Football Special Report: The Greatest football rivalries (Part 1)
The Avellaneda Superclasico
The Avellaneda Superclasico is one of the oldest football rivalries between Argentinean clubs Independiente and Racing club.
Origins
Racing club was formed by a group of workers from the Buenos Aires district of Barracas Sud now known as Avellaneda. It was a merger of two rival clubs Football Club Barracas and Colorados Unidos. The club was formed on 25th March 1903.
Club Atletico Independiente was the brainstorm of a group of teenagers who got frustrated for not getting a chance to play for the club of a company they used to work for. The group felt they had no other option other than becoming “independent” and make
their own club so in 1905 on 25th March, club Independiente officially came into existence 2 years after the formation of their future rivals.
The first seeds of a long enmity were planted when in 1907, Independiente moved close to the area of Barracas Sud and in the same year the two sides met for the first time in the old 3rd division with the newcomers beating Racing 3-2 and from
then on, are known as “Diabolos Rojos”, Red Devils in Spanish
Facts and figures.
Independiente have a far superior record than their rivals with 67 wins compared to their rival’s 46 over the course of 175 official games. The top 3 scores in the fixture’s long history also come from the Diabolos Rojos.
The red devils also have won more trophies than their rivals both at national level (14) and in international tournaments (15) compared to Racing’s 7 and 3 respectively. But both clubs have the distinguished honour to be considered as the big-five in Argentina.
From 1930 to 1940, Racing Club dominated the derby which included a 7-4 victory against their bitter rivals. However, in 1940, things started changing as Independiente gave their fans something to smile about when they defeated Racing Club 7-0-still considered
as the biggest victory margin in the superclasico’s history.
The ever growing importance of this derby reached its boiling point in 1960s. A 1-1 draw between the two resulted in 4 sending-offs for both teams- a record that still stands to this day. More controversy was to follow in 1965, when Racing Club was winning
2-0 but in a turn around that saw Independiente comeback with 2 penalties, fight broke out between players of the two teams. This resulted in 5 red cards for Racing’s players but in spite of the numerical disadvantage, they held on to a 2-2 draw.
In 1983, red devils were crowned league champions in a season when their fierce rivals were relegated. In 1986, Racing Club gained promotion and the spell outside the top flight seemed to have made their resolve stronger as they started an unbeaten run of
16 games against their nemesis. La Academia’s unbeaten run finally came to an end in 1994, when they lost 2-0 to Independiente and they would have to wait till 1998 to end their 17 year wait for a win at Diabolos Rojas ground with a memorable 3-1 win.
Today
Though Il Diabolos Rojos finished 4th in the Clasura last season, they haven’t lost to their rivals since 2005. That year, they inflicted a 4-0 defeat to their foes in a match where Sergio Aguerro who now plays for Athletico Madrid in Spain, scored
a brace. Racing on the other hand, has had to battle with relegation for the last 2 seasons and is currently 10th with 13 points.
Racing are without a win in their last 9 derbies but know very well that in the Avellaneda Superclasico, anything can happen as history has proved this again and again.
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