Brazil 1919

Argentina 1916

Parque Central

Boaters de rigueur. 22,000 at Montevideo's Parque Central to see Uruguay defeat Argentina 2-0 on 02.12.23

José Laguna

 

José Durand Laguna, known as 'El Negro', was a prolific forward for Huracán. 

He represented Argentina 4 times, scoring 3 goals.

His debut came in unusual circumstances. At the 1916 South American Championship of Nations Laguna went to watch the Argentina vs Brazil game at Gimnasia y Esgrima in Buenos Aires (10.07.16).

Alberto Ohaco was unable to play and Laguna was called from the stand to fill the vacancy. 

He gave Argentina the lead in the 10th minute. The game finished 1-1.

Laguna later moved to Paraguay where he played for Olimpia. He also managed the Paraguay national side at 2 South American Championships and the 1930 World Cup.

Ramón Unzaga

Ramón Unzaga, pioneer of the bicycle kick, was a versatile sportsman who excelled at sprinting, javelin, high jump, diving, and waterpolo as well as football.
He made 8 appearances for Chile, featuring at the 1916 and 1920 South American Championships.

Radio, 1922

What is this man up to?

His name is Claudio Sapelli and he is transmitting a radio broadcast of the 1922 South American Championship of Nations. 

Sapelli was stationed on the roof of the La Plata newspaper offices in Montevideo. As a teletype account of the matches was received from Rio de Janeiro megaphone announcements would be made to the crowd below and  Sapelli would relay the updates via radio.

He would have reached a limited audience as there were just 75 radio receivers in the whole of Uruguay.  

A 0-0 draw with eventual winners Brazil and a 1-0 defeat to Paraguay saw Uruguay finish in 3rd place. 

Modesto Denis

Goalkeepers never wear knee pads these days.
Modesto Denis represented Paraguay at 5 South American Championships and played in 1 game at the 1930 World Cup.
He played his club football with Club Nacional (Asunción), winning the national championsip in 1924 and 1926.

Say it with flowers #2

     Américo Miguel Tesoriere                                                             Agostinho Fortes Filho

Estadio das Laranjeiras, Rio de Janeiro 15.10.22. Brazil 2 Argentina 0.

Say it with flowers #1

Wherever it appears on the internet, this picture is invariably described as 

Copa America 1921. Emilio Solari, captain of  Argentina, greeting  Bartolome Brizuela of Paraguay at the 1921 South American Championship of Nations. 

However, Brizuela made his international debut in 1925 and did not appear at the South American Championship of Nations until 1926, whereas Solari's last appearance at the championships was in 1924. 

My theory is that the Paraguay player pictured is in fact the legendary Manuel Fleitas Solich.

El Gran Capitán

When, in the early 1930s, Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro of Argentina offered the Paraguayan captain Aurelio González a lucrative deal he declined. Instead, he took a break from football in order to fight for his country in The Chaco War (against Bolivia). 
In the preceding years González had won 3 consecutive championships with Club Olimpia (1927, 1928 &1929). 
He led Paraguay in the 1929 South American Championship of Nations, where he was the tournament top scorer with 5 goals (2 vs Uruguay and 3 vs Peru).
González also played in both of Paraguay's matches at the 1930 World Cup.
In later life he coached Club Olimpia and the Paraguay national team. 

El Tigre e Homem-Borracha

This photograph, taken in September 1938  shows 2 early superstars of Brazilian football.
On the right is Arthur Friedenreich. On the left is Leônidas da Silva.
Fried's career lasted from 1909 to 1925. He was top scorer in the Liga Paulista in 9 seasons. He represented Brazil 23 times, scoring 10 goals. He was a South American Championship winner in 1919 and 1922. He missed out on the 1930 World Cup squad as São Paulo players were overlooked. Friedenreich scored over 1,200 goals in his first class career.
Leônidas began his career in 1929 and played until 1946. His international goal return was 21 goals in 19 matches.
Most of Leônidas' triumphs came after 1937- but he did feature in the 1934 World Cup. During his first 4 years in top football (including a season at Peñarol) his strike rate was greater than a goal a game.

Campeonato Sudamericano de Selecciones 1927

Played in Lima, Peru, the 1927 South American Championship of Nations featured Uruguay, Argentina, Peru and Bolivia.
In the 5th match Argentina defeated Uruguay 3-2 (Adhemar Canavesi's own goal proving to be the winner). Match 6 saw Argentina seal the championship with a 5-1 win over Peru. It was Argentina's 3rd championship.
Argentina used 15 players during the tournament:

v Bolivia,  30.10.27	v Uruguay, 20.11.27			v  Peru, 27.11.27
7-1	3-2			5-1
Octavio Díaz		Octavio Díaz		Angel Bossio
Ludovico Bidoglio		Ludovico Bidoglio	Ludovico Bidoglio
Humberto Recanattini		Humberto Recanattini	Humberto Recanattini
Juan Evaristo		Juan Evaristo	Juan Evaristo
Luis Monti		Luis Monti	Luis Monti
José Fossa	Adolfo Zumelzú		Adolfo Zumelzú
Alfredo Carricaberry		Alfredo Carricaberry	Alfredo Carricaberry
Pedro Ochoa	Juan Maglio		Juan Maglio
Manuel Nolo Ferreira		Manuel Nolo Ferreira	Manuel Nolo Ferreira
Manuel Seoane		Manuel Seoane	Manuel Seoane
Segundo Luna		Segundo Luna		Raimundo Orsi

The squad featured 2 future World Cup winners- Luis Monti and Mumo Orsi- although the pair were representing Italy when they won this honour in 1934.

The goals were shared by:

Luna-3

Carricaberry-3

Recanattini-2

Seoane- 2

Ferreira- 2

Maglio-2

Own goals- 1

Campeonato Sud Americano de Football

1916

	Winners	Entrants	Top Scorer	Player of Tournament	Hosts
1916	Uruguay	Argentina Brazil Chile Uruguay	Isabelino Gradín (Uru) 3	Isabelino Gradín (Uru)	Argentina
More here

1917

	Winners	Entrants	Top Scorer	Player of Tournament	Hosts
1917	Uruguay	Argentina Brazil Chile Uruguay	Ángel Romano (Uru) 4	Hector Scarone (Uru)	Uruguay
More here

1919

	Winners	Entrants	Top Scorer	Player of Tournament	Hosts
1919	Brazil	Argentina Brazil Chile Uruguay	Arthur Friedenreich & Neco (Br) 4	Arthur Friedenreich (Br)	Brazil
More here here  and here

1920

	Winners	Entrants	Top Scorer	Player of Tournament	Hosts
1920	Uruguay	Argentina Brazil Chile Uruguay	Jose Perez & Ángel Romano (Uru) 3	José Piendibene (Uru)	Chile
Noteworthy for a 6-0 win for Uruguay over Brazil. Uruguay won all 3 of their matches, scoring 9 goals in the process.

1921

	Winners	Entrants	Top Scorer	Player of Tournament	Hosts
1921	Argentina	Argentina Brazil Paraguay Uruguay	Julio Libonatti (Arg)  3	Américo Tesoriere (Arg)	Argentina
Paraguay’s first appearance. Their opening match, against Uruguay, was only their 7th international. They beat the champions 2-1. Withdrew: Chile

1922

	Winners	Entrants	Top Scorer	Player of Tournament	Hosts
1922	Brazil	Argentina Brazil Chile Paraguay Uruguay	Julio Francia (Arg) 4	Agostinho Fortes Filho (Br)	Brazil
Moved from planned venue Chile in order to mark 100 years of Brazilian independence. All the matches were played at Estadio das Laranjeiras. At the conclusion of the tournament Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay were tied on 5 points- Brazil only having 1 win to the other countries’ 2.  Uruguay then withdrew, leaving Brazil and Paraguay to play off for the championship. Brazil won 3-0. Paraguay’s 10 outfield players had walked off the pitch in the 79th minute of their defeat to Argentina, but this went unpunished by the authorities.

1923

	Winners	Entrants	Top Scorer	Player of Tournament	Hosts
1923	Uruguay	Argentina Brazil Paraguay Uruguay	Pedro Petrone (Uru) & Vicente Aguirre (Arg) 3	José Nasazzi (Uru)	Uruguay
Used as a qualifying tournament for the 1924 Olympics. All matches were played at Estadio Gran Parque Central. The tournament was decided in the final match played, Uruguay beating Argentina 2-0. Withdrew: Chile

1924

	Winners	Entrants	Top Scorer	Player of Tournament	Hosts
1924	Uruguay	Argentina Chile Paraguay Uruguay	Pedro Petrone (Uru) 4	Pedro Petrone (Uru)	Uruguay
Paraguay declined the offer to host the tournament. It was instead played at Estadio Gran Parque Central in honour of Uruguay’s triumph at the 1924 Olympics. Withdrew: Brazil

1925

	Winners	Entrants	Top Scorer	Player of Tournament	Hosts
1925	Argentina	Argentina Brazil Paraguay	Manuel Seoane (Arg) 6	Manuel Seoane (Arg)	Argentina
Only 3 teams competed. Chile withdrew in response to their poor showing in 1924 when they lost all 3 matches and conceded 10 goals, Uruguay because of splits in the governing bodies.. Note the unusual presence of a black player in the Argentina side- Alejandro De Los Santos of El Porvenir- the first black man to represent Argentina. Withdrew: Chile, Uruguay.

1926

	Winners	Entrants	Top Scorer	Player of Tournament	Hosts
1926	Uruguay	Argentina Bolivia Chile Paraguay Uruguay	David Arellano (Chile) 7	Jose Andrade (Uru)	Chile
Bolivia entered for the first time and shipped 24 goals in 4 matches, although it was Paraguay who suffered the worst loss- 8-0 to Argentina. Withdrew: Brazil

1927

	Winners	Entrants	Top Scorer	Player of Tournament	Hosts
1927	Argentina	Argentina Bolivia Peru Uruguay	5 players scored 3 goals.	Manuel Seoane (Arg)	Peru
The tournament served as a qualifier for the 1928 Olympics. Peru participated for the first time. 37 goals were scored (6.17 per match) with both Argentina and Uruguay scoring 15 goals. Withdrew: Brazil, Chile, Paraguay

1929

	Winners	Entrants	Top Scorer	Player of Tournament	Hosts
1929	Argentina	Argentina Paraguay Peru Uruguay	Aurelio González (Par) 5	Manuel Nolo Ferreira (Arg)	Argentina
No contest was held in 1928 due to the absence of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay at the Olympics. Withdrew: Bolivia, Brazil, Chile

1935

	Winners	Entrants	Top Scorer	Player of Tournament	Hosts
1935	Uruguay	Argentina Chile Peru Uruguay	Herminio Masantonio (Arg) 4	José Nasazzi (Uru)	Peru
Relations between Argentina and Uruguay had effectively been severed following the 1930 World Cup and the 2 sides didn’t meet for 2 years. The resumption of the South American Championship also served as a qualifying competition for the 1936 Olympics (although ultimately neither Argentina nor Uruguay travelled to Berlin for financial reasons). It was an additional tournament- no trophy was awarded. Withdrew: Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay

1937

	Winners	Entrants	Top Scorer	Player of Tournament	Hosts
1937	Argentina	Argentina Brazil Chile Paraguay Peru Uruguay	Raúl Toro (Chile) 7	Vicente de la Mata (Arg)	Argentina
Brazil returned after a 4 tournament / 12 year absence. They were defeated by Argentina in a play-off.  2 extra time goals won it for Argentina, who had previously beaten Brazil earlier in the tournament. 69 goals were scored (4.31 per match). Withdrew: Bolivia, Colombia.