Soccer in Argentina

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Argentina national soccer team in 2009
Argentinian fans at the 2006 World Cup

Football is by far the most popular sport in Argentina . It is not only played in clubs, but mainly on football fields and streets in often very informal conditions. Argentinians who do not play actively are also usually fans of a particular club or at least their own national team . For large parts of the population, the fan cult has a significant role in everyday life. Important tournaments - such as the World Cup and Copa America - as well as the derbies between the most important teams, especially the Superclásico between Boca Juniors and River Plate , attract large crowds who watch the games either in the stadium or on television.

Argentine football has a reputation for combining the typical South American style of football, which is characterized by sophisticated technology, with typical European tactical and combat football. The Argentine men's national team , world champion in 1978 and 1986, is one of the most successful in the world. The first division, the Primera División, is next to the Brazilian Série A as the strongest in South America and their clubs have won by far the most titles in the Copa Libertadores .

history

Football was brought to Argentina by English immigrants in the late 19th century. Many names of today's football clubs, such as River Plate or Newell's Old Boys , point to this origin. The first recorded official soccer game was played in the cricket club of Buenos Aires in 1867 ; it was hosted by the first football club in Argentina, the Buenos Aires Football Club , founded in the same year . Due to a lack of players, each team only had 8 members. In the following time, however, numerous associations were founded in the English immigrant community. In 1891 the first official league was founded with the Argentine Association Football League , the forerunner of today's Argentine Football Association.

As the sport of football became increasingly popular in other countries, it spread from English immigration to the rest of the population in Argentina as well. The men's national team was founded in 1890 and won its first international match on May 16 against neighboring Uruguay 3-2.

During the 20th century, soccer became a mass sport in the country. There were initially several competing associations that merged in 1934 to form the Asociación del Football (later Fútbol) Argentino ( AFA ). Before that, in 1931, the Liga Argentina de Football , the first professional league, had officially been introduced, although it was still limited to the greater Buenos Aires, Rosario and La Plata areas. After the founding of the AFA, more and more clubs from the interior of the country pushed into this league, but they remained a vanishing minority until the 1960s.

It was not until 1966 that the structure of the league system was fundamentally reformed. The "traditional" league, which was concentrated in the greater Buenos Aires area, was called Torneo Metropolitano and from this year competed with the nationwide Campeonato Nacional , which was held in cup mode with a knockout round. The Metropolitano was held in the first half of the year, while the Nacional was held as a championship in the second. With that the football landscape began to break out of the stagnation of the previous years, for the first time smaller teams were given the opportunity to become champions. In 1978, the country hosted the World Cup , and the Argentine national team became world champions for the first time.

1985 saw another reform of the league system. Instead of two competing leagues a nationwide league called was La Liga founded on the basis of the Metropolitano, about a second professional league, the Nacional B was expanded. From the 1990/91 season two champions were played per year ( Apertura and Clausura ). This system was abolished in 2012 in favor of a round-trip championship and since 2015 there have been one-year championship seasons.

After the world championship title in 1978, the world championship title in 1986 (against Germany) and second place in 1990 (again against Germany) were the greatest successes for the national team. In 1991 the Copa America was won for the first time since 1959 and this title was defended two years later ( 1993 ), the 14th title at the South American championships. Despite some outstanding performances in international tournaments, no further titles were achieved in the 1990s. The lowest point was the 2002 World Cup , in which the team was eliminated in the preliminary round. In 2004 and 2008, the Argentine Olympic selection won the gold medal . In 2006 and 2010 , the Argentines failed in the quarter-finals of the World Cup against the German team; In 2014 , however, they were runner-up in the world championship (again against Germany), their greatest success since 1990.

In 2011, the AFA introduced a cup competition called Copa Argentina in order to “federalize” football, so that club teams from non-professional provinces can also take part in a national tournament.

League system

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In association operating the men's teams, there are five professional leagues. The two highest divisions, the Primera División and the Nacional B , are single-track, while the divisions below are divided into two groups: the clubs that report directly to the AFA (most of the greater Buenos Aires area) and those that report to regional football associations which in turn are affiliated to the AFA (associations in the interior and a few isolated associations in the greater Buenos Aires area).

For historical reasons, some teams from the province of Santa Fe ( Rosario Central , Newell's Old Boys , Central Córdoba , Argentino , Colón and Unión ) are also directly subordinate to the AFA.

Primera División (1st division)

The Primera División is the first Argentine soccer league. In it, 26 teams (as of 2018/2019) play for the Argentine championship title as well as the qualification for the international tournaments Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana . Since the 2017/2018 season, the 1st league has also been called the Super League .

Primera B Nacional (2nd division)

The second Argentine league Primera B Nacional has 25 teams (as of 2018/2019). The best club will be promoted to the Primera División, eight more will also be given the chance of promotion via a relegation round ( promoción ) (as of 2018/2019).

3rd league

The third Argentine league is divided into two parts and consists of the Torneo Argentino A for teams from the interior and the Primera B Metropolitana for teams from the capital region.

Primera B Metropolitana

21 teams from Buenos Aires, La Plata and the surrounding area play in Primera B. The mode is similar to the Nacional B, so one championship is played per year. The master rises directly to the Primera B Nacional. The teams in places 2 to 9 play a playoff promotion round, the winner of which plays with a team from Nacional B for promotion or relegation. The team with the worst point average in the last three years is relegated directly to Primera C, the second worst plays the promoción .

Torneo Federal A (formerly Argentino A)

In the Torneo Federal A, 25 teams outside the greater Buenos Aires area play for the championship in four regionally dependent groups. The game is played in a group stage (3 groups) and a subsequent knockout system, in which the promoted to the Primera Nacional are determined. The champion rises directly, the second plays against the team from the Primera Nacional with the worst point average in the interior (excluding the direct relegation) in a relegation round (promoción).

The last two in the group with the worst rating go straight to Torneo Federal B, the best last and the worst penultimate go to the promoción (relegation round).

4th league

Primera C Metropolitana

In the Primera C 20 teams playing out of the room Buenos Aires in the same mode as in the Primera B, so there is a championship, a direct and losers, a play-off for the ascent promoción entitled and a possible relegated to the Primera D on the promotion of relegation .

Torneo Federal B (formerly Argentino B)

In Torneo Federal B 48 teams play in two group phases and a subsequent knockout system for promotion to Torneo Federal A. In the first round there are 6 groups, the best 16 are divided into four groups of four and play the second round. The best in each group play two finals against each other. The two winners go straight up, the losers go to the promoción .

There are three direct relegated teams, which are determined from the lowest point groups in the first round via a one-off knockout game. The losers of these games are directly relegated , the winners play a promoción with the runners-up from Torneo del Interior. This 4th division ended in 2018 and its format was adapted to the Torneo Federal Regional Amateur on January 25, 2019.

Torneo Regional Federal Amateur (from January 2019)

The Torneo Regional Federal Amateur has 241 teams divided into 8 regions of the country. After the qualifying round, play-off games will be completed with four qualified teams that advance to the third division. Changes to the tournament format have been announced in 2020.

5th league

Primera D Metropolitana

The fifth Argentine professional league for the greater Buenos Aires area is called Primera D , where 18 teams play for promotion to Primera C. The mode has been identical to that of Primera B and Primera C since 2007/08, so a championship is played and there is a playoff round.

The team with the worst point average will be excluded from the AFA league system for one year and another team will be given the chance to play in Primera D. After the year suspension, the team can return if they buy a new starting place, otherwise another team will step in or the league will be downsized.

Torneo del Interior / (formerly Argentino C)

For the interior there has been the Torneo Argentino C (also called Torneo del Interior ) since 2005 , in which 218 teams take part. The teams are divided into three zones, each with a group stage and a knockout system. The winners of the second round go straight to Argentino B, the losers play a promoción for promotion.

Qualification for Torneo Argentino C takes place via the regional amateur football leagues of the provinces, whose champions are entitled to take part in this tournament. Often, however, the champions do without for economic reasons - especially if they come from small towns - and give their starting place in this tournament to another, better prepared team.

This 5th division ended in 2018 and its format was adapted to the Torneo Federal Regional Amateur on January 25, 2019 and linked to the 4th division (except in the Area Metropolitana).

Regional soccer leagues

Each of the regional football associations has at least one league, the largest have a multi-tier league system. It can happen that a club maintains a team in one or even several regional leagues and also participates in one of the professional tournaments. The regional leagues are often very small, they exist either at the local level or, for example, at the partido or department level.

If a regional association wants to introduce a new league, this must be approved by the federal AFA congress, which presides over the regional associations.

Cup competition "Copa Argentina"

From 2011, the official AFA club cup will be held under the name Copa Argentina . The name is based on two tournaments that took place in 1969 and 1970.

All club teams from the professional leagues Primera División , Primera B Nacional , Primera B Metropolitana and Torneo Argentino A and Primera C and Torneo Argentino B as well as the amateur teams from the Primera D Metropolitana and four provincial teams that do not participate in any of the professional tournaments take part in the Copa Argentina take part.

The game mode follows the knockout system : First, the lower-class teams gradually play half of the 32 participants in the final round, in which they meet the best 16 teams from the Primera División. The 32 participants in the final round then play the winner in the sixteenth, eighth, quarter and semi-finals with a return leg and in a single final game. The winner is entitled to take part in the Copa Sudamericana .

Women's soccer

In Argentina, in contrast to neighboring Brazil, for example, football is still mainly considered a male sport. Even so, many women and girls play soccer as a hobby. However, there is still no national league, only regional amateur leagues, most of them in the Buenos Aires area. The unofficial champion is the winner of the league of the capital region, which includes Gran Buenos Aires as well as La Plata and is the only one organized by the AFA . The most successful clubs in women's football are Boca Juniors and River Plate .

The women's national soccer team took part in a world championship for the first time in 2003 , but was eliminated in the preliminary round after three significant defeats (0: 6, 0: 3 and 1: 6). In 2006, the Argentines achieved their first and so far only win at the South American Championship in their own country and thus qualified for the 2007 World Cup in China . The 2-0 victory over Brazil was also the first victory against the rivals from the neighboring country. At the 2007 World Cup, however, the team was eliminated immediately after the preliminary round, while the Brazilians reached second place. In 2011 she was eliminated in the qualification.

Leagues and Tournaments

There is no national women's soccer league in Argentina, nor is there a professional game company. There are several tournaments called the Argentine Championship , but none of them are officially recognized by the AFA. There is also an unofficial cup competition, the Copa Challenger .

Torneo Femenino

The Torneo Femenino is the only league directly hosted by the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA). Although it only includes the capital region around Buenos Aires , it is unofficially considered the highest ranking women's tournament in this country.

The tournament has been held since 1991. The record champions are the Boca Juniors with 13 titles, followed by River Plate with 7.

Since there is no lower-ranking league, there is no promotion and relegation of the teams. The participants therefore only change if certain teams drop out voluntarily and make room for others.

Inland Leagues

In addition to this tournament, there are the following local and regional amateur women's leagues in the following regions:

Leagues are under construction in San Salvador de Jujuy and Posadas as well as in Río Grande .

Others

Modern football (sports equipment) was invented in 1931 in Bell Ville , Argentina . The air had previously been pumped into a pig's bladder, which was then tied up. Luis Polo, Antonio Tosolini and Juan Valbonesi built a valve into the ball so that it could be inflated again and again. From 1936 he was used under the name Superball in the tournaments of the AFA.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b La Copa Argentina: un torneo que pondrá felices a todos , canchallena.com (sports page of the newspaper La Nación )