones
''El Gráfico'', 14 June 2019


Result


Goal scorers

3 goals *
Julio Libonatti Julio Libonatti (5 July 1901 – 9 October 1981) was an Argentine football manager and former footballer who played as a forward for the Argentina and Italy national teams. Born in Rosario, he started his career with Newell's Old Boys in 1917. I ...
2 goals *
Machado Machado is a surname of Portuguese origin meaning the word "axe" or "hatchet" dating back to approximately 2nd century Europe. It is commonly found in Portugal, Spain, Brazil and Latin America, and India (Southern Tamil Nadu and Southern Kerala) ...
*
Ángel Romano Alfredo Ángel Romano (2 August 1893 – 22 August 1972) was a Uruguayan professional footballer. A striker, he played 70 games for his national team between 1911 and 1927, scoring 28 goals. He played in the Copa América nine times, winning t ...
1 goal * Raúl Echeverría * Blas Saruppo * Candiota * Zezé I * Ildefonso López * Gerardo Rivas *
José Piendibene José Miguel Piendibene Ferrari (5 June 1890 – 12 November 1969) was a Uruguayan footballer. His position on the field was centre forward, being regarded by many as one of the best Uruguayan football players of all time. Piendibene was praised ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:South American 1921 1921 1921 in South American football 1921 in Argentine football 1921 in Brazilian football 1921 in Uruguayan football 1921 in Paraguayan football 1921 October 1921 sports events 1921 1920s in Buenos Aires