There are few matches on the international football calendar that generate as much passion and interest as Argentina v England, the ultimate sporting clash between the New World and the Old. Yet while most will remember the ‘Hand of God’ in 1986, few know that today Argentina celebrates the 60th anniversary of beating England for the first time, a triumph that was not recognised in England but led to 14th May being labelled ‘Footballers’ Day’ in Argentina ever since.

Grudge Matches

Over the past six decades passions have been inflamed on both sides as much by contentious events on the pitch as by the disputed sovereignty of the Falklands/Malvinas and the conflict over them which took place in 1982. The rivalry took on a bitter edge at the 1966 World Cup, where the Argentine side – later labelled ‘animals’ by England coach Alf Ramsey – complained that they were victim of an Anglo-German conspiracy when their captain Antonio Rattin was sent off for hounding the referee in the closely fought quarter-final. The match, known in Buenos Aires as ‘the robbery of the century’, turned in England’s favour, and Geoff Hurst’s solitary goal took the host nation through.

Diego Maradona, Terry Butcher and Kenny Sansom during Argentina’s 2-1 win over England at the 1986 World Cup quarter finals in Mexico 1986

It was 20 years later that the Argentines gained revenge in the 1986 World Cup quarter final in México, the first game played between the two sides after the Falklands/Malvinas War, when Diego Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ set his side on the road to ultimate tournament victory.

The next two World Cup meetings in 1998 and 2002 were also mired in controversy: David Beckham’s petulant flick at Diego Simeone – who went down theatrically – earned him a red card which turned the tide Argentina’s way in 1998, while four years later, a dive worthy of Tom Daley by Michael Owen gained England the decisive penalty to decide matters.

The Birth of Footballers’ Day

The clásico between Argentina and England was born in 1951 when Argentina were invited to play England at Wembley as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations, the first non-European side to do so. After taking the lead with Mario Boyé’s goal, the hosts came back to win 2-1, but the defining performance came from Argentina’s goalkeeper, Miguel Ángel Rugilo, whose all-action, acrobatic display earned him a standing ovation from the Wembley crowd as well as the soubriquet, ‘The Lion of Wembley’. England made a reciprocal visit to Argentina two years later, playing two games as part of a wider tour of the Americas. It was the first match of this tour that would enter Argentine football legend.

The games were keenly anticipated in Argentina as the national team had played only a handful of internationals since winning the 1947 South American Championship. The team had been pulled out of international competition – most notably the 1950 World Cup held in neighbouring Brazil – at the behest of President Juan Domingo Perón’s government, who feared that defeat on the international stage would jeopardise his nationalist project based on Argentine excellence and self-reliance. A players’ strike in 1948-49 had seen many of Argentina’s best talent, including Adolfo Pedenera and Alfredo di Stéfano, depart for Colombia in search of better money, and so Perón felt that it was wiser not to risk defeat and loss of stature on the international stage with a team of lesser players.

The visit of England, on the other hand, offered the Argentines a no-risk gamble: if they won then the prestige would be enormous, but if they lost it was only to be expected against the ‘Masters of the Game’ as Clarín described the visitors who had brought the game to Argentina in the 1860s and proceeded to show their superiority in a number of club tours between 1904 and 1914.

The first of the two games was played on 14th May 1953 in River Plate’s massive horseshoe-shaped Estadio Monumental in front of 120,000 people. As far as the English were concerned it was billed as an FA XI match, not a full international. It was an opportunity to play some of their reserves and get jet lag out of their system before the official international three days later. The Argentines, however, took it seriously, wearing the official national team kit and playing the same team in both games, and including both the matches in its official international record.

Argentina’s selectors decided that with the national team not having played together regularly for some time it would be more cohesive to pick players en bloc from the same clubs. The entire defence came from Boca Juniors, the midfield from Racing Club de Avellaneda, and crucially, the famed forward line from Independiente (who would cement their reputation later that year by thrashing the Real Madrid side of Di Stéfano et al 6-0 at the Estadio Bernabéu), containing Carlos Lacasia, Carlos Cecconato, Rodolfo Micheli, Ernesto Grillo and Osvaldo Cruz.

England went ahead against the run of play through Tommy Taylor’s header, before Grillo equalised a minute later with a quite brilliant goal from a seemingly unfeasible angle that has lived long in Argentine football folklore as ‘The Impossible Goal’. As Grillo later recalled: “Lacasia passed me the ball close to the penalty area. I started to dribble and I believe that there were three or four English ahead of me. As I ran out of room on the pitch, I saw the keeper off his line and shot between him and the near post.”

Argentina then pressed home their superiority with another goal from Grillo and one from Micheli to run out worthy 3-1 winners and send the crowd into raptures. The president of the Argentine Football Association, Valentín Suárez, lavished praise on his team, saying: “We’ve beaten one of the most powerful sides in the world. I’m full of pride. Our young lads played with great heart and deserved the tremendous ovation they received when leaving the field.” Even the English press were forced to acknowledge that Argentina were the better team, with the Daily Mail’s Roy Peskett claiming that England’s players were like “carthorses chasing ballet dancers.”

The watching President Juan Domingo Perón was also so impressed by the performance that he declared that henceforth 14th May would be known as ‘Footballers’ Day’ in honour of the team, to be commemorated annually.

For the second match on the following Sunday, 91,397 spectators crammed into the Monumental to see whether England’s first choice 11 could do any better, only to go home disappointed when one of Buenos Aires’ notorious thunderstorms swept in from the River Plate estuary, flooding the pitch and forcing the game to be abandoned after just 23 minutes with the score at 0-0.

England left the country with a series defeat the blue touch-paper for the footballing rivalry between the two countries had been lit and the fireworks have not stopped since. Fans of both teams surely await the next installment with some relish.

“It’s the fastest way to travel in Buenos Aires,” Chris Wander assured me before boarding one of the five buses packed tight with Argentinos Juniors supporters.

He wasn’t lying. A police convoy, sirens blaring, raced ahead plugging traffic at junctions as our rust-bitten coach led the procession at breakneck speed through the streets of the capital. The driver was equally zealous on the horn and any car that dared obstruct our passage was blown off the road by a blast of compressed air.

Wander Tour BA
(Photo: Wander Tours)

We stopped only for police changeovers at the city limits before reaching the Estadio Libertadores de América, home of Club Atlético Independiente, located just south of the city in Avellaneda, Buenos Aires Province.

Chris is the owner of Wander Tours BA and the knowledge on Argentine football. He personally takes groups of up to six – though larger parties can be organised- to experience football in Argentina the way it should be: amongst genuine fans chanting on the terraces. As a loyal supporter of the ‘bichos colorados‘ (as Argentinos juniors are nicknamed), Chris has formed a strong bond with the club and its fan base, so that when match day arrives, be it home or away, he makes sure to throw participants in at the deep end by fully immersing them in the “Bicho experience.”

“I have lived here for 12 years, so I can show tourists a football match not only through the eye of an expat but also the supporters. It’s a more personal and it’s exciting, you never know what is going to happen. It’s about delivering an authentic match day experience,” he said. Chris has connections with many clubs, including Newall’s Old Boys, CA All Boys, and Arsenal De Sarandí, allowing him to organise various tours.

The mood was optimistic ahead of the game; an early season relegation scrap. Sporadic verses of song broke out during the journey and the atmosphere was friendly. The travelling fans, most dressed in the red of Argentinos, were happy to talk and stressed the importance of the imminent match to our party of three, including David Richardson, a Scotsman and Hearts fan. “This is my third tour with Chris, it’s definitely the best way to watch football in Argentina. You feel involved, like a true fan,” he said over the bus’s engine as we stood holding onto the handrail while the metropolitan police changed guard with the provincial heavies, a fleet of armor-clad motorcyclists, each carrying a shotgun-wielding pillion.

After arriving in Avellanda we waited in line before being patted down by police dressed in riot gear. The Estadio Libertadores de América is an imposing concrete structure, partially built with the $23million raised by the 2006 sale of Sergio Agüero to Atletico Madrid, Chris explained. The stadium is unfinished, and the higher tier of the east stand remained empty, but this made no difference to the atmosphere. Half an hour after our arrival the Argentinos’ barra brava – La Banda de La Paternal – rocked up in a separate convoy. They don’t have a great reputation, much like the football hooligans in England, and tend to be more concerned with the potential earning power of the club as opposed to team form. Many of them hang out of the bus windows chanting during the journey but there was no trouble throughout the day.

After climbing the stairs we reached the terraces, a barren section of concrete steps hemmed in with wire netting and more police in riot garb. Supporters tied flags and banners to wire like they were the spoils of war and once the last of the barra brava were in things heated up and the party began. Tempers flared until the final whistle.

Wander Tours BA (Photo: Wander Tour)

Argentinos Juniors eventually lost 3-1 in an untidy match. The standard of football wasn’t great, a brilliant strike by R. Lenis in the 63rd minute aside. Both teams appeared tentative, but it was an enlightening spectacle. The fans, from both sides, refused to stop singing, shouting, and hurling insults at the referee and players alike for the full 90 minutes. The tours are not for the faint hearted, and you must remain savvy as there is a lot at stake in Argentine football, people tend to wear their heart on their sleeve so emotions and tempers can erupt, especially if their team is losing. “My tours are about seeing this kind of football and emotion up close,” said Chris.

Dario Vaccarini, a life-long Argentinos fan and head of marketing and club museum, ran proceedings all day and he looked after us well, making sure we entered and exited the stadium safely. He even asked David to give a phone interview to the Argentinos’ radio channel, Radios Partidarias, before kick-off, which he did much to the delight of the travelling support. Once back in Buenos Aires we were invited to pizza and beer with a small section of fans in the club’s unofficial bar, not far from the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona or DAM as it is more commonly known. The stadium is steeped in footballing history: not only did Maradona play for the club but it was also the stage of Lionel Messi’s debut for the Argentine national under-21 side.

Another bonus is that Chris collects and drops off all those participating on his tours so there is no need to worry about getting home. Wander Tours BA also organise kayak day excursions in Escobar, which Chris assures is far quieter than tourist-heavy Tigre, personalised city tours, and airport and city transfers. Groups for international football matches are also possible. There was never a dull moment throughout the day and each stage, from the bus journey to standing on the terraces, offered an eye-opening glimpse of life as an Argentine football supporter.

On the whole the Argentinos fans were welcoming and made every effort to involve our group as events unfolded. For the more ‘relaxed’ football followers, Chris also takes groups to tour the DAM and club museum, offering fans the chance to stand on the hollowed turf once graced by Argentina’s finest players.

For further information about tours and prices visit the Wander Tours website or e-mail: info@wandertoursba.com.ar. Tel: +54 15 6621 2914

Wander Tours BA – May’s Agenda:

Sunday 12th River vs All Boys (with All Boys supporters)

Tuesday 14th Velez vs Newells (Libertadores Cup)

*Sunday 19th Boca Juniors vs Colon, Argentinos Juniors vs Belgrano

*Sunday 26th THE BICHO EXPERIENCE visits El Estadio Unica en La Plata . Estudiantes vs Argentinos, Racing vs Godoy

*Wednesday 29th Argentinos vs River Plate, All Boys vs Newells

*Sunday 2nd June THE BICHO EXPERIENCE visits San Lorenzo. San Lorenzo vs Argentinos, Racing vs Boca, Velez vs All Boys

*dates to be confirmed, tours dependent on match schedule.

stencil (danger police working) by PabloBD, on Flickr

The province of Santa Fe will consider creating a department of security concerned specifically with safety at football matches, the government of Antonio Bonfatti confirmed. Last Friday, violence broke out between Rosiario club Newell’s Old Boys and Belgrano of Córdoba, in which a police officer assaulted Belgrano player Gastón Turus with a cane.

“It is not possible that the minister or chief of police should have to get involved in the organization of four or five football games each weekend,” minister of provincial security Raúl Lamberto said.

The female police officer who assaulted Turus has been identified as Joana Seco and faces administrative proceedings with the Santa Fe Judicial Division of Police. Video from the match shows that Seco hit Turus below the eye with her cane, which resulted in Turus writhing on the ground for two minutes. A mark on his cheek was evident shortly following the incident.

Monday morning, Secretary of Public Security Matías Drivet said that the incident has some critics deeming “Santa Fe as the worst of all worlds.”

He questioned the criticism of the Argentine Football Union (FAA) and the need for a separate security entity, calling it “disproportionate.”

“On Friday there were undesirable situations because a player was physically assaulted,” he said. “An administrative investigation to determine the responsibility of the police officer involved. What else is certain is that three policemen and a fan of Newel’s were injured. The police response on the field was unjustified. Now, it must be said, the football player attacked the female officer. That is why the referee ejected him.”

President Cristina Fernández greets sportsmen and sportswomen during the launch of DeporTV, in Tecnópolis. (Photo courtesy of Casa Rosada)

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner introduced the new sports television station called DeporTV on Thursday, another step in her “Football for All” plan. The channel is free and can be viewed in high definition on station 2401 of Open Digital Television (TDA). It can also currently be seen online and could potentially come to cable in the future.

The channel will host football events such as the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the Copa Argentina, other non-football sporting events like hocky and a program solely about Lionel Messi.

“We are here to celebrate the opening of the first public sports channel in high definition, DeporTV, with programming that can be accessed for free by all Argentines in high definition at the highest quality,” President Fernández said.

The president defended her Football for All program, which is believed to be in jeopardy if current mayor of Buenos Aires Mauricio Marci takes the presidential office in 2015.

“I have heard from many neighborhood leaders how Football for All changed lives in the neighborhoods, because the kids, and the husband too, stay at home,” she said. “They no longer have to go to the gas station or bar to watch but can instead watch the game all together, eating torta fritas at home.”

The event was also used to honor athletes that were forced to leave Argentina during the 1950s and forced to “disappear” during the most recent Argentine dictatorship in the 1970s.

Soccer legend Diego Maradona spoke at the presentation via videoconference from Dubai.

“We are going to have a channel that is not going to lie to us,” he said.

IdeaMe is an online platform, which helps creators, be they inventors, artists, or designers, among others, to finance their projects through crowd funding. The Indy features and promotes one project every week, with the aim of helping the creators finance and achieve their dreams.

Soccer. Footy. The beautiful game. No matter what you call it, and no matter how big a fan you happen to be, there’s no denying the immense influence this sport can have. Project Peace Latin America is one of the increasing numbers of non-governmental organisations who have realised this is much more than just a game.

A young participant. (Photo courtesy of Un Gol por La Paz)

PPLA establishes the value of Peace using education, culture, sports, and direct work in communities, and have introduced a new initiative that aims to influence and eventually change the course of some of the most vulnerable lives in Latin America.

A social action model targeting young people, A Goal for Peace uses football as a tool to convey core human values, inspire young people to achieve their dreams, and give them the tools to overcome their circumstances. The programme focuses on using the sport as a way to promote tolerance, honesty, teamwork, and respect. Values that may otherwise fall to the wayside in the lives of young people who must face adversity every day, in communities plagued by violence, crime, and poverty. The programme also offers the children an unadulterated dose of fun, something that can often be denied them in an unforgiving world.

The project strives to improve these lives in developing nations by supporting and running sports activities, coordinating educational sports camps, offering mentoring programmes, and hosting local events and celebrations centred around their core value of peace. Communities in Venezuela and Haiti have reaped the rewards of the charity’s tireless work and generous donators.

With donations through IdeaMe, Project Peace Latin America hope to raise awareness of the problems that these communities face and to raise funds to continue their work within the Goal for Peace initiative. Donation options vary, from $300 financing a bus to carry 50 children home after a day camp, to $3,500, which would allow a soccer match to take place with children from other communities.

A Goal for Peace is an “Everything Helps” project, meaning that all donations will go towards achieving the project’s aims, even if the desired financial goal isn’t quite reached.

Project Peace Latin America is a non-governmental organisation founded in 2010 by Venezuelan Eglantina Zingg and uses sport, culture, and education as a tool for human development in the most vulnerable areas of the continent, and aims to promote peace whilst contributing to the reduction of violence.

To donate to the A Goal for Peace project, visit their IdeaMe page.

To read more about the Peace Project Latin America Foundation, visit their website.

On 28th October the world’s attention returned once again to the Boca-River superclásico, considered one of the greatest spectacles in football today. Yet during a dogged game devoid of excitement, the action in the stands was often more noteworthy than that on the field.

Violence among supporters left 25 people wounded that day, including some policemen and even journalists. When River went two-nil up, Boca fans descended upon nearby security workers, and CCTV footage revealed them viciously attacking officials. With the world watching, it was a nasty reminder of the violence that remains rife in Argentine football.

Rivier-Boca (Photo by Helena Andell)

This year alone has seen numerous shocking cases. In May, three barrabravas (the Argentine word for football hooligans) at Racing Club threatened one of their own team’s players with a pistol as he left the training ground. Pointing the gun at his knee, the thugs told the player to leave the club unless he wanted his career ruined. On 22nd August, a Molotov cocktail was thrown through the windows of Independiente’s offices and computers were stolen containing information about the violent thugs. Following a recent game with Lanús at the end of September, Boca’s fanatics, known as La Doce (the 12th man), shot and wounded an opposition fan.

Behaviour such as this may sound unthinkable to those familiar with the formalities and security of the Premier League, but here in Argentina, such action is all too common. All this is because of the limitless power and influence of the barrabravas, which are far more sinister than the typical hooligans in England. In Argentina, the barrabravas are organised syndicates dating back to the 1950s. These syndicates have, to a certain extent, taken over their beloved clubs, using intimidation to extend their influence and monopolising ticket, shirt, food, and drink sales. Boca’s La Doce takes in somewhere around $125,000 to $150,000 a week in parking fees for home games. The barras’ influence is not confined to football: they are also involved with drug-trafficking and can often have strong police and political connections that impede efforts to stop them.

Since taking the role in December 2011, Independiente’s club president, Javier Cantero, has decided to take on the club’s hooligan syndicate – Los Diablos Rojos. Since then, he has been the target of public persecution from the Diablos leader, a man known as “Bebote” (Big Baby), whose real name is Pablo Alejandro Álvarez. Problems escalated in May of last year when the club’s vice-president, Claudio Keblaitis, received death threats from the barras, forcing him to take a period of leave from the job. Cantero’s office was later stormed by some 30 barras after he refused to let them store banners in the stadium (barras have historically hidden weapons in the banners to pass security checks when entering the stadium).

“The majority of people are against them, and I represent those people. I’m afraid, I’m not crazy. But they are not going to twist my arm because they came into my office,” Cantero told Fox News earlier this year. His one-man stand against the barras, although unique amongst other football club presidents, has received significant public support with #FuerzaCantero trending worldwide on Twitter within hours of being threatened in his office.

The Barra Brava at Platense (Photo by Fabricio Di Dio)

However, Cantero’s crusade is not supported by Argentina’s football governing body, AFA. Anti-violence group Salvemos al Futbol count 269 deaths as a result of violence in football since 1924. Over 160 of those deaths have occurred under the reign of the incumbent president, Julio Grondona, who has now been in charge for 33 years. Without a dramatic change in AFA’s approach, few expect the problem to ease.

Worse still, for the barrabravas, it would appear that football is no longer even that important – what really matters happens off the pitch. The recent superclasico was a case in point: the standard of football was very poor, but the tensions between rival fans were at boiling point. Argentina would do well to reverse this trend, before the league becomes an altogether sideplot to the bloody conflict between the barrabravas.

The French supermarket brand Carrefour announced in a statement today that it would negotiate with the football club San Lorenzo over the restitution of their historic ground.

San Lorenzo Emblem

The statement comes after a court decision earlier this week ruled that San Lorenzo were entitled to return to the ground of which they were expropriated during the last military dictatorship.

In their statement Carrefour said they were “very surprised with the fast and early approval” of the law, which was scheduled to be voted next week. The decision was moved to this week to avoid disruption by San Lorenzo fans that had planned to gather at the court in central Buenos Aires.

The old San Lorenzo stadium being demolished circa 1979 (Wikimedia)

Carrefour also distanced itself from the last dictatorship explaining that it had acquired the land “in all good faith in 1985” two years after the return to democracy.

On the six months given by the court for Carrefour and San Lorenzo to negotiate the sale of the piece of land the French company said it would try to reach an agreement “without renouncing to its rights and the legal procedures that they entail, defending the company, its employees, and its clients”.

The Buenos Aires Legislature unanimously approved the “Historical Restitution Law” this Thursday, guaranteeing that the football club San Lorenzo will return to its historical ground in Boedo.

Matías Lammens, the president of San Lorenzo, said yesterday that the club’s will was to inaugurate the new stadium on avenida La Plata in Boedo in 2016.

“This is a very important moment. Now we have six monhs to negotiate with Carrefour,” he told the television channel TN.

San Lorenzo are in an advantageous position for the talks with Carrefour as the law states that if they have not reached an agreement after six months the land will be expropriated and handed to the football club.

Hundreds of San Lorenzo fans gathered on Thursday at the Buenos Aires court to celebrate the decision. The reaction to the news has not been unanimous though as strong opposition came from groups of neighbours of Boedo and Carrefour workers.

The good news continued for San Lorenzo fans this weekend as the team won their match against Atletico Rafaela, adding three important points in their relegation struggle to stay in the Argentine first division.

For expats in Buenos Aires, some things may seem a little hard to come by. Peanut butter – try Barrio Chino. A pint of hard cider – give Griffin Dry a try at The Gibraltar in San Telmo. Affordable housing – I’ll get back to you.

But what about some of your favourite pastimes? I’m talking about a good ol’ fashioned game of baseball, some intense Ultimate Frisbee or even a cricket match. Yes, the football-breathing, pato-loving, rugby-playing country of Argentina has plenty of other sports to offer. And lucky for you, they are always looking for new players. Check out these local ex-pat sports. 

BAFA tournament (Photo: Hugo Sharp)

Football

Let’s face it: Argentina has a whole-hearted obsession with football. From the glory days of Diego Maradona, to kids dreaming of big stadium stardom, football is life here. But you don’t have to be the next Lionel Messi in order to join in on the game. Buenos Aires has scores of football opportunities, no matter your age, gender or playing abilities. One such organisation is BAFA, Buenos Aires Futból Amigos, founded by David Iwanyckyj and Michael Cando in 2008.

Originally, the group began playing once a week, but as word spread and popularity grew, more games were added. Paying tribute to the “amigo” in their name, BAFA accepts all age levels, skills and nationalities. “The bread and butter of BAFA are 5-a-side games throughout the week that everyone is welcome to join,” Iwanyckyj said. Women are welcome to play with men’s teams, or in women-only games.

Whether you’re looking for some hefty competition or simply wanting to kick a ball around with some fellow expats, BAFA is sure to have something for you. There’s even an online booking system where you can prepay for games. So what are you waiting for? Lace up those cleats and head over to www.fcbafa.com to register.

People playing baseball (Photo: Randall Bass)

Baseball

“That old ballgame” has made its way south and landed in the city of good winds, thanks to Paul Perry and John Harris, two baseball fanatics from the United States. Perry, nicknamed Shankee Skipper, and Harris wanted to create an “All-American” baseball team in Buenos Aires, so in 2008 they started making moves. And in April 2009, the eight-player Shankees made their debut at the Estadio Nacional De Beisbol in Ezeiza.

Now, the Shankees continue to face off against local teams, including their arch-rivals: the Cubans. Most games are held at Parque Roca but the gang makes it out to Ezeiza every once in awhile. The Shankees welcome anyone interested in playing, though you must have knowledge of the game and some previous experience, as well as fluent English. Batter up!

Check out www.shankeesbaseball.com for more information.

Cricket players in action (Photo: Hernan Williams)

Cricket

Known as Buenos Aires’ first and only expat cricket club, the Belgrano Barbarians got their start in 2007 thanks to wicket keeper, Chris Henry. They say the purpose of creating the club was “to form an easily accessible cricket team to anyone that wants to play and learn the game of cricket in Argentina.”

The Barbarians plays in the Argentina Cricket Division (a mix of expats and Argentines) against teams like Hurlingham Club, Lomas Athletic Club and St. George’s College. A typical season with the Barbarians, and current captain James Drummond, begins in October and ends in April. The Barbarians partner with the Belgrano Athletic Club, where the team has home games and practices.

For more information visit www.belgranobarbarians.com.

American football players on the field (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

American Football

Yes, you heard right. American football. Not to be confused with football, American football has all the high-velocity tackling, first-down running and touchdown celebrating you miss from back home. Though Argentina didn’t officially introduce the game until 2007, American football has existed in Buenos Aires since 2003, when the American Football Argentina (FAA) was created. After a slow start of simple tag football pickup games, by 2005, the FAA had five teams and a full season – June through October. Today, FAA has eight total teams, under names like Osos Polares and Cruzados.

Unlike in many US organisations, the FAA doesn’t discriminate by size or ability, so anyone can join in on the competition. There are two age groups: ‘Mayores’, for ages 19-45, and ‘Menores’, for ages 15-19. Not only does the FAA attract the football-fanatics, it also sees a range of former rugby players looking for something new.

Interested? Log on to FAA’s website: www.faarg.com.ar.

Ultimate Frisbee played in the park (Photo: Helen Morgan)

Ultimate Frisbee

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…the latest sport to land in Buenos Aires. Thanks to a multitude of competitive and recreational teams in the city, ultimate frisbee has been picking up momentum over the last few years. ADDVRA (Asociación de Deportes de Disco Volador) is one such team that has been attracting many foreigners. The organisation does not discriminate by skill level, and all are welcome to join their weekend games. Diana Antenucci of ADDVRA said ultimate frisbee is popular among expats, and they “feel very comfortable with Argentina’s ultimate community and usually find it not only a group of friends, but also a family.”

Join them at 4pm on Saturdays at the University of Buenos Aires playing fields (Court 8, Int. Cantilo and Av. Guillermo Udaondo). For more information, head to www.ultimateargentina.com.ar

Another ultimate frisbee group is Sapukay BsAs, a two-year-old squad started by a group of friends. Co-founder Ian Mackern says that although they seek to develop local talent, foreigners are welcome to join in the fun. “Foreigners like our team quite a bit because most of us are Argentine and they enjoy learning the culture from the inside,” Mackern said. “Plus, we are always interested in knowing more about foreigners and Ultimate outside Argentina.”

Check out Sapukay’s website for more information.

“It’s the happiest day for fans of Club Comunicaciones. We have been fighting for this for 12 years,” explains club member Rodrigo Veiga. “If we work together we can get rid of the $12m debt and have the club back.”

He is talking about how on 21st August the Court of Appeals reversed the ruling that had sealed the sale of the club to the Truck Drivers’ Union, who, with an offer of $52m, had been the highest bidder vying for the bankrupt club. As a result, the club has three more years to clear its debts and remain in the hands of the members, who have been given a month to present a bailout plan.

The entrance to Club Comunicaciones covered by signs. (Photo: Diego Espinosa)

Roberto Ruiz is another of the hundreds of members who have worked to save Comunicaciones from being sold. He passionately talks of the plans and the work that he thinks will be necessary for this resurrection.

While he talks, I think of the 17-hectare block, valued at more than US$160m, which the club owns in Buenos Aires. There is a lot to be done, the signs of abandonment can be seen all around.

But at last, there are no more judges, no bankruptcy – just children; a lot of children running and playing football in the middle of the roller hockey fields, others just chatting under a tree, and beyond them a sign expressing what was simply a wish, but has now become a reality ‘Comu is not for sale’.

The ruling shows how the privatisation of sporting entities has been resisted in Argentina, privileging the social role that they fulfil. It has also highlighted the fundamental role the members have played in all this process, the regular people who, when they organise and mobilise, can change things.

A Common Good

In Argentina, the vast majority of sporting clubs are still Asociaciones Civiles, or unincorporated, non-profit associations. This used to be the norm in other parts of the world too, which now see economic groups and media corporations, as well as oligarchs and sheikhs, buy up clubs in Europe and North America.

The objective of an Asociación Civil is the realisation of a common good – be it social, cultural or community-based – for which members come together. Their purpose is not profit-driven, and any profit made as a result of their activities must be put back into the project.

Such associations are made up of members. And, as César Francis, a lawyer specialising in sporting issues, says, “members are owners of the club. Members have rights and obligations.”

As ideal as this may sound, the system is by no means perfect. According to Francis: “One of the scores to settle is guaranteeing the exercise of the rights of members. We must foster participation in the community spaces that are clubs, we have to make the handling of the money as transparent as possible, and we must seek the commitment to assume the role that being one of the owners of the space implies.”

Returning to the case, he states: “What has happened with Comunicaciones is very important, as clubs in Argentina make up our collective and individual DNA, our identity. The world registers you by your name and by what team you support. Losing a club is losing part of our identity as a society, it is irreparable; what is at stake is a feeling of belonging.”

The Case of Comunicaciones

Founded in 1931, Comunicaciones was born out of the Postal and Telegraph Union, which is where the club’s yellow and black colours come from – the international colours of post. In 1953, president Juan Domingo Perón donated the club a 17-hectare block in the Agronomía neighbourhood, in the heart of the city.

Club Comunicaciones (Photo: Diego Espinosa)

Like most clubs, Comunicaciones is mainly a football club and it participates in the AFA (Argentine Football Association) league games and tournaments. Having made its footballing debut in 1960, today it is in the third division, the Primera B Metropolitana. But the club is better known as a focal point in the local community by the generations of members and locals who have made use of its swimming pool, tennis courts, or any one of the multiple disciplines that it harbours, or attended the carnivals and fiestas. As a result, the club reached a membership of more than 60,000.

Ruiz explains: “It was impressive. I have lived my whole life opposite here, as a kid I always came to the club to practise sports, to the pool, to the parties. I even became a lifeguard as a result of what I learnt here.”

In the 90s, things started to change. The Argentine postal service didn’t escape the wave of privatisations initiated by the government of Carlos Menem. When, in 1997, the Socma group, led by Franco Macri (father of the current mayor of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri), bought the service, it stopped supporting the club. This, combined with bad management throughout the last decade, left the club in a precarious economic situation.

New Law

The onset of the 2001-2 economic crisis started to be felt in the year 2000. And the clubs, not just Comunicaciones, were not immune to the crisis. Many of them saw their debts increase and lacked the means to reverse this situation. The most significant case was that of Racing Club in Avellaneda.

In 1998, Racing, one of the five big Argentine football clubs, filed for bankruptcy with debts of more than US$60m. The following year, Liliana Ripoll, the official designated by the justice to oversee the break up of the club under the bankruptcy law, said a phrase that would go down in history: “Racing Club Asociación Civil no longer exists.”

Upon hearing the news, fans marched in protest in various parts of the capital. The following Sunday, Racing was due to play Talleres de Córdoba, but the game was suspended as a result of the club’s situation. People showed up at the stadium regardless, and at the time of kick off more than 30,000 people were in the stands. Finally, facing the prospect of the club being auctioned off, various sympathisers chained the installations to stop it from happening.

As a result of the media repercussions and the social mobilisation surrounding the Racing case, a new law started to be mooted, which considered an exemption for sporting institutions if faced with bankruptcy proceedings.

Supported by the recognition of the social function which clubs carry out, in mid-2000 the national congress passed law 25,284: the ‘Special Regime of Administration of Sporting Entities with Economic Difficulties. Management Trust with Judicial Control.’

The law stipulates the formation of a governing body for the institution facing bankruptcy, which would be judicially controlled, with the key administrators chosen by a judge. The governing body should aim to continue the club’s activities, restructure its finances, and guarantee the rights of creditors, whilst getting back the normal functioning of the entity.

As with many clubs, the ruling played in Comunicaciones’ favour. That same year, with a debt of $12m, it entered under the new regime, and was granted a period of up to nine years to improve the situation and give the club back to the members. If it did not manage to do this, the Bankruptcy Law would be applied and the institution would be liquidated.

A Special Case

So Comunicaciones was given time to regularise its situation, and during the nine-year period, three different governing bodies took the reigns.

However some club members had doubts over the willingness of the governing bodies to really get the club back on its feet, doubts that increased in 2006, when judge Fernando D’Alessadro took over the case, and were confirmed when he named Eduardo Fenochietto as the third head of the governing body.

Veiga talks about some of the irregularities of the process: “The governing body was supposed to be formed by three people and there were two of them, they were supposed to be chosen randomly and instead they were hand-picked, and the participation of the club members’ was supposed to be encouraged.” But that was not the worst, “both the judge and Fenochietto were involved in the bankruptcy of the Hogar Obrero cooperative, and Fenochietto was also involved in the bankruptcy of Zanón Ceramics,” he says.

He continues: “With Eduardo Fenochietto came a policy of expulsion of members, because he knew that a lot of people were opposed to his mandate. First they raised the membership cost sharply under the pretext of having more money coming in, something that didn’t happen, as many members left. At the same time they didn’t allow new members. In second place, they let the club fall into disrepair, they didn’t do anything to maintain it.”

And so the members began to act. “We all got together and we realised that each area of the club had the same problems, and so we decided to work together to get the club back on its feet.” Conversely, the attitude of those who were supposed to be watching over the club was very different. “Fenochietto told the footballers that he was not going to sort the situation out, and he told the school that the club was going to shut down. The only option was mobilisation,” Veiga explains. At the start of 2008, protest marches began.

For Sale

In October 2009, upon completing the period the club was legally entitled to in order to improve its situation, the members fears were confirmed: nothing had changed, the debt remained at $12m, and Comunicaciones would be handed to the highest bidder.

There is little love for Moyano and Macri at Club Comunicaciones (Photo: Diego Espinosa)

The city government promised to save the club and executed a plan that included an offer of $26m to pay the debts and improve the installations, and in return it would take six hectares of the club’s land to build a multi-purpose stadium. The offer was doubled by Hugo Moyano, head of the Truck Drivers’ Union, and members accused them of having made a deal.

Ruiz explains: “When we went to the government with 15,000 signatures from neighbours, they welcomed us in and asked that we work for PRO in the 2011 elections, said we shouldn’t worry, and that they would save the club. Two months later Francisco Cabrera, minister of economic development in the city, made a pact with Moyano to hand over of the club in exchange for resolving the issue of trash collection in the city.”

The judge ruled in favour of Moyano’s union – the highest bidders – and immediately a group of members and fans, as well as the city government, appealed the ruling. According to Vega, “the ruling did not consider some fundamental questions, such as the irregularities of the governing body which led us to this situation.”

Francis said: “Beyond the errors that led Comunicaciones to bankruptcy, and how slow the members had been in taking so long to react to the situation, nothing justifies that they prioritised a commercial transaction over saving Comunicaciones, when they were able to save it.”

All It Takes is Good Will

Since the ruling, the members started organising to maintain the day-to-day running of the club. And as such they realised the potential it had. According to Ruiz, “the activities which are going on today generate more than $2m a month of which the governing body only counted $190,000.” Which is why Veiga considers that “with good will from the governing body and with everyone pulling together, it will not be too complicated to pay the debt.”

Today, the members guarantee the full functioning of the club. From more traditional sports, such as basketball, roller hockey, or artistic roller skating, Comunicaciones has also surprised many with its development of major and minor baseball divisions and for being the home to the Argentine Association of American Football championship.

The Little Fish

In July this year, as the appeals process was reaching a crescendo, fans and members of the club were among those who decided to take over the installations, “to say no to the truck driver Moyano”, recounts Ruiz.

Then on 21st August, the members’ dreams were fully realised when the ruling went in their favour, giving them three more years to clear the debts and, with some luck, get the club back.

Veiga, who considered that the ruling which revoked the process of tender “is an act of justice”, summarises the feelings of the members: “We believe that all the clubs in the country have to be Asociaciones Civiles, which belong to the members. We were opposed to the entry of any private offer, this is not something against Moyano in particular, but we do think that the club is for the neighbours, the members, and not for a union.”

César Francis goes a little further in his analysis, stating that: “It is a battle that has been won by the community against the markets. It is a version of the big fish eating the little fish, the markets eating up these community spaces, progress against that which many would like to see as museum pieces.”

After eight World Cup qualifying matches, Argentina remain top of the South American Football Confederation table (CONMEBOL) despite a disappointing 1-1 draw in Peru last night.

Carlos Zambrano gave the home side the lead in the 22^nd minute, before Gonzalo Higuain pulled one back shortly before half time.

It was Peru who looked more likely to take the win though, and were only denied by the heroics of Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero, who produced a fine performance including a first half penalty save.

Whilst coach Alejandro Sabella was unable to field a full strength team, his side still contained the likes of Lionel Messi, Ezequiel Lavezzi, and Angel Di Maria.

Messi was particularly anonymous and failed to perform at his best in the face of aggressive Peruvian marking throughout, prompting his manager to declare post-match that “he is human.”

“He cannot always play perfectly,” continued Sabella, who will be concerned by the poor performance of players in almost all positions. Argentina can be thankful for Higuain’s proficiency in front of goal, which saved them from losing their top spot in the league.

Elsewhere, Colombia’s talisman, Radamel Falcao Garcia, continued his rich vein of form, producing a man of the match performance to ensure a 3-1 victory over Chile.  The win gives Colombia a valuable 3 points, leaving them second in the group standings.

Meanwhile Paraguay have a mountain to climb if they are to qualify, after they fell to a fourth consecutive defeat at the hands of Venezuela, and currently lie in last position.

Uruguay held Ecuador to a 1-1 draw in Montevideo. The result leaves Ecuador in third place, level on 13 points with Colombia.

The league remains tight at the top with 3 points separating the top 6 teams. The next round of matches sees Argentina play Uruguay in a key match that will be played at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza on 12^th October.