On 5 January 1919, Argentina's Racing Club won their second consecutive Copa Aldao, defeating Peñarol 2-1.Also known as the Copa Rio de la Plata, the competition ran from 1913 to 1955 and pitted Argentina's national champion against the champion of Uruguay--one of three separate competitions at the time between the two countries (the others were the Tie Cup (1900-1919) and the Honor Cup (1905-1920)). The trophy was donated in 1913 by Ricardo Aldao, president of the Federación Argentina de Football at the time.
The 1918 edition, actually played in January 1919, was the third consecutive appearance for Racing, who lost to Nacional in 1916, but defeated them in a two-legged final in the following season. They returned to the competition after completing an unbeaten 1918 season in the domestic league, winning 17 of their 19 matches and drawing the other two. Peñarol had fared almost as well in Uruguay, winning 15, drawing two, and losing one. They had also won that season's Honor Cup the previous month.
On the day, Racing won 2-1, but it was their last appearance in the competition. Peñarol went on to win their first Copa Aldao in 1928 and finished as runners-up five more times.
I wonder if the Uruguayan and Argentinian players and teams got tired of playing each other every year in three different competitions?
ReplyDeleteIt is fascinating to read about South American club football in the first half of the 20th century - at one stage there were football leagues running simultaneously in Argentina for several periods between the mid-teens and the mid-thirties.
The number of competitions isn't all that unusual even today in Europe, where teams can meet in the league, two (or even three) domestic cups, and either the Champions League or Europa League. It would be interesting to see the record for how many times two teams have faced each other in a season.
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