SUPERCLASICO

 It is the Copa Libertadores Final this weekend, the Superclasico. This is the finale to the CONMEBOL, the Latin American competition run since 1960. The competition represents a tribute to the Spanish and Portugueses "Liberators", first played as the Copa Rio de Plata (Argentina v Uruguay) in the 1930s.
The "picados" was a slang word for a kickabout played on the land surrounding the River Plate, clearly the heart of Argentina. In Brazil it was "peladas" and on the Pacific Coast, "pinchagas".
The massive resources available in South America attracted European development and in Argentina beef, hide and wool encouraged industries to develop along the river estuary and from 1863 the railways were built to enable transport from the interior. Inevitably the businesses needed banks and Europeans rubbed their hands together eagerly.
In 1880 there were 40,000 Britons in Buenos Aires. The population  needed services such as shops, schools and so on and in the towns, Social Clubs were established by the immigrants. At this time there were  athletic competitions, games of cricket, tennis and polo organised by the wealthy and educated. Football was to follow.

In 1867 the editor of the English newspaper "The Standard" received a copy of the FA Laws set in London in 1863. Thomas Hogg of the Buenos Aires Cricket Club decided to organise a match set by those rules in June 1867.The Colorados (red caps) lost to the Blancos (white caps) 0-4.
In the 1880s English schools in the British community adopted the game mainly under the control of British teachers, especially a Scottish master Alexander Watson Hutton who formed St Andrew's High School in the capital.
Much the same history ran in Brazil and Uruguay around the same time.
 Boca Juniors in 1906. Formed originally by Greek and Italian students living in the La Boca region of the capital.


Club Atletico River Plate based in the Belgrano district in Buenos Aires was founded in 1901, with an English influence.


River Plate 1908.
The Copa Final will be played over two legs on the 10th and 24th November. The first leg is played at the Boca La Bombonera and the second at the Monumento de Nunez. It is not often that the two teams have met and when they do it is "carnage" on and off the field. The first edition of the Copa began in 1960 with Penarol of Paraguay winning the first final. 24 Argentinian clubs have won the final, 10 from Brazil. Boca have won 6 titles (last in 2007) and River Plate 3 (last in 2015).