8 September 1968 - Boca's Big Payback

On 8 September 1968, Boca Juniors ended San Lorenzo's 26-game unbeaten streak, defeating the defending champions 0-1.

San Lorenzo's run started with the last two matches of the 1967 Nacional competition and extended throughout the entire 1968 Metropolitano campaign, which ended with them as champions--the first time in Argentina's history that a team won a national title without a loss (Racing came close in 1966, losing only a single game).

The last contest of the season, a 2-1 victory over Estudiantes in the league final, was their 26th consecutive game unbeaten, matching the streak by Boca Juniors in 1943-44. Coincidentally, San Lorenzo ended that run, beating Boca away, 2-1, so Boca took great pleasure in turning the tables on San Lorenzo with an away win of their own over the title holders in the first game of the 1968 Nacional.

At the time, the record unbeaten run in Argentina was 39, set by Racing from 1965 to 1966, but Boca Juniors went on to beat that in 1998-99, setting the current record at 40.

5 January 1919 - Racing To The Title

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.

27 December 1966 - The Death Of Guillermo Stábile

On 27 December 1966, Argentina star player and manager Guillermo Stábile died at the age of 61.

A center forward, he joined Huracán as a youth player in 1920, then played there professionally from 1924 to 1930. In that time, he scored 102 goals in 119 appearances, winning the Primera División title in 1925 and 1928.

In the summer of 1930, he participated in the inaugural World Cup, getting his first cap against Mexico in Argentina's second match of the tournament. He scored a hat-trick en route to a 6-3 victory, followed by a brace in the next game against Chile as Argentina topped their group. He scored two more against the United States in the semifinals, then netted in the final against Uruguay. Although Argentina lost that match 4-2, Stábile's eight goals made him the tournament's top scorer.

His performance attracted the attention of Genoa, where he played from 1930-34 before moving to Napoli for the 1934-35 season. he returned to Genoa briefly in 1935, then closed out his playing career with Red Star Paris, serving as player-manager from 1937 to 1939 when he left to manage Argentina.

As manager, he guided the national team to six South American Championships between 1941 and 1957 and the Panamerican Championship in 1960. While in charge there, he also took the reins of several different clubs, including San Lorenzo (1939-40), Estudiantes de la Plata (1940-41), Hurancán (1940-49), and finally Racing Club (1949-60), whom he led to three league titles.

In 1960, he stepped down to become the director of Argentina's national school of football, holding that post until his death in 1966.

8 September 1968 - Boca's Big Payback

On 8 September 1968, Boca Juniors ended San Lorenzo's 26-game unbeaten streak, defeating the defending champions 0-1.

San Lorenzo's run started with the last two matches of the 1967 Nacional competition and extended throughout the entire 1968 Metropolitano campaign, which ended with them as champions--the first time in Argentina's history that a team won a national title without a loss (Racing came close in 1966, losing only a single game).

The last contest of the season, a 2-1 victory over Estudiantes in the league final, was their 26th consecutive game unbeaten, matching the streak by Boca Juniors in 1943-44. Coincidentally, San Lorenzo ended that run, beating Boca away, 2-1, so Boca took great pleasure in turning the tables on San Lorenzo with an away win of their own over the title holders in the first game of the 1968 Nacional.

At the time, the record unbeaten run in Argentina was 39, set by Racing from 1965 to 1966, but Boca Juniors went on to beat that in 1998-99, setting the current record at 40.

5 May 1998 - Boca's First Step To Forty

On 5 May 1998, Boca Juniors beat Huracán 2-4. It was the first of their Argentinian record forty-match unbeaten streak that included two league titles.

The run coincided with the arrival of manager Carlos Bianchi (pictured), who had won three league titles and the Copa Libertadores as the boss of Vélez Sársfield from 1993 to 1996 and had just spent a brief spell in charge of Roma.

Boca struggled in Bianchi's first season, the 1998 Clausura. The win over Huracán came in the fifteenth match of the season and Boca followed it with three more wins and a draw to finish in the table's sixth spot. But they continued their unbeaten run in the next season, the 1998 Apertura, to finish as undefeated champions with a record of thirteen wins and six draws.

The streak continued for another sixteen matches in the 1999 Clausura before Boca lost to Independiente 4-0 on 6 June 1999. The overall record of forty unbeaten matches beat the previous high mark of thirty-nine set by Racing in 1965-66 and also helped Boca claim the Clausura title to repeat as champions.

Although the streak stopped at forty, Bianchi continued to enjoy success at Boca, winning one more league title, two Copa Libertadores trophies, and one Intercontinental Cup before his departure in 2001. He then returned in 2003 and added another league title, another Copa Libertadores trophy, and another Intercontinental Cup before leaving again in 2005.

5 January 1919 - Racing To The Title

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 runenrs-up five more times.