1.
Football in Argentina
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Football is Argentinas most popular sport, the one with the most players 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. The first Argentine league was contested in 1891, making it the fifth oldest recognised league of a FIFA member, the Argentine Football Association was formed in 1893 and is the eighth oldest in the world. The Argentine national team is one of the eight to have won the football World Cup, having done so in 1978 and 1986, and also being runner-up in 1930,1990, and 2014. They have also won the top tournament, the Copa América, on fourteen occasions. The nations Olympic representative has won two Gold Medals, while the team has won a record six U-20 World Cups. At club level, Argentine teams have won the most Intercontinental Cups, womens football has a national league since 1991, the Campeonato de Fútbol Feminino. In turn, the national representative qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 2007. In futsal, Argentina were FIFUSA/AMF Futsal World Cup champions in 1994 and they also compete in the FIFA code of futsal, where they finished third in the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Cup. The team also won the FIFA Futsal Copa América in 2003, moreover, Argentina was world champion in futsal for the visually impaired in 1998. Argentina also compete in the beach football World Cup, where their best finish was third in 2001. British citizens founded social and sports clubs where they could practise their sports, such as bowls, cricket, football, golf, horse riding, rugby union and tennis 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 first recorded match in Argentina took place on this pitch on 20 June 1867. This newspaper, published in Argentina, was the first one to cover football matches in the country, the game was played between two teams of British merchants, the White Caps and the Red Caps. In the 19th century it was practice for teams to be distinguished by caps rather than jerseys. The teams consisted of 8 players each as the organisers were unable to more players for the match. The line-ups were, Thomas Hogg, James Hogg, William Forrester, T. B. Smith, J. W. Bond, Smith, William Heald, T. R. Best, U
2.
Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata
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Apart from football, GELP also hosts other activities such as athletics, basketball, fencing, futsal, gymnastics, field hockey, martial arts, tennis, roller skating and volleyball. The Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata was founded on 3 June 1887 as a civil association, the club also claims to be the oldest football club in the Americas, despite other football clubs, such as Peruvian Lima Cricket F. C. have older foundation dates. Its foundation came barely five years after the creation of the City of La Plata in 1882, the first sports offered to its members were, as its Spanish name indicates, gymnastics and fencing. Clubs supporting these sports were common among the classes at the end of the 19th century. Later on, other disciplines were added, including track and field, football, basketball, the institution changed name a few times, from April to December 1897 it was called a Club de Esgrima because fencing was the only activity practised at that moment. On 17 December 1897 it returned to its name, Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima. From July 1952 to 30 September 1955, the club was named Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima de Eva Perón, because the city of La Plata itself had been renamed Eva Perón in 1952, after Eva Peróns death. The city returned to its previous name during the government of the Liberating Revolution, however, it remained unduly identified legally as Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata, a mistake that was corrected on 7 August 1964 after the new statute was approved. Gimnasia y Esgrima was promoted to the first division after becoming champions of the División Intermedia of Argentine football in 1915, later, in 1929, the club won its first Primera División championship. During successive years, Gimnasia became champion of Primera B in 1944,1947 and 1952, additionally, the squad has been a runner-up in the Primera División on five occasions. The club has remained at the top level of Argentine football for 73 seasons, the Clásico Platense is the nickname given to the match between La Platas two main football teams, Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata and Estudiantes de La Plata. The first official derby took place as part of the Primera División season on 27 August 1916, on that occasion, Gimnasia won 1–0 over Estudiantes, with an own goal by Ludovico Pastor. The first derby of the era took place on 14 June 1931. Between 12 August 1932 and 9 September 1934 Gimnasia won five consecutive La Plata derbies, on 25 June 1963 Gimnasia obtained a 5–2 victory, this being the best result so far against Estudiantes. On the other hand, Gimnasias worst result was a 7–0 defeat on 15 October 2006, a curiosity among the derbies occurred on 5 April 1992, when Gimnasia won over Estudiantes 1–0 at the latters stadium. On that date, as the stands erupted and Gimnasias fans shouted in celebration at the goal being scored and that goal was scored by the Uruguayan José Perdomo on a freekick, and it has been known ever since as El gol del terremoto. Through more than 120 years of history, the Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata has had 56 Presidents, many of them contributed to the growth of the club over the years. Some of them have remained vivid in the fans memory for their achievements or outstanding works
3.
Argentina
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Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a federal republic in the southern half of South America. With a mainland area of 2,780,400 km2, Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the second largest in Latin America, and the largest Spanish-speaking one. The country is subdivided into provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system, Argentina claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The earliest recorded presence in the area of modern-day Argentina dates back to the Paleolithic period. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century, Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with waves of European immigration radically reshaping its cultural. The almost-unparalleled increase in prosperity led to Argentina becoming the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world by the early 20th century, Argentina retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs, and is a prominent regional power in the Southern Cone and Latin America. Argentina has the second largest economy in South America, the third-largest in Latin America and is a member of the G-15 and it is the country with the second highest Human Development Index in Latin America with a rating of very high. Because of its stability, market size and growing high-tech sector, the description of the country by the word Argentina has to be found on a Venice map in 1536. In English the name Argentina probably comes from the Spanish language, however the naming itself is not Spanish, Argentina means in Italian of silver, silver coloured, probably borrowed from the Old French adjective argentine of silver > silver coloured already mentioned in the 12th century. The French word argentine is the form of argentin and derives of argent silver with the suffix -in. The Italian naming Argentina for the country implies Argentina Terra land of silver or Argentina costa coast of silver, in Italian, the adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said lArgentina. The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venitian and Genoese navigators, in Spanish and Portuguese, the words for silver are respectively plata and prata and of silver is said plateado and prateado. Argentina was first associated with the silver mountains legend, widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin. The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina, a 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region, the 1826 constitution included the first use of the name Argentine Republic in legal documents. The name Argentine Confederation was also used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853. In 1860 a presidential decree settled the name as Argentine Republic
4.
Estudiantes de La Plata
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Club Estudiantes de La Plata, simply referred to as Estudiantes, is an Argentine sports club based in La Plata. The clubs football team competes in the Primera División, where it has spent most of its history. The club is amongst the most successful teams in Argentina, in 1967, Estudiantes was the first team outside of the traditional big five to win a professional league title. Since then, the squad has won four league titles to bring the total to five. It has had even greater success, having won six international titles. Estudiantes international silverware consists of four Copa Libertadores, an Intercontinental Cup, the club was founded in 1905 when a group of players and fans decided to break away from Gimnasia de La Plata, which favored indoor sports over football. Matches between the two clubs are known as the Clásico Platense, the Estudiantes home stadium is undergoing renovations, so the team plays in the city-owned Estadio Único de La Plata. Other sports where Estudiantes competes are basketball, team handball, field hockey, golf, swimming, judo, and volleyball. Thus, on August 4,1905, in the shoestore New York on 7th Street and its first president, Miguel Gutiérrez, was elected on the very same night, when the club charter was drafted by card-carrying member #1, Alfredo Lartigue. In those days, teams like Lomas A. C. Quilmes, on 28 February 1906 Estudiantes adopted a jersey design of striped red and white, in honor of Alumni, that had won ten championships between 1900 and 1911. However, during the years, Estudiantes had to use a red shirt with a white stripe in the chest. A year later, Estudiantes enrolled in the Associación Amateurs de Football, the stadium on 1st Avenue opened on 25 December 1907. Estudiantes first achievement was the 1911 Primera B title which allowed the team to play at the top division of Argentine football, just two years later Estudiantes won its first title in Primera, playing at the dissident Federación Argentina de Football. That season the team disputed 18 matches, winning 14 with only 1 lost, in 1914 Estudiantes made another great campaign but the team finished 2nd to Porteño. 1919 saw Estudiantes finishing 2nd to champion Boca Juniors although the Association put an end to the tournament with 14 fixtures still to be played, the Association alleged that the championship took longer than expected so it was suddenly finished. In subsequent years, Estudiantes made irregular campaigns, in some cases finishing at the bottom of the table, nevertheless, the team made a great performance in 1928 when finishing 3rd to champion Huracán and Boca Juniors. The last year of amateur era saw Estudiantes being runner-up to Boca Juniors, the team totalized 56 points in 35 matches, with 27 won and 7 losses. Alberto Zozaya scored the first goal of professional football in Argentina and was the top goalscorer of the first professional tournament
5.
Boca Juniors
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Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in the La Boca neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. National titles won by Boca Juniors include 31 Primera División championships, Boca Juniors also owns an honorary title awarded by the Argentine Football Association for their successful tour of Europe in 1925. Internationally, the Boca Juniors have won a total of 22 international titles, with 18 recognized by FIFA and CONMEBOL. According to that, Boca is ranked third in the world in terms of number of internationally recognized titles, together with A. C. Milan and behind Real Madrid and Egyptian side Al Ahly. Boca Juniors international achievements also include Tie Cup, Copa de Honor Cousenier, Boca Juniors is also one of only eight teams to have won CONMEBOLs treble. Their success usually has Boca ranked among the IFFHSs Club World Ranking Top 25, Boca was also named by the IFFHS as the top South American club of the first decade of the 21st century. Boca Juniors is also known to be the one of the most popular clubs in Argentina. Boca juniors is one of the most popular clubs in South America, Boca has always had a fierce rivalry with River Plate, as both clubs were established in La Boca. Matches between them are known as the Superclásico, and are one of the most heated rivalries in Argentina, Bocas home stadium is Estadio Alberto J. Armando, which is colloquially known as La Bombonera. In addition to football, Boca Juniors also has basketball and volleyball teams. Other activities held in the club are, athletics, futsal, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, martial arts, on 3 April 1905, a group of Italian boys met in order to find a club. The house where the meeting was arranged was Esteban Bagliettos and the four people who attended were Alfredo Scarpatti, Santiago Sana and brothers Juan. This was possible when the Asociación Argentina de Fútbol decided to increase the number of teams in the league from 6 to 15, in 1925, Boca made its first trip to Europe to play in Spain, Germany and France. The squad played a total of 19 games, winning 15 of them, for that reason Boca was declared Campeón de Honor for the 1925 season by the Association. During successive years, Boca consolidated as one of the most popular teams of Argentina, with a number of fans not only in Argentina. The club is one of the most successful teams in Argentine football, having won 31 Primera División titles, second only to River Plate with 36. In South American and international football, Boca Juniors have won 18 titles. Those honors include 1919 Tie Cup,1920 Copa de Honor Cousenier and 1945 and 1946 Copa Escobar-Gerona, legend has it that in 1906, Boca played Nottingham de Almagro
6.
Newell's Old Boys
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Club Atlético Newells 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, originally a member of Rosarios Football Association, Newells affiliated to the Argentine Football Association in 1939. They were the 2013 champions in Argentine football, and have won AFAs Primera División six times throughout their history, Newells has also been twice Copa Libertadores runner-up. The clubs football stadium is the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa, named after the former player and manager Marcelo Bielsa. Newells plays the Rosario derby against Rosario Central, a club with which they have a historical rivalry. Newells is also notable for its youth divisions, being the club with most national titles in AFAs youth tournaments. Lionel Messi also played in the youths, but left at a young age to Barcelona to seek treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. Other sports practised at this club are basketball, boxing, field hockey, martial arts, roller skating, club Atlético Newells Old Boys was established on 3 November 1903. Claudio Newell was one of the founding members, Newell called teachers, pupils and alumni of the school to sign the act of foundation of the club. The name chosen paid tribute to Isaac Newells life, the first president was Víctor Heitz. The name old boys is referred to graduates of a school, therefore, Newells Old Boys would mean Graduates of Newells school or something similar. In fact, the players of the first football team were graduates of that school, the colours of the club were taken from the Colegio Comercial Anglicano Argentino emblem that were red and black inspired in the colours of the English and German flags respectively. Newells Old Boys is often referred to as leprosos because the team was invited to a charity match to raise funds for a leprosy sufferers of Hospital Carrasco, in the 1920s. The club immediately accepted to take part in the event, but Rosario Central did not so, the main objective was to organise a championship, so a trophy was donated by the major of Rosario, Santiago Pinasco. The trophy was named in his honour. Newells was the winner of the first edition, having won eight games, the team also scored 39 goals, conceding just 4. Previously, the historic first Rosarino derby had been held, Newells won 1–0 with a goal scored by Faustino González. The next year Newells won its second championship, in 1907, the Liga Rosarina established a second division
7.
San Lorenzo de Almagro
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Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro, known as San Lorenzo de Almagro or San Lorenzo, is an Argentine sports club based in the Boedo, neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its team, which plays in the Primera División. San Lorenzo is also considered one of the big five of Argentine football by Argentine press, with Independiente, River Plate, Boca Juniors, San Lorenzo plays its home games at Estadio Pedro Bidegain, popularly known as Nuevo Gasómetro. The stadium and sports facilities are located in Bajo Flores, neighborhood of the city of Buenos Aires, Clubs previous stadium was the Viejo Gasómetro, located in Boedo neighborhood. After the match was played there in 1979, the Gasómetro was expropriated by the de facto Government of Argentina, the club currently has five headquarters, three in Boedo, one in Monserrat, and one at Bajo Flores, all of them in the city of Buenos Aires. San Lorenzo also plans to expand its main seat on La Plata Avenue, San Lorenzos historical rival is Huracán, located in Parque Patricios. The two clubs play one of the older derbies in Argentina, some supporters consider this derby as the third most important after Superclásico and Clásico de Avellaneda, in addition to being one of the most uneven derbies of Argentine Soccer. Other sports practised at the club are artistic roller skating, basketball, field hockey, futsal, handball, martial arts, roller hockey, swimming, tennis, some years ago, San Lorenzo had also opened a rugby union section, but it is no longer active. San Lorenzo gained international recognition in March 2013 with the election of Pope Francis, the players played with the Popes photo on their shirts during a league match against Colón de Santa Fe on 16 March 2013. The institution is known because of the actor Viggo Mortensen, supporter of the team. The roots of the institution can be found in a formed by a group of kids that used to play football in the corner of México. Due to the traffic in the city, playing football at the streets became a risky activity for the boys. Lorenzo Massa, the catholic priest of the church, saw how a tram almost knocked down one of the boys while they were playing in the streets. As a way to prevent more accidents, he offered the boys to play in the churchs backyard, on 1 April 1908, an assemble was held in the Almagro district of Buenos Aires with the purpose of establishing a club. During the meeting, several names were proposed, the first option was Los Forzosos de Almagro, which did not sound good to Father Massa. The other proposal was to name the club San Lorenzo as an homage to Massa, other founder member, Federico Monti, suggested to add the name of the neighbourhood, Almagro where most of the members lived in, which was accepted by the assemble. Due to the not having its own a stadium, San Lorenzo began to play its home games in a field property of the Club Martínez. The squad played its first match on 26 April 1914, and this title allowed San Lorenzo to dispute the playoffs in order to promote to the Argentine Primera División, which finally obtained after beating Club Honor y Patria by a score of 3–0
8.
Ferro Carril Oeste
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Club Ferro Carril Oeste, known simply as Ferro Carril Oeste or 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 team, currently playing in the Primera B Nacional. Always located in Caballito, the club was founded as Club Atlético del Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires on 28 July 1904, the club was approved and supported by railway managers, so Ferro soon incorporated lands to build its headquarters and sports installations. In 1907, Ferro joined the second division, and in 1912 the team won the promotion to the first division after beating Racing Club in the final game. At the end of the 1930s, the club emancipated from the railway company, in 1937 five talented players rose from the youth divisions, forming an offensive line which would be remembered as The Five Musketeers. They were Bernardo Gandulla, Juan José Maril, Luis Borgnia, Jaime Sarlanga, but those skilled players only played together between 1937 and 1938, due to other clubs acquiring them. Gandulla and Emeal returned to Ferro in 1944 after their stint with Boca Juniors, but despite having such prominent players, Ferro finished last in 1946 season and was relegated to Second Division for the first time in its history. Ferro soon returned to the first division in 1949, when winning the Primera B title, during the 1950 Ferro finished 6th in 1954 and reached a memorable 4th position in 1959, the best team campaign until then. After being relegated again, Ferro won the Primera B championship in 1963, in the top level, Ferro reached another 4th place in the 1965 tournament. Ferro would be relegated again, returning in 1970 to the first division, in 1974 Ferro wore an orange jersey, paying tribute to World sub-champion Netherlands national football team, The Clockwork Orange, finishing 6th in the Torneo Nacional disputed that year. Teams most notable player was central midfielder Gerónimo Cacho Saccardi, who had debuted in 1969, Ferro had a prominent role in Argentine sports in the 1980s, more specifically in football and basketball. The football team won 2 titles of Argentine Primera División and played the Copa Libertadores, otherwise, the basketball team won the Liga Nacional de Básquet championship 3 times. In 1979 Carlos Griguol arrived to the club, in 1981 Ferro finished 2nd, totalling 49 points, just one less than champion Boca Juniors. That same year Ferro reached the Torneo Nacional final although the team was defeated by River Plate, Ferro finally won its first title at Primera in 1982, obtaining the Torneo Nacional defeating Quilmes in the finals. The squad played 22 matches, won 16 and tied 6, Ferro scored 50 goals and conceded 13. Left wing Miguel Angel Juárez was the top scorer with 22, other notable players for the champion team were Adolfino Cañete, Alberto Márcico, Juan Domingo Rocchia and Héctor Cúper. Although some important players during the 1982 tournament had left, Ferro won another Torneo Nacional in 1984, the team played 14 matches, winning 8 and losing only 1, with 5 draws. Ferro scored 32 goals and only conceded 9, being Márcico the top scorer with 5 goals, another important achievement for Ferro was the 2nd place in the 1984 Torneo Metropolitano, finishing with 50 points, only one less than champion Argentinos Juniors
Jorge Comas (12 goals)