Argentina–Uruguay football rivalry


The Argentina–Uruguay football rivalry is a highly competitive sports rivalry that exists between the national football teams of the two countries, as well as their respective sets of fans. Games between the two teams, even those that are only friendly matches, are often marked by notable and sometimes controversial incidents. On 16 May 1901, both teams played the first international match outside the United Kingdom, with Argentina being the winner by 3–2.
This derby is the most played in football history, with 194 official matches to date. Argentina won 89, Uruguay 59, and 46 ended in a draw.

History

Background

Football had been introduced many years ago in both countries, being the first game played in Argentina on 20 June 1867, with the establishment of Buenos Aires Football Club, the first football club not only in Argentina but in South America. In Uruguay, football had been introduced in 1870. Argentina organised its first league championship, Primera División, in 1891 while Uruguay held its first domestic tournament, also named Primera División, in 1900.
Both countries considered themselves rivals due to their proximity. Moreover, the Argentine and Uruguayan Associations were the first in South America, organising together the first international competitions in the Río de la Plata, such as Tie Cup or Copa de Honor Cousenier, played by champions of each associations.

First match

Although the first match ever recorded between Argentina and Uruguay was played on 16 May 1901, this is not considered an official game due to the match was not organized by Uruguay's Football Association but by Albion FC in its home field, "Paso del Molino". The Uruguayan side had nine players from that club and the remainder from Nacional. Argentina won the match by 3–2.
In fact, the first official match was held in the same venue, on 20 July 1902, with Argentina beating Uruguay 6–0. The Argentina line-up was: José Buruca Laforia; William Leslie, Walter Buchanan; Eduardo Duggan, Ernesto Brown, Carlos J. Buchanan; Juan O. Anderson, Edward O. Morgan, Carlos Edgar Dickinson, Juan José Moore, Jorge Brown. Players were from Alumni, Quilmes, Belgrano AC, Lomas and Barracas AC.
Uruguay line-up was Enrique Sanderson; Carlos Carve Urioste, Germán Arímalo; Miguel Nebel, Alberto Peixoto, Luis Carbone; Bolívar Céspedes, Gonzalo Rincón, Juan Sanderson, Ernesto Boutón Reyes, Carlos Céspedes. The squad was formed by eight players from Nacional and 3 from Albion. There were no players of CURCC in Uruguay due to the club refused to allow them to play. The goals were scored by Dickinson, Arímalo, Morgan, Carve Urioste, Anderson and J. Brown.

First competitions

In 1905, the first edition of Copa Lipton was played between Argentina and Uruguay. The trophy had been donated by the Scottish tea magnate Thomas Lipton with the condition that the teams be made up of only native born players. The tournament was contested on an annual basis between 1905 and 1992. The decade of 1910 is considered "the golden age" of the competition, due to Argentina and Uruguay were the predominant teams in South America by then and the Copa Lipton was the most important competition for both sides, considering that CONMEBOL had not been established until 1916.
played at Racing Club, 1912
Other notable competition for both sides was the Copa Newton, first held in 1906 and continued on an annual basis until 1930. It has only been played sporadically since, with the last edition being contested in 1976.
Apart from Copa Lipton and Copa Newton, other two competitions were established, with the particularity of each one being hosted in each side of the Río del Plata. The Copa Premier Honor Argentino was held in Buenos Aires while the Copa Premier Honor Uruguayo was always held in Montevideo.
In 1910, the Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo was played as part of the celebrations for the May Revolution in Argentina. The competition is notable for being the first international tournament of South America where more than two football nations participated. The "Copa Centenario" is also considered a predecessor to Copa América. Teams were Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
Because of having featured three of the subsequent four founding members of CONMEBOL, the Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo was sometimes called "the first Copa América". However, CONMEBOL recognizes the 1916 South American Championship as the first edition of the competition.

Copa América

With CONMEBOL established as the sport governing body in South America, the confederation organised its first competition in 1916, the first edition of the "Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol", now known as the "Copa América". It was held in Argentina to commemorate the centenary of the Declaration of Independence.
The first Copa América match between Argentina and Uruguay was played at Racing Club on 17 July 1916. The game finished 0–0. Uruguay was the winner of the first continental trophy.
Despite Argentina and Uruguay's large history in the most important competition of South America, they have never played a final match facing each other.

The "Olympic goal"

In 1924, Argentina played a friendly match against Uruguay at Sportivo Barracas' stadium. When only 15 minutes had been played, winger Cesáreo Onzari scored from a corner kick, with no other player touching the ball before scoring. Due to the fact that Uruguay was the Olympic champion, this play was called "Gol Olímpico". This denomination still remains.
The goal stood since FIFA had previously regulated goals scored directly from the corner kick, as Onzari did during that match. According to La Nación newspaper, 52,000 fans attended the game, an Argentina 2–1 win, where the Uruguayan team left the field with only four minutes to play. Argentine players later complained about the rough play of the Uruguayans during the match, while their rivals also complained about the aggressiveness of local spectators, who threw bottles at them at the end of the match.

1928 Summer Olympics

The 1928 Summer Olympics saw the first match of Argentina and Uruguay playing each other outside South America. In the final the Uruguayans played Argentina who had trounced Egypt, a team that would now fold like a house of cards; clearly out of their depth against more sophisticated opposition, conceding 6 goals to Argentina and as many as eleven to Italy in the Bronze medal match.
Argentina came to the final after thrashing United States 11–2, Belgium 6–3 and Egypt 6–0, while Uruguay had defeated The Netherlands, Germany and Italy in previous rounds. The interest was immense, with The Dutch having received 250,000 requests for tickets from all over Europe.
The first game finished 1-1. The tie went to a replay. With the winning goal by Héctor Scarone, Uruguay won the replay match, also achieving their second consecutive Gold Medal, with 28,113 spectators in the stadium.
After the finals, players from both teams did not speak with each other. Tango singer Carlos Gardel invited Argentine and Uruguayan players to a show in the cabaret "El Garrón", in Paris. His efforts to achieve a reconciliation between both parts were not successful so Argentine and Uruguayan ended up in a fight during the show.

The World Cup

In 1930 Uruguay organised the first FIFA World Cup. As two years before at the Summer Olympics, Argentina and Uruguay played the final, held in the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo. Argentina had previously defeated France, Mexico, Chile and the United States, while Uruguay beat Peru, Romania and Yugoslavia. Both teams thrashed United States and Yugoslavia for the same score at the semifinals.
The final ended 4–2 to Uruguay after they trailed 2–1 at half-time, adding the title of World Cup winners to their status as Olympic champions. Jules Rimet, president of FIFA, presented the Uruguayan team with the World Cup Trophy, which was later named after him. The following day was declared a national holiday in Uruguay; in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires a mob threw stones at the Uruguayan consulate.
The last living player from that final, Francisco Varallo, died on 30 August 2010 at the age of 100.
The second time Argentina and Uruguay met in a World Cup was in 1986, when Argentina beat Uruguay 1–0 at round of 16, with goal by Pedro Pasculli. The squad managed by Carlos Bilardo eliminated the Uruguayan side, advancing to the next stage. Argentina would then win their second world title when they beat Germany 3–2 in the final.

Matches overview

CompetitionPlayedArg. wonDrawUru. wonArg. goalsUru. goals
FIFA World Cup210134
FIFA World Cup qualification12642169
Copa América31144134236
Summer Olympics201123
Subtotal47219176049
Friendly147683742245181
Total194894659308233

List of matches

The chart includes the complete list of matches played between both teams:
NrDateCityWinnerScoreOccasion
116 May 1901 MontevideoArgentina3–2Friendly
220 Jul 1902 MontevideoArgentina6–0Friendly
313 Sep 1903 Buenos AiresUruguay3–2Friendly
415 Aug 1905 Buenos Aires0–0Copa Lipton
515 Aug 1906 MontevideoArgentina2–0Copa Lipton
621 Oct 1906 Buenos AiresArgentina2–1Copa Newton
715 Aug 1907 Buenos AiresArgentina2–1Copa Lipton
86 Oct 1907 MontevideoArgentina2–1Copa Newton
915 Aug 1908 Montevideo2–2Copa Lipton
1113 Sep 1908 Buenos AiresArgentina2–1Copa Newton
124 Oct 1908 Buenos AiresUruguay1–0Copa Premier Honor Arg
1315 Aug 1909 Buenos AiresArgentina2–1Copa Lipton
149 Sep 1909 Montevideo2–2Copa Newton
1510 Oct 1909 Buenos AiresArgentina3–1Copa Premier Honor Arg
1616 Jun 1910 Buenos AiresArgentina4–1Copa Centenario Rev. Mayo
1715 Aug 1910 MontevideoUruguay3–1Copa Lipton
1813 Nov 1910 Buenos Aires1–1Copa Premier Honor Arg
1927 Nov 1910 Buenos AiresUruguay6–2Copa Premier Honor Arg
2015 Aug 1911 Buenos AiresUruguay2–0Copa Lipton
2117 Sep 1911 MontevideoArgentina3–2Copa Newton
228 Oct 1911 Montevideo1–1Copa Premier Honor Uru
2322 Oct 1911 Buenos AiresArgentina2–0Copa Premier Honor Arg
2417 Sep 1911 MontevideoArgentina3–2Copa Newton
2529 Oct 1911 MontevideoUruguay3–0Copa Premier Honor Uru
2615 Aug 1912 MontevideoUruguay2–0Copa Lipton
2725 Aug 1912 MontevideoUruguay3–0Copa Premier Honor Uru
2822 Sep 1912 Buenos AiresUruguay1–0Copa Premier Honor Arg
296 Oct 1912 Avellaneda3–3Copa Newton
301 Dec 1912 MontevideoArgentina3–1Copa Montevideo
3115 Jun 1912 Avellaneda1–1Copa Presidente Roque Sáenz Peña
329 Jul 1913 AvellanedaArgentina2–1Copa Presidente Roque Sáenz Peña
3315 Aug 1913 AvellanedaArgentina4–0Copa Lipton
3431 Aug 1913 Buenos AiresArgentina2–0Copa Premier Honor Arg
355 Oct 1913 MontevideoUruguay1–0Copa Premier Honor Uru
3626 Oct 1913 MontevideoUruguay1–0Copa Newton
3730 Aug 1914 MontevideoUruguay3–2Copa Premier Honor Uru
3813 Sep 1914 Buenos AiresArgentina2–1Copa Premier Honor Arg
3919 Nov 1914 MontevideoUruguay3–2Friendly
4018 Jul 1915 MontevideoArgentina3–2Copa Premier Honor Uru
4115 Aug 1915 Buenos AiresArgentina2–1Copa Lipton
4212 Sep 1915 MontevideoUruguay2–0Copa Newton
4317 Jul 1916 Buenos Aires0–01916 Sudamericano
4415 Aug 1916 MontevideoArgentina2–1Copa Lipton
4515 Aug 1916 AvellanedaArgentina3–1Copa Newton
461 Oct 1916 AvellanedaArgentina7–2Copa Círculo de la Prensa
471 Oct 1916 MontevideoArgentina1–0Copa Premier Honor Uru
4829 Oct 1916 MontevideoUruguay3–1Copa Círculo de la Prensa
4918 Jul 1917 MontevideoArgentina2–0Copa Premier Honor Uru
5015 Aug 1917 AvellanedaArgentina1–0Copa Lipton
512 Sep 1917 MontevideoUruguay1–0Copa Newton
5214 Oct 1917 MontevideoUruguay1–01917 Sudamericano
5318 Jul 1918 Montevideo1–1Copa Premier Honor Uru
5428 Jul 1918 MontevideoUruguay3–1Copa Premier Honor Uru
5515 Aug 1918 Buenos Aires0–0Copa Premier Honor Arg
5625 Aug 1918 Buenos AiresArgentina2–1Copa Premier Honor Arg
5720 Sep 1918 Montevideo1–1Copa Lipton
5829 Sep 1918 Buenos AiresArgentina2–0Copa Newton
5913 May 1919 Río de JaneiroUruguay3–21919 Sudamericano
6018 Jul 1919 MontevideoUruguay4–1Copa Premier Honor Uru
6124 Aug 1919 MontevideoUruguay2–1Copa Newton
627 Sep 1919 Buenos AiresUruguay2–1Copa Lipton
6319 Oct 1919 Buenos AiresArgentina6–1Copa Premier Honor Arg
647 Dec 1919 MontevideoUruguay4–2Copa Círculo de la Prensa
6518 Jul 1920 MontevideoUruguay2–0Copa Premier Honor Uru
6625 Jul 1920 Buenos AiresUruguay3–1Copa Newton
678 Aug 1920 Buenos AiresArgentina1–0Copa Premier Honor Arg
6812 Sep 1920 Viña del Mar1–11920 Sudamericano
6930 Oct 1921 Buenos AiresArgentina1–01921 Sudamericano
7022 Jan 1922 Buenos AiresUruguay3–1Friendly
718 Oct 1922 Rio de JaneiroUruguay1–01922 Sudamericano
7212 Nov 1922 MontevideoUruguay1–0Copa Lipton
7310 Dec 1922 MontevideoUruguay1–0Copa Premier Honor Uru
7417 Dec 1922 Buenos Aires2–2Copa Newton
7524 Jun 1923 Buenos Aires0–0Copa Lipton
762 Jul 1923 Buenos AiresArgentina1–0Friendly
7715 Jul 1923 Buenos Aires2–2Copa Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores
7822 Jul 1923 Montevideo2–2Copa Premier Honor Uru
7930 Sep 1923 MontevideoArgentina2–0Copa Premier Honor Uru
802 Dec 1923 MontevideoUruguay2–01923 Sudamericano
818 Dec 1923 AvellanedaUruguay3–2Copa Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores
8225 May 1924 MontevideoUruguay2–0Copa Lipton
8310 Aug 1924 Buenos Aires0–0Copa Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores
8431 Aug 1924 MontevideoArgentina3–2Copa Premier Honor Uru
8521 Sep 1924 Montevideo1–1Friendly
8628 Sep 1924 Buenos Aires0–0Friendly
872 Oct 1924 Buenos AiresArgentina2–1Friendly
882 Nov 1924 Montevideo0–01924 Sudamericano
8916 Nov 1924 MontevideoUruguay1–0Copa de Confraternidad Rioplatense
901 May 1925 Buenos AiresArgentina1–0Friendly
9124 Oct 1926 SantiagoUruguay2–01926 Sudamericano
9214 Jul 1927 MontevideoArgentina1–0Copa Newton
9330 Aug 1927 Buenos AiresUruguay1–0Copa Lipton
9420 Nov 1927 LimaArgentina3–21927 Sudamericano
9510 Jun 1928 Amsterdam1–11928 Summer Olympics
9613 Jun 1928 AmsterdamUruguay2–11928 Summer Olympics
9730 Aug 1928 AvellanedaArgentina1–0Copa Newton
9821 Sep 1928 Montevideo2–2Copa Lipton
9916 Jun 1929 Buenos AiresArgentina2–0Copa Cámara de Diputados Argentina
10016 Jun 1929 Montevideo1–1Copa Centro Automovilístico Uruguayo
10128 Sep 1929 Buenos Aires0–0Copa Lipton
10230 Sep 1929 MontevideoUruguay2–1Copa Newton
10317 Nov 1929 Buenos AiresArgentina2–01929 Sudamericano
10425 May 1930 Buenos Aires1–1Copa Newton
10530 Jul 1930 MontevideoUruguay4–21930 FIFA World Cup
10615 May 1932 Buenos AiresArgentina2–0Friendly
10918 May 1932 MontevideoUruguay1–0Friendly
11021 Jan 1933 MontevideoUruguay2–1Friendly
1115 Feb 1933 AvellanedaArgentina4–1Friendly
11214 Dec 1933 MontevideoArgentina1–0Friendly
11318 Jul 1934 Montevideo2–2Friendly
11415 Aug 1934 AvellanedaArgentina1–0Friendly
1155 Jan 1935 Montevideo2–2Friendly
11627 Jan 1935 LimaUruguay3–01935 Sudamericano
11718 Jul 1935 Montevideo1–1Copa Héctor Gómez
11815 Aug 1935 Buenos AiresArgentina3–0Copa Juan Mignaburu
1199 Aug 1936 Buenos AiresArgentina1–0Copa Juan Mignaburu
12020 Sep 1936 MontevideoUruguay2–1Copa Héctor Gómez
12123 Jan 1937 Buenos AiresUruguay3–21937 Sudamericano
12210 Oct 1937 MontevideoArgentina3–0Copa Newton
12311 Nov 1937 Buenos AiresArgentina5–1Copa Lipton
12418 Jun 1938 Buenos AiresArgentina1–0Copa Juan Mignaburu
12512 Oct 1938 MontevideoArgentina3–2Copa Héctor Gómez
12618 Jul 1940 MontevideoUruguay3–0Copa Héctor Gómez
12715 Aug 1940 Buenos AiresArgentina5–0Copa Juan Mignaburu
12823 Feb 1941 SantiagoArgentina1–01941 Sudamericano
1297 Feb 1942 MontevideoUruguay1–01942 Sudamericano
13025 May 1942 Buenos AiresArgentina4–1Copa Newton
13125 Aug 1942 Montevideo1–1Copa Lipton
13228 Mar 1943 Buenos Aires3–3Copa Juan Mignaburu
1334 Apr 1943 MontevideoArgentina1–0Copa Héctor Gómez
13425 Feb 1945 SantiagoArgentina1–01945 Sudamericano
13515 Aug 1945 Buenos AiresArgentina6–2Copa Newton
13618 Aug 1945 Montevideo2–2Copa Lipton
1372 Feb 1946 Buenos AiresArgentina3–11946 Sudamericano
13828 Dec 1947 GuayaquilArgentina3–11947 Sudamericano
13927 Mar 1955 SantiagoArgentina6–11955 Sudamericano
14015 Feb 1956 MontevideoUruguay1–01956 Sudamericano
1411 Jul 1956 MontevideoUruguay2–1Taça do Atlântico
14210 Oct 1956 PaysandúArgentina2–1Friendly
14314 Nov 1956 Buenos Aires2–2Friendly
14420 Mar 1957 LimaArgentina4–01957 Sudamericano
14523 May 1957 Montevideo0–0Copa Newton
1465 Jun 1957 Buenos Aires1–1Copa Lipton
1476 Apr 1958 MontevideoUruguay1–0Friendly
14830 Apr 1958 Buenos AiresArgentina2–0Friendly
14930 Mar 1959 Buenos AiresArgentina4–11959 Sudamericano
15016 Dec 1959 GuayaquilUruguay5–01959 Sudamericano
15117 Aug 1960 Buenos AiresArgentina4–0Taça do Atlântico
15213 Mar 1962 Montevideo1–1Friendly
15315 Aug 1962 Buenos AiresArgentina3–1Copa Lipton
1542 Feb 1967 MontevideoUruguay1–01967 Sudamericano
1555 Jun 1968 Buenos AiresArgentina2–0Copa Lipton
15620 Jun 1968 MontevideoUruguay2–1Copa Newton
1578 Apr 1970 Buenos AiresArgentina2–1Friendly
15815 Apr 1970 MontevideoUruguay2–1Friendly
15914 Jul 1971 Buenos AiresArgentina1–0Friendly
16018 Jul 1971 Montevideo1–1Friendly
1616 Jul 1972 Porto AlegreArgentina1–0Copa de la Independencia de Brasil
16217 May 1973 Buenos Aires1–1Copa Lipton
16323 May 1973 Montevideo1–1Copa Newton
16418 Jul 1975 MontevideoArgentina3–2Copa Newton
1658 Apr 1976 Buenos AiresArgentina4–1Copa Lipton & Taça do Atlântico
1669 Jun 1976 MontevideoArgentina3–0Copa Newton & Taça do Atlântico
16725 Apr 1978 MontevideoUruguay2–0Friendly
1683 May 1978 Buenos AiresArgentina3–0Friendly
16918 Jul 1984 MontevideoUruguay1–0Friendly
1702 Aug 1984 Buenos Aires0–0Friendly
17116 Jun 1986 PueblaArgentina1–01986 World Cup
1729 Jul 1987 Buenos AiresUruguay1–01987 Copa América
1738 Jul 1989 GoiâniaArgentina1–01989 Copa América
17414 Jul 1989 Río de JaneiroUruguay2–01989 Copa América
17523 Sep 1992 Montevideo0–0Copa Lipton
17612 Jan 1997 Montevideo0–01998 World Cup qualification
17712 Oct 1997 Buenos Aires0–01998 World Cup qualification
1787 Jul 1999 LuqueArgentina2–01999 Copa América
1798 Oct 2000 Buenos AiresArgentina2–12002 World Cup qualification
18014 Nov 2001 Montevideo1–12002 World Cup qualification
18111 Jun 2003 La Plata2–2Friendly
18220 Aug 2003 FlorenceArgentina3–2Friendly
18313 Jul 2004 PiuraArgentina4–22004 Copa América
1849 Oct 2004 Buenos AiresArgentina4–22006 World Cup qualification
18512 Oct 2005 MontevideoUruguay1–02006 World Cup qualification
18611 Oct 2008 Buenos AiresArgentina2–12010 World Cup qualification
18714 Oct 2009 MontevideoArgentina1–02010 World Cup qualification
18816 Jul 2011 Santa FeUruguay1–1 2011 Copa América
18912 Oct 2012 MendozaArgentina3–02014 World Cup qualification
19015 Oct 2013 MontevideoUruguay3–22014 World Cup qualification
19116 Jun 2015 La SerenaArgentina1–02015 Copa América
1921 Sep 2016 MendozaArgentina1–02018 World Cup qualification
19331 Aug 2017 Montevideo0–02018 World Cup qualification
19418 Nov 2019 Tel Aviv2–2Friendly

;Notes

Titles overview

Senior/Official

CompetitionArg. wonUru. won
FIFA World Cup22
Copa América1415
FIFA Confederations Cup10
Olympic gold medal*02*
World Champions' Gold Cup01
Total1720

Club

At club level, Argentine and Uruguayan teams have had a strong rivalry, since the first international competition in Rio de la Plata, Tie Cup was held in 1900. Other competitions played by teams from both associations include Copa de Honor Cousenier and Copa Aldao, first held in 1913. Played until 1955, Copa Aldao is seen today as the first stepping-stone into the creation of Copa Libertadores in 1960. Moreover, in 2015 a CONMEBOL's article described Aldao Cup as the first official international professional football cup in South America.
By the first years of football in Río de la Plata, some of the strongest teams in Argentina were Rosario A.C., Belgrano A.C. or Alumni, which played memorable matches against Uruguayan teams CURCC, Montevideo Wanderers and Nacional.
Argentine clubs have won the most titles in South America, with a total of 97 championships since 1900 to date. The most important competition in South America, Copa Libertadores, has been won by Argentine teams 24 times by seven different clubs, while Uruguayan clubs won the competition 8 times. The last title won by an Uruguayan club was the 1989 Copa Interamericana, when Nacional beat Hondurean Olimpia 5–1 on aggregate.

Club titles

The table below compares titles won by Argentine and Uruguayan clubs since the first official competition in 1905:
CompetitionArg. wonUru. won
Intercontinental Cup96
Copa Libertadores248
Copa Sudamericana80
Suruga Bank Championship20
Copa Conmebol30
Copa Mercosur10
Supercopa Sudamericana60
Recopa Sudamericana81
Copa Interamericana72
Supercopa João Havelange60
Copa Nicolás Leoz10
Copa Master de Supercopa10
Intercontinental Supercup01
Tie Cup136
Copa de Honor Cousenier49
Copa Aldao104
Total10337

Finals between clubs

Note: AFA / AUF competitions are not included due to they were contested only by Argentine and Uruguayan clubs.
CompetitionNationalityWinnerRunner-upResult
1964 Copa LibertadoresArgentinaIndependienteNacional0–0, 1–0
1965 Copa LibertadoresArgentinaIndependientePeñarol1–0, 1–3, 4–1
1966 Copa LibertadoresUruguayPeñarolRiver Plate2–0, 2–3, 4–2
1967 Copa LibertadoresArgentinaRacingNacional0–0, 0–0, 2–1
1969 Copa LibertadoresArgentinaEstudiantes Nacional1–0, 2–0
1970 Copa LibertadoresArgentinaEstudiantes Peñarol1–0, 0–0
1971 Copa LibertadoresUruguayNacionalEstudiantes 0–1, 1–0, 2–0
1988 Copa LibertadoresUruguayNacionalNewell's Old Boys0–1, 3–0
1989 Recopa SudamericanaUruguayNacionalRacing1–0, 0–0