STEALING THE BALL
Football arrived in South America via foreign agents (mostly British) and local aristocrats with European connections. It gradually became popular, taking on its own characteristics—and even inspiring various musical genres. Furthermore, about 100 years ago, the game took the opposite route: South American teams crossed the Atlantic and became main characters on the so-called Old Continent. In this section, we invite you to learn a little about the origins of South American football, as well as about some pioneering women who, despite prohibitions, silencing and prejudice, managed to play their own game.
On the relationship with music (tango map and book)
As soon as football was embraced by the masses in South America, it became a source of inspiration for composers of various musical genres across the continent. From tango to reggaeton, murga, polka, salsa, samba, and good old rock and roll, we present here a repertoire of almost 100 years of this interplay between music and football.
On the relationship with the English language (shields + ata)
The origins of football in South America are closely associated with English dominance and the concepts of modernity, progress and bodily control. For the local elites, sport was a way of inserting themselves into the new global economic order. It is no coincidence that many of the continent's first clubs were associated with schools, churches, or factories run by European immigrants. This relationship is evident in the use of the English language to name national leagues (such as the Argentine Association Football League) and clubs (such as the Brazilian Byron Football Club, the Uruguayan Albion Football Club, the Chilean Everton de Viña del Mar, the Argentine Newell’s Old Boys, the Peruvian Sport Boys Association, and the Bolivian Oruro Royal Club), as can be seen in their shields and in the following newspaper report.
Ernesto Zipertein
Tango And Soccer: Two Argentine Passions, 2006
Private collection
SUBSECTION: BALL CLASHES BETWEEN LANGUAGES
1
Due to heavy rain, a possible postponement of the match between young Argentinian and Uruguayan players, both of British origin, was reported in The Express. Buenos Aires CRC beat Montevideo CC 3-1. Montevideo, Uruguay, Aug. 15th, 1889.
2
Byron FC’s coat of arms, a club founded in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1913, in honor of the English poet George Byron, to attract British employees of the city’s Textile Manufacturing Company.
3
Former crest of Albion FC, the first soccer club founded by the Montevideo’s English High School, Uruguay, 1889.
4
Everton de Viña del Mar’s coat of arms, a Chilean club founded on June 24th, 1916, in honor of its Liverpool namesake, which was touring Argentina at the time.
5
Newell's Old Boys’ coat of arms in 1926, an Argentinian club from Rosario founded by former students of the Anglo-Argentine Commercial School twenty-three years earlier.
6
Oruro Royal Club’s coat of arms, a pioneer in Bolivian soccer, founded in 1896 by English employees of the Bolivian Railway Limited.
7
Peruvian club Sport Boys’ coat of arms, used between 2004 and 2008. The club was founded in 1927 by students at the Marist School in Callao.
SUBSECTION: BALL CLASHES BETWEEN CLASSES
On working-class football
Despite the efforts of local elites to restrict football to a select group of gentlemen, la pelota was quickly stolen by the “working classes,” becoming a popular practice and culture. As sociologist Pablo Alabarces says, “What the inventors and promoters of modern sport never took into account was that, alongside its disciplinary possibilities—to form good citizens with healthy minds and bodies—sport also had undisciplined possibilities: the defeat of the master, among them.” Thus, in the early decades of the 20th century, proletarian teams and championships spread, and the working classes took over both the fields and the stands.
8
Record of the early days of the Campinas soccer club EC Mogiana, created by employees of the Mogiana Railway Company, showing athletes and founders in the foreground and the train in the background. Jaguariúna (SP), Brazil, 1933.
9
Cover of the Revista Aurinegra – commemorative edition celebrating the 45th anniversary of Chilean club Club Deportivo Ferroviário Arturo Fernández Vial. Concepción, Chile, 1948.
10
News article providing a brief historical and sporting account of Club Deportivo Ferroviário Arturo Fernández Vial. Los Sports, Santiago de Chile, 1926.
11
Articles in the charter of the Asociación Obrera de Foot-Ball de Santiago. Sport i Actualidades, Santiago de Chile, 1912.
SUBSECTION: BALL CLASHES BETWEEN SOUTH AMERICA AND EUROPE
On the trip made by Boca, Nacional, and Paulistano
In the process of taking la pelota, football ceased to be seen as foreign and instead became a shaper of 'national identities', particularly in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. In order to achieve this, it was necessary to create narratives and facts that distinguished it from its English counterpart. As Alabarces says, it was necessary to “play against the masters,” to “beat its father.” Thus, exactly 100 years ago, South American teams Nacional, Paulistano, and Boca undertook their first European tours. As the following documents show, the press played a decisive role in this process, with some newspapers' sports coverage selling hundreds of thousands of copies.
12
Illustrated article on the farewell party for CA Boca Juniors, about to travel to Europe. Crítica, Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 5th, 1925.
13
News article on the tie between CA Boca Juniors and FC Bayern Munich during the South American team's tour of Europe. Crítica, Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 9th, 1925.
14
Front page article about CA Boca Juniors' 1-0 victory over Real Madrid CF in the Spanish capital, after a goal by Pozzo. Below the article, is a drawing of the goal play. Crítica, Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 22nd, 1925.
15
News article on the reception of the CA Boca Juniors delegation after their European tour, with photos and highlights of the tour. Crítica, Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 12th, 1925.
16
"A magnificent crusade." That's how the article described CA Boca Juniors' tour of Europe. Alongside it, a statistical table with figures from the tour. Crítica, Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 12th, 1925.
17
Iconographic records of Club Nacional de Football's trip to Europe in 1925. Mundo Uruguayo, Montevideo, Uruguay, April 2nd, 1925.
18
Illustrated article with scenes from the match between C. Nacional de F. and Genoa CFC, won by the Uruguayans 3–0, during their tour of Europe. Mundo Uruguayo, Montevideo, Uruguay, May 7th, 1925.
19
Photographic records of the match between C. Nacional de F. and FC Barcelona, which ended in a 2–2 draw, during the Uruguayan club's tour of Europe. Mundo Uruguayo, Montevideo, Uruguay, May 28th, 1925.
20
Friedenreich controls the ball in an attack against Stade Français Casg in a match that ended 3–1 to CA Paulistano. Paris, France, March 22nd, 1925. Junqueira Family Collection.
21
Photographic record of the match between CA Paulistano and the French national team, that ended on a score of 7-2 for the Brazilians. Paris, France, March 15th, 1925. CAP Pro-Memory Center Collection.
22
CA Paulistano team at the Buffalo stadium, Paris, France, March 22nd, 1925. CAP Pro-Memory Center Collection.
23
The Le Journal headline calls the Brazilians the "kings of soccer." CAP Pro-Memory Center Collection.
24
The Paulistano team during one of their first training sessions in Europe. Saint Cloud, Paris, France, 1925. CAP Pro-Memory Center Collection.
SUBSECTION: BALL CLASHES BETWEEN GENDERS
On football and gender
Women also took up la pelota, challenging various prejudices, including false claims about reproductive health, lesbophobia, moralistic campaigns, stigmas in the press and even official bans (as in the case of Brazil). Despite these obstacles, las futboleras (a term initially used pejoratively to mean 'monstrous women' or 'women who go too far') organized teams (such as Club Deportivo Aurora Porteña in 1928), appeared on magazine covers (such as the 1925 edition of El Gráfico entitled “La mujer y el fútbol”) and traveled internationally. In this context, it is impossible not to remember the friendly match between the Argentine team Evita Perón and the Costa Rican group La Libertad (1949) and the participation of the Argentine national team Las Pioneiras in the 1971 World Cup in Mexico. In fact, this competition still holds the record for the largest audience in women's football history: over 110,000 people attended the match at the Azteca Stadium.
25
The Argentine national team greets fans before a match in the second Women's World Cup, not recognized by FIFA. Azteca Stadium, Mexico City, 1971.
26
On August 21st, 1971, Elba Selva, Argentina's number 10, scored all four goals in the victory against England during the World Cup. Because of this, in 2019, the date was chosen as the Women's Soccer Day in her country.
27
The Argentine national team that played in the World Cup in Mexico in 1971 in a historical image.
28
The Mexican (left) and Argentine (right) teams lined up with the referees (center) before the opening match of the 1971 World Cup at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
29
In the foreground, one of the four goals scored by Mexico against England in the group stage of the 1971 World Cup. In the background, the packed Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
30
Rare audiovisual record of a Costa Rican match between Club Sport La Libertad and Deportivo Evita Perón, dedicated to the Argentine diplomat then present at the stadium, highlighting the good relationship between both countries. Costa Rica, 1950.
31
Excerpt from Decree-Law 3199 published on April 14th, 1941, which stated: "Women shall not be permitted to participate in sports that are incompatible with their nature."
32
The Decree-Law No. 3,199, published on April 14th, 1941, was also reported in the press at the time, including a by-law prohibiting women from practicing "sports incompatible with their nature."
33
"Women's soccer banned by police." With this headline, Jornal do Brasil reported on the ban on women playing soccer in Brazil.
34
Cover of El Gráfico magazine showing women greeting each other before the international match between Femina SC (France) and Dick Kerr de Preston (England). Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1925.
35
Aurora Porteña team, formed by workers and family members of the Fontz Laundromat. Coquimbo, Chile, 1929.