Association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
is the most popular
sport in Argentina and part of the
culture in the country. It is the one with the most players (2,658,811 total, 331,811 of which are registered and 2,327,000 unregistered; with 3,650 clubs and 37,161 officials, all according to
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
)
[Country info]
on FIFA website and is the most popular recreational sport, played from childhood into old age. The percentage of Argentines that declare allegiance to an Argentine football club is about 90%.
Football was introduced to Argentina in the later half of the 19th century by the
British immigrants 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 ...
. The first Argentine league was contested in
1891
Events
January–March
* January 1
** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany.
** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence.
** Germany takes formal possession of its new Af ...
, making it the fifth-oldest recognised league of a
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
member (after
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
). 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) was formed in 1893 and is the eighth-oldest in the world.
The
Argentina national team is one of the eight to have won the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
, having done so in
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government).
* January 6 ...
,
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal en ...
, and
2022, while being runner-up in
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...
,
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...
and
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
. Argentina has also won the top continental tournament, the
Copa América
The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...
, 15 times, and the
FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
in
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...
. It also holds the record for having more official titles than any other nation with 22. The nation's
Olympic representative has won two Gold Medals (in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
and
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
), while the
under-20 team has won a record six
U-20 World Cups. At club level, Argentine teams have won the most
Intercontinental Cups (9) and the most
Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
(25).
Women's football has a national league since 1991, the
Campeonato de Fútbol Femenino
The Primera División A is the main league competition for women's football in Argentina. The tournament is ruled by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), with its first season held in 1991.
The competition was named "Campeonato de Fútbol F ...
. In turn, the
female national representative qualified for the
World Cup for the first time in
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
and won their first
Campeonato Sudamericano Femenino (top continental competition) in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
.
In
futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football.
Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...
, Argentina were
FIFUSA/AMF Futsal World Cup champions in
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
and
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
. They also compete in the FIFA code of futsal, where they finished champions in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
, runner-up in
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
and fourth place in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
.
[FIFA.com](_blank)
/ref> The team also won the FIFA Futsal Copa América in 2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...
, 2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
and 2022. Moreover, Argentina was world champion in futsal for the visually impaired in 2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
and 2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
, and also won the Gold Medal at the IBSA World Blind Games 2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
, a Silver Medal (2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
) and two Bronze (2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
and 2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
) in the Paralympic Games, three runner-up world championships (1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
, 2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
and 2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
), three championships of the Copa América (1999, 2005, 2017), three Silver Medals in the Parapan American Games (2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
, 2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
, 2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
) and two runners-up of the Copa América (2009 and 2013).
Argentina also compete in the beach football
Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or beasal, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand.
Whilst football has been played informally on beaches, the introduction of ''beach soccer'' was an a ...
World Cup, where their best finish was third in 2001.
History
The beginning
By 1867, there was a large British community in Buenos Aires. Most of them had established themselves in Argentina coming from the United Kingdom as managers and workers of the British-owned railway companies that operated in Argentina. British citizens founded social and sports clubs where they could practise their sports, such as bowls
Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gr ...
, cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
, football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
, golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
, horse riding
Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...
, rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
and tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
amongst others.
Two English immigrants, Thomas and James Hogg, organized a meeting on 9 May 1867 in Buenos Aires where the Buenos Aires Football Club was founded. The club was given permission by the Buenos Aires Cricket Club
Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club, sometimes known simply as Buenos Aires, is an Argentine sports club based in San Fernando, Buenos Aires. Having set its official date of foundation on 8 December 1864, the club claims to be the oldest club stil ...
to make use of the cricket field in Parque Tres de Febrero
Parque Tres de Febrero, popularly known as Bosques de Palermo (Palermo Woods), is an urban park of approximately 400 hectares (about 989 acres) located in the neighborhood of Palermo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Located between Libertador and F ...
, Palermo, Buenos Aires
Palermo is a ''barrios of Buenos Aires, barrio'' or neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located in the north of the city, near the Rio de la Plata.
It has a total land area of 17.4 km2 and a population of 256,927. It is the only ' ...
, on the site now occupied by the Galileo Galilei planetarium. The first recorded football match in Argentina took place on this pitch on 20 June 1867, being covered by English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...
daily newspaper '' The Standard''. This newspaper, published in Argentina, was the first one to cover football matches in the country.[ That first match, originally scheduled for May 25 in La Boca, had to be postponed due to bad weather.][
The match started at 12.30 and was played between two teams of British merchants, the ''White'' Caps and the ''Red'' Caps. (In the 19th century, it was common practice for teams to be distinguished by caps rather than shirts). The teams consisted of eight players each as the organisers were unable to find more players for the match. The line-ups were: Thomas Hogg, James Hogg, William Forrester, T. B. Smith, J. W. Bond, E. S. Smith, J. Rabsbottom and N. H. Smith (one team); William Heald, T. R. Best, U. Smith, H. J. Barge, H. Willmont, R. M. Ramsay, J. Simpson and W. Boschetti (second team). The team led by Hogg won 4–0, according to ''The Standard'' newspaper published on June 23. The match played was a blend of both association and ]rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
footballs, with no goals on the field. The use of hands was also allowed.[150 años del primer partido de fútbol en Argentina]
by Jorge Gallego on Telam, 20 June 2017
The first chronicle of a football match written in Spanish was published by local newspaper ''El Nacional'' on September 11, 1880. The chronicle referred to a ''"foot-ball"'' match played in a cricket field
A cricket field is a large grass field on which the game of cricket is played. Although generally oval in shape, there is a wide variety within this: some are almost perfect circles, some elongated ovals and some entirely irregular shapes with l ...
in Montevideo
Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern co ...
between an Uruguayan-Argentine combined vs a British team. The attendance was estimated in 1,000 people. Nevertheless, it is unclear what form of "football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
" was played due to the number of players on the field (15 per side).
The "Southern Railway Athletic Club" (not related with the British railway company) might have been the first organised team under the "Association" rules, according to ''The Standard'', that published a chronicle describing the existence of that team, with records of a match played at Lanús A.C. field in 1888. The chronicle also named Alexander Watson Hutton as one of the GSRFC players. The early matches of the team, in fact, were against Buenos Aires English High School
The Buenos Aires English High School, also known for its abbreviation BAEHS, is a bilingual school established in Belgrano, Buenos Aires in 1884 by Alexander Watson Hutton, considered "the father" of Argentine football. Watson Hutton was born in ...
.
First league and development
The so-called "father of Argentine football" was a Glaswegian schoolteacher Alexander Watson Hutton
Alexander Watson Hutton (10 June 1853 – 9 March 1936) was a Scottish teacher and sportsman who is considered "The Father of Argentine football". In 1893 he founded the "Argentine Association Football League" (current Argentine Football Ass ...
, who first taught football at St Andrew's School in Buenos Aires in the early 1880s. On 4 February 1884, he founded the Buenos Aires English High School, where he continued to instruct the pupils in the game. In 1891, the " Association Argentine Football League" was established by F.L. Wooley, with Alex Lamont of St. Andrew's Scots School
)
, latin_name =
, logo = Club San Andres Crest.svg
, logo_size = 180
, seal_image =
, image =
, image size =
, alt =
, caption ...
as one of its members.[''Historia del Fútbol Amateur en la Argentina'', by Jorge Iwanczuk. Published by Autores Editores (1992) - ] The AAFL was the first football league outside of the British Isles. Five clubs competed but only one season was ever played.
In this early period, a number of football clubs were set up by the employees of the various British-owned railway companies in Argentina and a number of these teams have survived to the present day, including Ferro Carril Oeste
Club Ferro Carril Oeste, known simply as Ferro Carril Oeste or familiarly, Ferro, is an Argentine sports club from the neighbourhood of Caballito, Buenos Aires. Although many activities are hosted by the club, Ferro is mostly known for its footb ...
, Ferrocarril Midland
Club Atlético Ferrocarril Midland is an Argentine football club based in the Libertad district of Merlo Partido, in the Greater Buenos Aires. The team currently plays in Primera C, the fourth division of Argentine football league system.
The cl ...
, Rosario Central
Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the Englis ...
and Talleres.
A new league with the same name as its predecessor, was formed on 21 February 1893. It eventually became 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). In these early days of football in Argentina, nearly all of the players and officials were expatriate Britons or of British extraction and the oldest football clubs in Argentina like Rosario Central
Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the Englis ...
, 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 Quilmes
Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Río de la Plata, Rio de la Plata, in the , on the south east of the Greater Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and it is the seat of the Quilmes Partido, eponymous county. With a population of 230 ...
were all founded by British expatriates.
The most successful and admired team of this early period was Alumni
Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
, founded by graduates and students of Watson Hutton's English High School. Like all of the early clubs, it was composed mainly of British players.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the game became increasingly popular amongst other European immigrants, especially Italians.
Most of the early clubs had a policy of excluding the local creole population. The backlash against this policy at Quilmes Athletic Club resulted in the formation of Argentino de Quilmes
Club Atlético Argentino de Quilmes, simply known as Argentino de Quilmes, is an Argentina, Argentine association football, football club from Quilmes, Buenos Aires. The team currently plays in Primera B Metropolitana, Primera B, the third divis ...
in 1899, the first of many Argentine clubs for Argentine players. The name Argentino or Argentinos has remained popular in Argentine football. The most famous team with the name is Argentinos Juniors
Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was recognized as one of the ...
who won the Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
in 1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
.
British football clubs
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...
tours over South America contributed to the spread and develop of football in Argentina during the first years of the 20th century. The first club to tour on the country was Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club () is an English professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, which competes in the . Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, before which they were based at The Dell. The club play in ...
in 1904 who were captained by George Molyneaux. They beat the Buenos Aires High School Alumni team 3-0 with Molyneaux remarking 'how far the Argentines were ahead of their European counterparts in France and Denmark.' Several other teams came afterwards (mainly from England although some Scotland clubs also visited South America) until 1929 with Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football ...
being the last team to tour.[South American Trip of Chelsea FC 1929]
by Pablo Ciullini on RSSSF
British teams were considered the best in the world by then, and some of them served as inspiration to establish football clubs in Argentina, helped by the immigration of British citizens that had arrived to worked for British companies (mostly in railway construction). Belgrano A.C., Rosario A.C., Alumni
Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
and Quilmes
Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Río de la Plata, Rio de la Plata, in the , on the south east of the Greater Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and it is the seat of the Quilmes Partido, eponymous county. With a population of 230 ...
are some examples of clubs established by British immigrants to South America.[Plaza Jewell, el club donde nació el deporte rosarino, cumple hoy 145 años]
''La Capital'', 27 Mar 2012
Consolidation
The early years of the 20th century saw a large number of new clubs formed; by 1907, there were over 300 teams in 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 ...
. Most of the major clubs were created around this period; they played in the national amateur tournament or in local championships. By this time, matches had a considerable attendance and as the popularity of the game increased the British influence on the game waned. In 1911, Alumni folded and by 1912 the Association was renamed in Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
as the Asociación Argentina de Football, although the tradition of giving the clubs English names continued for many years.
During the early 20th century, many new football leagues were started in cities across Argentina as the popularity of the game spread out from Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...
, these include Rosario
Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...
(with the establishment of Liga Rosarina in 1905), Córdoba (1912), Santa Fe (1913), Tucumán (1919), San Luis (1920) and Salta
Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...
(1921).
Although the city of Rosario did not have an organised league, since 1900 the football squads of Rosario A.C. and Rosario Central
Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the Englis ...
had taken part of the first international tournament in South America, the Tie Cup
The Tie Cup Competition (also known as Copa de Competencia Chevallier Boutell) is a defunct international football tournament played between representatives of the Argentina and Uruguay Associations. It was one of the earliest international footbal ...
, played by teams of Rosario
Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...
, 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 ...
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 ...
leagues. Rosario A.C. became the first Rosarian team to win an international competition after winning the cup in 1902, defeating legendary Alumni 2–1 in the playoff match. The squad would win two cups else, in 1904 (beating Uruguayan CURCC
Central Uruguay Railway Cricket Club (mostly known for its acronym CURCC) was a Uruguayan sports club, originally established by British railway workers for the practise of cricket. Nevertheless, the club would be notable for its football section ...
3–2) and 1905 (winning over CURCC
Central Uruguay Railway Cricket Club (mostly known for its acronym CURCC) was a Uruguayan sports club, originally established by British railway workers for the practise of cricket. Nevertheless, the club would be notable for its football section ...
again by 4–3) editions, totalling three championships in six years.["Cuando el Rosario Athletic salió campeón... de fútbol", CIHF Argentina]
Teams from Rosario
Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...
had also participated in the first National Cups organised by the Argentine Football Association, such as Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires
The Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires was an Argentine official football cup competition. It was contested fourteen times between 1905 and 1920.
This cup was played by teams from Buenos Aires and Rosario (which belonged to Liga Rosarina ...
, (which 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 Rosario Central
Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the Englis ...
would later win in 1911 and 1916 respectively)
The first official match played by the Argentina national team took place on 16 May 1901 against 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 ...
, a 3–2 win for Argentina. This game marked the beginning of the Argentina and Uruguay football rivalry.
The first trophy won by 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 ...
was the 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 ...
in 1905. They won their first tournament in 1910 (Copa Centenario de la Revolución de Mayo) which was contested between 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 ...
, 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 ...
, 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 ...
and 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 ...
.
In 1916
Events
Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled.
* ...
, 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 ...
competed in the first Copa América
The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...
which was won by 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 ...
. 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 ...
would win the tournament for the first time in 1921
Events
January
* January 2
** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil.
** The Spanish lin ...
, and have gone on to win it a total of 15 times.
During the 1920s decade, Huracan
Huracan (; es, Huracán; myn, Hunraqan, "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating hu ...
was a strong competitor, winning most of the annual championships, as Racing Club did during the 1910s. To mention a tradition, the Huracán footballers and fans used to meet at the historical Japanese Cafe.
In 1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...
, Argentina Olympic football team
The Argentina Olympic football team (Argentina U-23 since 1992) represents Argentina in international football competitions during Olympic Games and Pan American Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage ...
competed at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, where they finished runners-up to 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 ...
. Two years later, they competed in the first FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
, again finishing runners up to hosts 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 ...
.
Following two seasons of disrupted play due to mass cancellation and suspension of matches and the mid-season withdrawal of teams in the 1929, and 1930, 18 teams decided to form a breakaway professional league for the 1931 season. The amateur league carried on in parallel until it folded in 1934 with many of the teams joining the new professional second division The creation of the professional league helped curb the exodus of Argentine talent to high paying European football clubs. The 1934 World Cup
The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934.
The 1934 World Cup was the first in ...
Italy national team championship side featured several ''Oriundo
The term oriundo (; Italian plural ''oriundi'') is an Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese noun describing an immigrant in a country, whose ancestry is from that same country. It comes from the Latin verb ''oriri'' (''orior''), "be born", and is et ...
'' in the squad composed of Argentine-born players such as Raimundo Orsi
Raimundo Bibiani "Mumo" Orsi (2 December 1901 – 6 April 1986) was an Italian Argentine footballer who played as a winger or as a forward. At the international level he represented both Argentina and Italy, winning the 1927 Copa América and t ...
, Enrique Guaita
Enrique Guaita (; 11 July 1910 – 18 May 1959), also known as Enrico Guaita (), was an Italian Argentine footballer who played for both Argentina and Italy as a forward. He helped win the 1933-35 Central European International Cup & the Worl ...
, and Luis Monti
Luis Felipe Monti (15 May 1901 – 9 September 1983) was an Italian Argentine footballer who played as a midfielder and an Olympian. Monti has the distinction of having played in two FIFA World Cup final matches with two different national teams ...
who also played for Argentina in the 1930 World Cup
The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930. FIFA, football's international governing body, selected Uruguay as host nati ...
.
In 1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
, Independiente became the first Argentine club to win the Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
, Argentine clubs have won the competition a total of 25 times.
In 1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
, Racing
In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...
became the first Argentine team to win the Intercontinental Cup. Argentine clubs have won the tournament a record 9 times.
In 1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government).
* January 6 ...
, Argentina hosted the World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
, where the team defeated the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
3–1 after extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a Draw (tie), tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is ...
in the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
to win their first World Cup.
In 1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
, a young Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
was part of the Argentina under-20 team which won the FIFA Under-20 World Cup
The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 wh ...
. Argentina have gone on to win a record six U-20 World Cups.
In 1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
, due to an uncertain political atmosphere and an extremely unstable government with multiple presidents over the span of a short time, most football clubs were lacking the money to keep top domestic players. 1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
saw a whole slew of players leave 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 ...
for Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
: players like Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
, Mario Kempes
Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi (; born 15 July 1954) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker or attacking midfielder. A prolific goalscorer, he finished as La Liga's top goalscorer twice with Valencia and amassed 11 ...
(who had already played in Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and had briefly returned to 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 ...
), Daniel Passarella
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...
and many others leave for Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
or England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
.
In 1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal en ...
, Argentina would win their second World Cup in the 1986 World Cup, where the team defeated to Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
3–2.
In 1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
, Rosario Central
Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the Englis ...
became the first club not based 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 ...
or Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...
to win an international cup recognised by FIFA, the Conmebol Cup
The Copa CONMEBOL ( en, CONMEBOL Cup) was an annual football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL between 1992 and 1999 for South American football clubs. During its time of existence, it was a very prestigious South American club football cont ...
. Argentine clubs have won the tournament a record three times.
In 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, the Argentina Olympic football team
The Argentina Olympic football team (Argentina U-23 since 1992) represents Argentina in international football competitions during Olympic Games and Pan American Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage ...
won Gold at the Athens Olympic games; they defended their title in 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
to become the first team to defend the Olympic football title since Hungary in 1968.
In 2022, Argentina won the World Cup for the third time, beating France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
4–2 on penalties following a 3–3 draw after extra time.
Clubs
League system
Around 326 registered football clubs play in 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) league system, which is organized in a pyramid of seven leagues divided from the third level between clubs directly affiliated to AFA and clubs indirectly affiliated to AFA. In the branch of clubs indirectly affiliated to AFA below the fourth level, there are 250 other Regional Leagues
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
that are affiliated with AFA and compete for the right to enter the league system at the lowest tier.
The Primera División is the highest level of club football in Argentina. It was founded in 1891
Events
January–March
* January 1
** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany.
** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence.
** Germany takes formal possession of its new Af ...
as an amateur competition, becoming professional in 1931
Events
January
* January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics.
* January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa.
* January 22 – Sir I ...
with a league by 18 teams which were dissatisfied with the amateur system they were participating on until 1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
. This group of 18 founding members of the present league included nearly all of the most prominent clubs of those times, unified by the idea that full and compulsory amateurism was no longer sustainable (many of those teams are still today among the most popular clubs in Argentina). For many years, the only winners were the so-called " big five"[Argentina - List of champions](_blank)
at rsssf
The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) is an international organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around the ...
(Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
, Independiente, Racing Club, River Plate and San Lorenzo de Almagro
Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro, commonly known as San Lorenzo de Almagro or simply San Lorenzo (in English: ''Saint Lawrence''), is a sports club of Argentina in the Boedo district of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its football team ...
). This dominance was finally broken in 1967 by Estudiantes de La Plata
Club Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "Students from La Plata"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata , is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, wh ...
. Since then, ten other teams have won the championship, resulting in a total of 28 teams having been champions of Argentina as of 2021. River Plate has won the most championships with 37. The only teams outside the 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 ...
and Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...
to have won the championship are Rosario Central
Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the Englis ...
and 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 ...
from Rosario
Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...
, Estudiantes and Gimnasia y Esgrima from La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
.
Below the second division, Primera Nacional
Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, in English "National B Division", and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 37 tea ...
, the league system is regionalized with three divisions for clubs directly affiliated to AFA of 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 ...
, Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...
and twenty one clubs from the cities of Rosario
Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...
, Santa Fe, La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
, Zarate, Campana
Campana (Italian and Spanish for "bell") may refer to:
Places
* Campana Partido, Argentina, a ''partido'' (administrative subdivision) in Buenos Aires Province
** Campana, Buenos Aires Province, a city in Campana Partido
* Campana Island, Capit ...
, Luján, Junín, General Rodríguez
General Rodríguez is a city within the urban agglomeration of Greater Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative centre for General Rodríguez Partido. The triple crime
The Triple crime ( es, Triple crimen) to ...
, Cañuelas, Pilar and Mercedes; and two divisions for clubs indirectly affiliated to AFA that cover the rest of the country. Even below these seven leagues, Argentine football is regionalized into almost 250 Regional Leagues
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
, which consist of teams that participate in championships and tournaments organized by the Consejo Federal del Fútbol Argentino ( es) (CFFA), internal organ of 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), to obtain the right to enter the Torneo Regional Federal Amateur
The Torneo Regional Federal Amateur (in English "Regional Federal Amateur Tournament") is one of the two professional leagues that form the regionalised fourth level of the Argentine football league system, along with Primera C Metropolitana. The ...
, established in 2018.
League championships
The Primera División has been using different formats for its championships, from a double round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero ...
(1891 to 1966) to a single round-robin that would become the standard in Latin America, the Apertura and Clausura
The ' and ' tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is div ...
. In the particular case of Argentina, the Apertura was contested in the second half of the calendar year, and the Clausura was played in the first half of the following year (in order to synchronize the seasons with those of the European football). Different formats used also included the organization of Metropolitano
Metropolitano S.A. was a privately owned consortium formed in 1994 to take over concessions granted by the Argentine government as part of railway privatisation during the presidency of Carlos Menem for the operation of commuter rail services i ...
and Nacional
Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to:
Airlines
* Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002
* Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961
Bank
* Banco Nacional, a ...
championships, that lasted from 1967 to 1985.
As of 2021 season, the Argentine Primera División league is made up of 26 teams, with a championship organized in a single round-robin schedule, resulting in a total of 25 rounds per team. Six teams from Argentina are eligible to play the Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
, four from the league championship and the rest from the Copa Argentina
The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), with the aim of qual ...
and Copa de la Superliga
The Copa de la Superliga Argentina was an Argentine cup competition. It was contested by all the teams participating in the Primera División, and played after the conclusion of the regular season.
The 2019 edition was sponsored by YPF, with its ...
.
From 1891 to date, River Plate is the most winning team with 37 domestic championships, followed by Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
with 34 titles. Racing
In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...
holds the third position with 18 titles.
Domestic cups
Since the creation of the first league in 1891, several cups have been played in Argentine apart from the main competition, the Primera División. The first cup held in the country was the Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires
The Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires was an Argentine official football cup competition. It was contested fourteen times between 1905 and 1920.
This cup was played by teams from Buenos Aires and Rosario (which belonged to Liga Rosarina ...
; first contested in 1905, it was played until 1936.
As of the present, four domestic cups are held in Argentina: the Copa Argentina
The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), with the aim of qual ...
, that includes teams of all divisions of Argentine football, and the Supercopa Argentina
The Supercopa Argentina (English: Argentine Super Cup) is an official National association football cup of Argentina organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The annual football match was played for the first time in 2012, being cont ...
–contested by the reigning champions of Primera División and Copa Argentina, organised by the AFA. The third one is Copa de la Superliga Argentina, organised by the Superliga Argentina
The Superliga Argentina de Fútbol, (officially "Superliga Profesional del Fútbol Argentino") was an Argentine sports association responsible for administering the main professional league of Argentine football, the Primera División, between ...
body. The Trofeo de Campeones is the fourth official cup organized by the Superliga Argentina
The Superliga Argentina de Fútbol, (officially "Superliga Profesional del Fútbol Argentino") was an Argentine sports association responsible for administering the main professional league of Argentine football, the Primera División, between ...
. The annual football match was played for the first time in 2019, being played by the champions of Primera División and Copa de la Superliga Argentina respectively
The Copa Campeonato
The Copa Campeonato Primera División (familiarly known as Superfinal) was an official Argentine football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association. It was played in a single match format between the Torneo Inicial and Torn ...
, originally awarded to Primera División champion, is the oldest trophy of Argentine football,["El trofeo más añejo del fútbol argentino" at AFA website]
, 26 Jun 2013 having been established in 1896, three year after the AFA was created, and played without interruption until 1926.[''Memoria y Balance 1935'' - Argentine Football Association Library]
/ref> The Cup received several names, such as "Championship Cup", "Copa Campeonato", "Challenge Cup" and "Copa Alumni", due to the association offered legendary team Alumni
Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
to keep the Cup definitely for having won it three consecutive times (1900–02), but the club from Belgrano declined the honour to keep the trophy under dispute.[
All those competitions, although not considered league tournaments, are regarded as official titles.
]
Rivalries
There are many local rivalries in Argentine football. The most important is the ''Superderby'', which is contested between Argentina's two most popular and successful teams, 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 ...
rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
. The English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
newspaper ''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' put the ''superclásico'' (name in Spanish) at the top of their list of "The 50 Sporting Things You Must Do Before You Die".
The second-most important rivalry in Argentine football is the ''Avellaneda derby
The Avellaneda derby ( es, Clásico de Avellaneda) is the second-most important rivalry in Argentine football. It is contested between Independiente and Racing Club.
It is the second-most important local derby, behind the '' Superclásico'' cont ...
'', which is contested between Independiente and Racing
In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...
, the third- and fourth-most popular and third- and fourth-most successful teams of the country (respectively), both from the city of Avellaneda
Avellaneda (, ) is a port city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 342,677 as per the . Avellaneda is located within the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area, and is connected ...
(located next to Buenos Aires, into it metropolitan area). Other important derbies include the derby between Huracán and San Lorenzo de Almagro
Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro, commonly known as San Lorenzo de Almagro or simply San Lorenzo (in English: ''Saint Lawrence''), is a sports club of Argentina in the Boedo district of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its football team ...
(has no particular denomination), the ''Rosario derby
The Rosario derby ("Clásico Rosarino") is one of the most fiercely contested football rivalries in Argentine football.
It is played between the two main teams from Rosario, Newell's Old Boys and Rosario Central. It is widely regarded as the most ...
'' (between 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 Rosario Central
Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the Englis ...
), the ''La Plata derby
The La Plata derby (Clásico Platense or Clásico de La Plata in Spanish) is one of the most fiercely contested derbies in Argentine football. It is played between local clubs Estudiantes and Gimnasia y Esgrima.
The first official derby took ...
'' (between Estudiantes de La Plata
Club Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "Students from La Plata"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata , is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, wh ...
and Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata
Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (; ''La Plata Gymnastics and Fencing Club''), also known simply as Gimnasia, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1887 as "Club de Gimnasia ...
), the ''West derby'' (between Ferro Carril Oeste
Club Ferro Carril Oeste, known simply as Ferro Carril Oeste or familiarly, Ferro, is an Argentine sports club from the neighbourhood of Caballito, Buenos Aires. Although many activities are hosted by the club, Ferro is mostly known for its footb ...
and Vélez Sarsfield), the derby between Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
and Chacarita Juniors
Club Atlético Chacarita Juniors (usually known simply as Chacarita) is an Argentine football club headquartered in Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires, while the stadium is located in Villa Maipú, General San Martín Partido of Greater Buenos Aires.
...
(formerly denominated "Villa Crespo derby"), the '' Santa Fe derby'' (between Colón and Unión), the ''North Zone derby'' (between Platense and Tigre), the ''Cordoba derby'' (between Belgrano and Talleres), the derby between Instituto and Racing de Córdoba
Club Atlético Racing (usually referred as Racing de Córdoba) is an Argentine football club from the city of Córdoba. The team currently plays in Federal A, the regionalised third division of the Argentine football league system.
History ...
(has no particular denomination) and the ''Tucuman derby'' (between San Martín
San Martín or San Martin may refer to:
People Saints
* Saint Martin (disambiguation)#People, name of various saints in Spanish
Political leaders
*Vicente San Martin (1839 -1901), Military, National hero of Mexico.
*Basilio San Martin (1849 ...
and Atlético Tucumán
Club Atlético Tucumán (mostly known as Atlético Tucumán) is an Argentinian football club based in the city of San Miguel de Tucumán of Tucumán Province. Although several sports are practised at the club, Atlético is mostly known for its fo ...
).
Style of Play
Circumstances allowed the wide development of a special style, called "pasture football", little regulated, often massive, without coaches, captains or parents. This includes a variety of soccer games, from more or less formal matches, to mass informal matches such as "el picado", or games such as "goal-goal-enter", the "loco", the "run", the " center-goal ", the" cañito-la liga ", the" football-tennis ", the" coca-cola ", the" head ", and so on. These conditions promoted a game based fundamentally on improvisation and individual skill in handling the ball, the so-called "art of dribbling" (dribbling), and the short pass, as well as a more physical and violent defensive game, with resource systematic to the old law of British premodern football, "hacking" or trip, known in the Río de la Plata as "ax".
Clubs at international competitions
The first international club competition was organized by both, Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
and Uruguayan
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 ...
associations, with the establishment of Tie Cup
The Tie Cup Competition (also known as Copa de Competencia Chevallier Boutell) is a defunct international football tournament played between representatives of the Argentina and Uruguay Associations. It was one of the earliest international footbal ...
or "Copa de Competencia Chevallier Boutell" in 1900. The tournament was held until 1919. Several competitions between teams from both countries followed, being the last the Copa Aldao
The Copa Ricardo Aldao (English: ''Ricardo Aldao Cup''), popularly called Campeonato Rioplatense and Copa Río de La Plata, was an official AFA- AUF football club competition contested annually, albeit irregularly, between the league champions of ...
, which last edition was played in 1955.
The most successful Argentine club on the international stage is Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
. The club has won a total of 22 international titles. Three of its wins are the Intercontinental Cup titles of 1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
, 2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
and 2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
.
Independiente has won the most important continental title on the most occasions, its seven Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
titles is a record, as is its feat of winning the title on four consecutive occasions (1972–75).[Copa Libertadores](_blank)
at rsssf
The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) is an international organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around the ...
Also, Independiente was the most successful club on international cups by more than twenty years. These achievements earned them the nickname of ''Rey de Copas (King of Cups)''.
A number of other Argentine clubs have won the Copa Libertadores, including Estudiantes de La Plata
Club Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "Students from La Plata"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata , is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, wh ...
and River Plate (four times each; Estudiantes in 1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
, 1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
, 1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
, 2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
and River Plate in 1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
, 1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
, 2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
, 2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
), Racing
In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...
(1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
), Argentinos Juniors
Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was recognized as one of the ...
(1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
), Vélez Sarsfield (1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
) and San Lorenzo
San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Lorenzo, Santa Fe
* San Lorenzo Department, Chaco
* Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...
(2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
).
Some Argentine teams have won international titles without having won a Primera División title, such as Talleres de Córdoba
Club Atlético Talleres (; (lit. Workshops Athletic Club) mostly known simply as Talleres (lit. Workshops) or Talleres de Córdoba ) (Córdoba Workshops) is an Argentine sports club from the city of Córdoba. The institution is mostly known f ...
that won the Copa CONMEBOL
The Copa CONMEBOL ( en, CONMEBOL Cup) was an annual football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL between 1992 and 1999 for South American football clubs. During its time of existence, it was a very prestigious South American club football cont ...
in 1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
, Arsenal de Sarandí
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
winning the Copa Sudamericana
The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...
in 2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
(although the team then won a title, the 2012 Torneo Clausura) and Defensa y Justicia
Club Social y Deportivo Defensa y Justicia, commonly known as Defensa y Justicia, is an Argentine football club from Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, established in 1935. winning the Copa Sudamericana
The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...
in 2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
.
List of international competitions (1900–present)
Argentine clubs have taken part of the following international club competitions, in order of appearance:
Culture
Football plays an important part in the life of many Argentines. Even those supporters who usually do not attend the matches watch them on television and comment on them the next day with friends and co-workers. When the Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina.
Nicknamed ''La Albiceleste'' ('The White and S ...
plays (especially during world cup matches), streets tend to look completely deserted as everyone is watching the match. After the victories in 1978 FIFA World Cup
The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June.
The Cup was won by t ...
and 1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...
, streets were flooded with people celebrating the championship, making it impossible not to become part of the celebration.
It was in 1986 when the figure of Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
exploded, becoming an icon not only of Argentine football but of football itself. In Argentina, Maradona became something resemblant of a god (see Maradonian Church), admired by fans of every club (even River Plate).
Supporters in Argentinian football stadiums operate under a key principle known as ''Aguante'' (Endurance) which serves as a belief system that guides the behavior of those in attendance. Key values that make up ''aguante'' that scholars such as ''Eduardo Herrera'' have also claimed are central in the construction of Argentinian masculinity are courage, endurance, and fearlessness in physical confrontation.[Herrera, Eduardo. 2018. “Masculinity, Violence, and Deindividuation in Argentine Soccer Chants: The Sonic Potentials of Participatory Sounding-in-Synchrony.” Ethnomusicology 62(3): 470-499] Fans can showcase these values when they are at stadiums in three significant way which are always supporting your team with your participation in chants and jumping throughout the match, attending literally every match that your team plays regardless of the circumstances, and standing your ground in the face of opposition insults or when engaged in any physical altercations at the stadium.
It is under this principal of ''aguante'' that those in attendance of stadium matches in Argentina can be labeled under three broad categories which are ''hinchas'' (Fans), ''hinchinda militantes'' (militant fans), and ''espectadores'' (spectator). Those who classified as ''Hinchas'' exhibit many of the qualities under the ''aguante'' principle and often go to many of their team's matches, while ''hinchinda militantes'' who are usually found behind the goals with their team colors strictly follow what is asked of them under ''aguante'' by attending every of their team's matches regardless of the weather or performance of the team. The ''espectadores'' attend matches to enjoy the play of the game but do not weigh the principal of aguante close to heart compared the other two fan categories. Within the broad category of ''hinchinda militantes'' it is made up of la barra (supporters), ''la banda'' (the band), ''los pibes'' (the kids), and ''la pandilla'' (gang).
''La Barra'' is the central figure within the ''hinchinda militantes'' because of the critical role these subgroups of fans have in shaping the atmosphere of the stadium during matches and lead under a hierarchical structure with a capo (boss) at the top who organizes and tropes(followers) who heed the direction/instructions of the capo. The leadership of these organized subgroups of fans, which are mainly made up of men between the ages of 15–50 years old, are entirely driven by demonstrations of aguante and awarded additional benefits stemming from relationships with club executives that grant special privileges to these groups such as tickets or allowing them to bring in typically prohibited items into the stadium to stir energy and excitement for the football club during the match.
The excitement and passion at stadiums are typically found to be instigated and sustained by the presence of the percussion and brass instrument brought in by barras groups. The typical percussion instruments that are brought in and played by members of the barras at stadiums are the bombo con platillo (bass drum), Brazilian surdo drums, redoblantes (snare drums), repiques, scrappers, tambourines, cowbells, and agogo bells. The brass instruments that are typically played at stadiums by outside musicians hired by barras groups are trumpets, trombones, and euphoniums. While the collective energy and synchronization incited by the music can create a sense of unity among attendants and supporters alike, ethnomusicological scholar Eduardo Herrera also believes that they can embolden individuals to normalize discriminatory behavior that they wouldn't otherwise do if they weren't in a crowd, which would explain some of the recorded derogatory language and violent behavior found in Argentinian stadiums.
Argentine fans are not allowed to travel to see their teams in away matches, as they have been banned since 2013.
''Hinchas'' (supporters) create an emotional ambiance in many stadiums, singing and cheering loudly all game long, but since the away fan ban due to violence, the atmosphere in many stadia has become poorer, with goals for away teams greeted by silence and the disappearance of ''round trip chants'' between home and away fans, that provoked in each side to sing louder for show more passion.
''Barra brava
''Barra brava'' () is the name of organized supporters' groups of football teams in Latin America, analogous to British hooligans in providing fanatical support to their clubs in stadiums and provoking violence against rival fans as well as a ...
s'' (Argentine organized groups – like the English hooligan firms) also create occasional problems, usually in riots after the match.
See also
* English Argentines
English Argentines (also known as Anglo-Argentines) are citizens of Argentina or the children of Argentine citizens brought up in Argentina, who can claim ancestry originating in England. The English settlement in Argentina (the arrival of Eng ...
* Sport in Argentina
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
References
External links
Argentine Football Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Football In Argentina