Sport
Football
Argentina has one of the most successful national football teams in the world, and is currently sixth in the FIFA world rankings. The team has twice won the FIFA World Cup, in 1978 and 1986. Argentina has won the Copa América 14 times, won the Confederations Cup in 1992 and the Olympic Football Tournament in 2004 and 2008.
The Argentina national football team has the world record for most international titles won by any national team.
Football is the most popular sport in Argentina, it has more registered players than any other sport and it is the most popular recreational sport played from childhood into old age. The percentage of Argentines that declare allegiance to an Argentine football club is about 90%
There are many local rivalries in Argentine football. The most important is the “Superclásico” is contested between Argentina's two most popular and successful teams, Buenos Aires rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors. Boca Juniors is traditionally regarded as the club of Argentina's working class, in contrast with the supposedly more upper-class support base of cross-town Atlético River Plate. The rivalry between Boca Juniors and River Plate is most intense, and the team's fans usually take to distribute posters to tease the other after a defeat between them or even a loss in any major competition, or to show off after winning the local league or an international championship.
This derby is considered to be one of the most exciting in the world. In 2004, British newspaper The Observer made a list of 50 sporting things you must do before you die, with Watch Boca Juniors Play River Plate in Buenos Aires at the top of the list. Due to their huge fan bases (Boca has 40% of the Argentine population and River 33% and remarkable success, the enmity encompasses a major part of the country's populace. Known worldwide for the passion of the fans, the stands of both teams are loaded with passionate songs (often based on popular Argentine rock band tunes) against their rivals, fireworks, flags and rolls of paper. Sometimes ending in riots between the hardest supporters of both sides or against the police. Tourists from around the globe come to Argentina to watch the match, sometimes even with packages that include a ticket to the Superclásico. Please contact us if you’d like Tango Tours to arrange a football experience tour for you.
Rugby
The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches.
Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British Isles team. It is today considered one of the top rugby nations in the world and the best in the Americas by a considerable degree, and has competed at every Rugby World Cup staged since the first in 1987.
The emblem on the shirts features a yaguareté (Argentine jaguar), notwithstanding the team's nickname. The Pumas nickname is generally believed to be the result of an error made by a journalist who followed the team during their first overseas tour ever — to Southern Africa in 1965. Reporters were trying to devise a catchy nickname for the team similar to existing international team nicknames such as All Blacks, Springboks, and Wallabies. One of them saw the picture of an animal on the UAR crest; however, he thought it was a puma instead of the actual jaguar. The mistake stuck, and was eventually adopted by the Argentines themselves (although the UAR crest still depicts a jaguar).
Why not arrange a Rugby Tour for your club/group? We can feasibly arrange a multi-game ‘friendly’ tour against many of the finest teams within Argentina. Please contact us for more details.
Tennis
British immigrants brought the sport to Argentina, it was not until late in the 1970s that Guillermo Vilas' success made the sport popular, reaching second place in the 1975 ATP ranking. He was internationally recognised and was later included in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Argentina won the 1980 World Team Cup beating Italy 3-0, and reached the final of the 1980 Davis Cup, losing to United States 3-1. In the 1990s it was Gabriela Sabatini who best represented Argentine tennis, becoming an international figure on and off the court.
The boom of Argentine tennis players came in the 2000s, when many players became important in the circuit reaching high ranks. Paola Suárez won eight Grand Slam doubles between 2001 and 2005 and was, together with Spaniard Virginia Ruano Pascual, the top women's couple for three years in a row.
The 2005 Tennis Masters Cup, due to a series of last-minute resignations, had 4 Argentine players of the total of 8, with Gaudio reaching semi-finals, and Nalbandian winning the competition against #1 Roger Federer.
Basketball
The Argentinean national basketball team is the first team to win the world title, in 1950. The team also won the Olympic Tournament in 2004 and the FIBA Diamond Ball in 2008. Argentina also won the 1934, 1935, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1966, 1976, 1979, 1987, 2001, 2004 and 2008 South American Championships, and the 2001 Americas Championship (where United States and Puerto Rico also participate), as well as many youth championships.
Argentina is the only national team in America along with United States which has won the five most important titles organized by FIBA: World Cup, Gold medal in Basketball in the Olympic Games, Basketball Confederations Cup (FIBA Diamond Ball), Continental Championship (FIBA Americas) and the Gold medal in basketball in the Panamerican Championship.
Due to the series of good results since the beginning of the 2000, Argentina reached the first position in the FIBA men's ranking at the end of the 2008 Olympic Games
Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili (born 28 July 1977 in Bahía Blanca, Argentina), is an Argentine professional basketball player. Coming from a family of professional basketball players, he is a member of the Argentine men's national basketball team and the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Manu Ginobili is the only player in basketball history to win the Euroleague, an Olympic gold medal, and an NBA Championship ring. In Argentina he is considered the Maradona of the basketball.
Polo
To see the best polo in the world you have to go to Argentina, where the top tournaments are played in October and November (spring) although the sport is played all year round. The main tournaments are the Hurlingham Open at the fashionable Hurlingham Club and then the Argentine Open on the picturesque polo fields in Palermo near the centre of town.
Originally started in India, polo was brought to Argentina by the British. It is thought to have been played in the province of Santa Fe by British Farmers as early as 1875 and at the Hurlingham Club since 1888. The first Argentine Open Championship was won by Hurlingham in 1893. Many Argentines, especially those living in the country, were practically born on a horse and as such, any game on horseback naturally attracted them.
Polo was included in the 1924 Olympic Games for the first time, with Argentina winning the gold medal being represented by a team of home-born players, though some of them of English descent.
When polo was again included in the Games for the last time in 1936, Argentina also won the title, so are the reigning Olympic champions. The open world championship was only held once in Argentina - in Buenos Aires in 1949 - and Argentina won that also. The United Kingdom and United States are the only other countries whose polo teams are somewhere near the standard of Argentina's.
Argentina's superiority in the game is clear to see, with no major rivals. It is not unusual for a regular player to have 20 horses, with the playing kit being quite expensive. With this in mind it is obviously a sport for the rich and upper middle classes. Due to the high level of Argentine players it is possible for a player to be amateur at home and professional internationally. Polo’s popularity is largely due to the exposure of the players in the Argentine media.
Polo horses from Argentina are much sought after all over the world. Fully grown horses are used for speed, stamina and strength and although the term “polo ponies” may still be used these horses are far from being ponies. It is a game that has become very fast and the strength of the hoses is very important combat the highly physical game.
It is extremely important for a polo horse to have special training. This is usually carried out by certain stable hands, known as "petiseros", at the "estancias" (ranches). The skill for this job tends to run in families and it is often said that teams depend a lot not only on the quality of their horses, but on their "petiseros".
Why not join us in Argentina for one of the many polo events? If you’d like to learn, this can also be arranged. Please contact us for more details.