Football in Argentina

It is an accepted notion that British immigrants to Buenos Aires brought football (along with rugby and other sports) to Argentina in the 19th century.

Related Topics:
British - Buenos Aires - Football - Rugby - Argentina - 19th century

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The first recorded football match was played in 1867 in Palermo's Park in Buenos Aires by British railroad workers. The English connection is reflected in the names of many clubs, such as River Plate and Newell's Old Boys.

Related Topics:
1867 - Palermo - Buenos Aires - River Plate - Newell's Old Boys

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After the first Argentine Football Association was created in 1893, the most successful and admired team was Alumni, made up mostly of English players, but Italian immigrants overtook the English; the last names of the early stars reveal this: Tesorieri, Ratto, Orsi...

Related Topics:
Argentine Football Association - 1893 - Immigrants

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Most major clubs were created around the turn of the 20th century; they played on the national amateur tournament or in local championships. By then, matches had a considerable attendance.

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In the {{Wc|1930}}, the world turn to South America for the first Football World Cup, held in Uruguay, and Argentina had an important role, losing to the host country in the final match.

Related Topics:
South America - Football World Cup - Uruguay

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A year later, football was professionalized, and was already the most popular sport.

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Since then, football just kept gaining popularity, and Argentina became a synonym of Football around the world. Many great players abandoned Argentina to go to more important and better paid leagues

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such as the Spanish, the Italian and the English. Raimundo Orsi, Alfredo Di Stefano, Omar Sivori, Mario Kempes Gabriel Batistuta and Pablo Aimar are just a few examples of the many Argentine footballers that left the country to become famous in Europe.

Related Topics:
Spanish - Italian - English - Raimundo Orsi - Alfredo Di Stefano - Omar Sivori - Mario Kempes - Gabriel Batistuta - Pablo Aimar

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