Sportsnet is proud to announce that starting Wednesday night it will be airing games from Argentina’s Primera Division on a weekly basis.
Soccer fans can Boca Juniors vs. Newell’s Old Boys on Aug. 13 (Sportsnet World, live at 6:00 pm ET), and Boca Juniors vs. Atletico Rafaela on Aug 18. (Sportsnet World, live at 5:00 pm ET) and Godoy Cruz vs. River Plate on Aug. 18 (Sportsnet World, live at 8:30 pm ET).
You can also watch all games live on Sportsnet World Online.
More broadcast details will follow in the ensuing weeks, but in the meantime, for those of you unfamiliar with the Argentine first division, sportsnet.ca provides this primer.
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Number of teams: 20.
Breakdown of teams: Six clubs are based in Buenos Aires (All Boys, Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, River Plate, San Lorenzo and Velez Sarsfield), and two each in La Plata (Gimnasia y Esgrima and Estudiantes) and Rosario (Rosario Central and Newell’s Old Boys). The other teams are Arsenal de Sarandi, Atlético de Rafaela, Belgrano, Colón, Godoy Cruz, Lanús, Olimpo, Quilmes, Racing Club and Tigre.
Season: Runs from August to May and is split in two separate round-robin campaigns: the Torneo Inicial (August to December) and the Torneo Final (February to June). The winner of each tournament plays each other in a one match play-off final to determine the league champion.
Defending champions: Velez Sarsfield
Most titles: River Plate (35), Boca Juniors (30), Independiente (16), Racing Club (16) and San Lorenzo (14).
The most popular teams are Boca Juniors and River Plate, both based in the capital of Buenos Aires, and they’re also the league’s fiercest rivals – think Leafs vs. Habs, Yankees vs. Red Sox and Celtics vs. Lakers. Their matches are dubbed “El Superclásico,” and it’s one of the most important and anticipated derbies in the soccer world.
How crazy is the atmosphere inside the stadium during the “Superclásico”? This’ll give you an idea:
Boca is considered a working class supported team, while River are known as “Los Millionarios” (the millionaires). They also play in two of the most famouus stadiums in Argentina – La Bombonara (Boca) and El Monumental (River), the site of the 1978 World Cup final.
Some of the league’s current stars include:
Juan Ramon Riquelme (Boca Juniors): midfielder; set-up man; good on free kicks, very temperamental; used to play for Barcelona and Villarreal in Spain.
Emanuel Gigliotti (Boca Juniors): striker; scored 21 goals for Colon last season (second in the league); signed with Boca in July.
Maxi Rodriguez (Newell’s Old Boys): winger/midfielder; returned to Newell’s after leaving for Europe in 2002 (played for Atletico Madrid and Liverpool).
Fernando Gago (Boca Juniors): defensive midfielder and strong passer, used to play for Real Madrid and AS Roma.
Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes de la Plata): veteran; heart of the midfield; played in Premier League with Manchester United and Chelsea.
David Trezeguet (Newell’s Old Boys): veteran; one of the world’s best strikers over the last 10-12 years; former French international of Argentine descent; loaned from River to Newell’s in July; coming off knee surgery.
Gino Peruzzi (Velez Sarsfield): tall and very skillful fullback; only 21 years old and already capped by Argentina; targeted by several English Premier League teams.
Ricardo Centurion (Racing Club): quick and skillful; good dribbling support striker; only 20 years old and capped for Argentina; targeted by Barcelona.
Past stars who played in the Argentine Primera Division:
Diego Maradona (Boca Juniors), Javier Zanetti (Banfield), Mario Kempes (Rosario Central), Gabriele Batistuta (Newell’s Old Boys), Esteban Cambiasso (Independiente), Daniel Passarella (River Plate), Diego Simeone (Velez Sarsfield), Enzo Francescoli (River Plate), Hernan Crespo (River Plate), Diego Milito (Racing Club), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Estudiantes), Gonzalo Higuain (River Plate), Carlos Tevez (Boca Juniors).
Before Maradona moved to Europe in the early 1980s, he was a star at Boca Juniors:
The equivalent of the UEFA Champions League in South America is the Copa Libertadores, and Argentine clubs have won this competition 22 times, more than any other country: (Independiente – 7, Boca Juniors – 6, Estudiantes de la Plata – 4, River Plate – 2, Racing Club, Argentinos Juniors, Velez Sarsfield – 1).
Here’s a few interesting facts:
Although born in Argentina and having started with the youth team of Newell’s Old Boys, current Barcelona star Lionel Messi has never played professionally in his native country.
On October 20, 1976, Maradona made his professional debut with Argentinos Juniors, ten days before his sixteenth birthday. Two years later, he became the youngest player ever to become top scorer in the Argentine Primera at the age of 17.
Pope Francis is a card-carrying fan of Buenos Aires-based club San Lorenzo.
Random Fact: The new pope is is a card-carrying supporter of the Buenos Aires soccer club San Lorenzo de Almagro: pic.twitter.com/ANqYHPyrhv
— Andy Gray (@si_vault) March 15, 2013