The Argentina–Uruguay football rivalry, also known as Río de la Plata Derby (Clásico del Rio de la Plata in Spanish) is a highly competitive sports rivalry that exists between the Argentine and Uruguayan national football teams and their respective set of fans. Considered by football journalists and fans alike as one of the most important rivalries in the sport, the derby is also the most played in football history. According to FIFA records, 197 official matches have been played to date, the first of which was played on 20 July 1902; in which both teams played the first international match outside the United Kingdom in Uruguay, with Argentina winning by 6–0.
Games between the two teams, even those that are only friendly matches, are often marked by notable and sometimes controversial incidents. In addition, both national teams have been described as some of the most successful sides in the history of association football; Argentina has won three FIFA World Cups, whereas Uruguay has won two. Argentina have won the Copa América sixteen times (record) against 15 of Uruguay, and the Celestes have won two gold medals at the Olympic Games when it was played by senior teams. The two nations have also seen success in other inter-confederation and youth competitions, and are also routinely ranked among the top national teams in the world in both the FIFA World Rankings and the World Football Elo Ratings. As of 2023, Argentina has won 92 matches, Uruguay has won 59 matches, and 46 matches ended in a draw.Statistics on FIFA website
Aside from the national teams, both countries have produced some of the most successful clubs in the world. The Big Five have represented Argentina's success in club football for most of its history, although other clubs have achieved success in recent history as well. In Uruguay, Peñarol and Nacional have predominantly been the most successful clubs in the country ever since the introduction of the sport. In the Copa Libertadores, Argentine clubs have reached the final 38 times, with 25 coming out as champions, whereas Uruguayan clubs have appeared in 16 finals and have won 8 of them. In the Copa Sudamericana, Argentine clubs have been featured 15 times, winning it on 9 occasions. No Uruguayan club, however, has yet reached a Copa Sudamericana final. In all intercontinental competitions, including the Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, Argentine clubs have won 9 tournaments and were runners-up 14 times, and Uruguayan clubs won 6 tournaments and were runners-up 2 times. In 2009, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics released a series of statistical studies that determined the best continental clubs of the 20th century. For South America, Peñarol was ranked as the greatest football club in the continent. This was followed by Independiente, Nacional, and River Plate in that order. Boca Juniors were ranked sixth overall, although Boca Juniors were ranked as the best South American club for the first decade of the 21st century in 2012.
The two nations have also produced many defining players since their introduction to the sport. This includes but isn't limited to, Uruguay's golden generation from the first half of the 20th century, consisting of the likes of José Leandro Andrade, Alcides Ghiggia, José Nasazzi, and Juan Alberto Schiaffino, to Argentina's international prominence later on with names such as Gabriel Batistuta, Mario Alberto Kempes, Diego Maradona, and Daniel Passarella, and eventually down to modern-day generational talents, including Edinson Cavani, Ángel Di María, Diego Forlan, Lionel Messi, Juan Román Riquelme, and Luis Suárez.
History Background
The foundation of the rivalry can be traced to the countries' similarities; both countries' share the same cultures and ethnicities derived from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata from the 18th century, and later on, the influx of European immigration, starting as early as the 19th century, which would eventually establish the modern-day society of Argentina and Uruguay. Amongst the mass immigration included the British, but unlike most immigrants such as from Spain and Italy who were escaping poverty and political turmoil in their homeland, the British were skilled workers, ranchers, businessmen, and bureaucrats. During this time, Argentina and Uruguay were emerging nations and the settlers were welcomed for the stability they brought to commercial life. As a result, the British brought over their customs and traditions, including football. The name of the rivalry is based on their geographical location; the Río de la Plata forms part of the border between Argentina and Uruguay.
The first game was 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 the Primera División, in 1900. The Argentine and Uruguayan Associations were the first national football organisations in South America, developing together the first international competitions in the Río de la Plata, such as Tie Cup (1900) and Copa de Honor Cousenier (1905), played by the champions of each association.
1900-1902: Beginnings; first international football match outside the United Kingdom
Although the first match ever recorded between Argentina and Uruguay was played on 16 May 1901, the match isn't registered as an official game due to the match being organised by the Albion Football Club, not by the Uruguayan Football Association, at the club's home ground in Paso del Molino, Montevideo. The Uruguayan side had nine players from that club and the remainder from Nacional. Argentina won the match 3–2. The first official match was held in the same venue, on 20 July 1902, with Argentina beating Uruguay 6–0.
Players that represented the Argentine squad were from Alumni (5 players), Quilmes (2), Belgrano AC (2), Lomas (1) and Barracas AC (1). For Uruguay, the squad was formed by eight players from Nacional and three from Albion. There were no players from CURCC in Uruguay, as the club didn't allow their players to participate in the match.Trayectoria on CNdeF websiteUn siglo de Selección by Oscar Barnade on Clarín, 20 July 2002 (archived)"Historias, curiosidades y estadísticas de la Selección, tras sus "primeros" 900 partidos" , El Gráfico, 4 Jul 2012"Uruguay 0-6 Argentina" on Fútbol Nostalgia
1905-1916: First competitions During its first years of existence, both national teams played only friendly matches amongst each other until the establishment of the Copa Lipton in 1905, organized by both Argentine and Uruguayan Football Associations. 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. The first official title won by Argentina was the 1906 Copa Lipton, defeating Uruguay 2–0 in Montevideo. Throughout the duration of the competition, Argentina won the title 17 times, whereas Uruguay won it 11 times.
Other notable competition for both sides was the Copa Newton, also established in 1906 and continued on an annual basis until 1930. Similar to the Copa Lipton, Nicanor Newton, director of Sportsman magazine, a former Argentine-based sports magazine company, donated the trophy for a competition which would be held for beneficial purposes. Argentina won the first edition as well, defeating Uruguay 2–1 at the Sociedad Sportiva Argentina in Buenos Aires. It has only been played sporadically since, with the last edition being contested in 1976. Argentina and Uruguay have also won the tournament 17 and 11 times, respectively.Copa Newton by José Luis Pierrend at RSSSF
Apart from Copa Lipton and Copa Newton, two other 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 (1908–1920) while the Copa Premier Honor Uruguayo (1911–1924) was held in Montevideo.Copa Premio Honor Argentino by José Luis Pierrend on RSSSF
In 1910, the Argentine Football Association organized the Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo in honor of the centennial anniversary of 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 and is also considered a predecessor to Copa América. Participating teams featured the Argentine, Uruguayan, and Chilean national teams. Formtted in a round-robin system, all three games were played in Buenos Aires; the first match was played in Cancha de Colegiales and the Estadio Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires. 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.Aclaración sobre el título de campeón de Copa América Centenario , Conmebol.comLa Copa Centenario para Argentina en 1910 , Diario Uno, 27 May 2010Del delantero desertor al goleador "de una noche", las 5 curiosidades de la Copa América , La Nación, 3 Jun 2016
1916: Inauguration of the Copa América
Six years after the Copa Cenenario Revolución de Mayo, the first edition of the "Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol" (South American Football Championship), later known as the "Copa América", was contested in Argentina to commemorate the centenary of the Argentine Declaration of Independence. As a result, the four participating associations of the tournament (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay) gathered in Buenos Aires in order to officially create a governing body to facilitate the organization of the tournament. A week after the start of the tournament, on 9 July 1916, the continental governing body of football in South America, CONMEBOL, was founded under initiative of Uruguayan Héctor Rivadavia Gómez with the approval of the four associations. The first Constitutional Congress on 15 December of that same year, which took place in Montevideo, ratified the decision.
Hosted in the Estadio Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires and the Estadio Racing Club in Buenos Aires, six matches were played; each team played one match against each of the other teams. Two points were awarded for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a defeat. Uruguay and Argentina met in the final match of the tournament at Racing Club on 17 July 1916, with the match ending in a goalless draw. Uruguay would win the first continental trophy with five points, whereas Argentina came second with four points. 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. by Gustavo Ronzano and Oscar Barnade on Clarín, 23 July 2005 (archived, 6 November 2013)South American Championship 1916 by Martín Tabeira on the RSSSF
1917-1923: Continuation of international and exhibition tournaments; the "Olympic Goal"