MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

World’s oldest and fiercest derby in South American football history

Ladies and gentlemen makes your bets Lionel Messi and Diego Forlan

The Argentine province of Santa Fe will be the coliseum for South America’s oldest and fiercest derby when the locals meet Uruguay in the quarter finals of the Americas Cup. Both teams arrive with an unsatisfactory record in the current competition and are expected to make the most to ensure they reach the finals.

The 35.000 at the stadium and the millions that will follow the match Saturday evening will be able to see some of the world’s greatest players at the moment, Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, and Kun Agüero in Argentina and Diego Forlan and Luis Suárez in Uruguay, among so many other professionals playing in the best teams of the world.

The Copa America, probably the oldest international football competition was started in 1916, and has been won by Argentina and Uruguay 14 times each. On two occasions Uruguay spoilt the party for Argentina as a host of the tournament, in the 1916 opening of the Cup and in 1987. On the last occasion Uruguay knocked out the 1986 World Cup winner playing with such stars as Diego Maradona and the current Argentine coach, Sergio Batista.

Even when bookmakers make the hosts favourites to qualify for the final tour (Argentina odds, 1.57; Uruguay odds, 6.50) Uruguay on this July 16 will also be remembering having conquered the 1950 Jules Rimet World Cup, in the famous stadium of Maracana, Rio do Janeiro, defeating the hosts 2-1.

Alcides Ghigia one of the great players of that 1950 feat likes to comment that the Maracana stadium went mute only on three occasion: when the visit of Pope John Paul II, with Frank Sinatra on his farewell tour, and on 16 July 1950 when “I scored the winning goal”.

Meanwhile in Santa Fe good seats in the stadium for the derby are selling up to 500 US dollar.