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Avellaneda derby
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The Avellaneda derby (clasico de Avellaneda) is the second most important rivalry in Argentine football. It is contested between Club Atletico Independiente and Racing Club, the 3rd and 4th most successful teams in terms of the total number of league championships won. It is the second most important local derby, behind to the Superclasico contested between Boca Juniors and River Plate, who are in the city of Buenos Aires; and it's a major football rivalry. Both teams are very popular in Argentina, and are two of the "five big teams of Argentinian football".
History
Both clubs were founded in the early years of the 20th Century, Racing on March 25, 1903 and Independiente on January 1, 1905. Independente were founded in the city of Buenos Aires and moved to Avellaneda in 1907.
The first encounter between the two took place in 1907 with Independiente winning. The first top flight game between the two took place on December 12, 1915, Independiente won 2-1, but the result was overturned and Racing were awarded the victory. The 2 points from that game were enough for Racing to go on to win the 1915 championship.
Racing Club dominated the amateur era of Argentine football, winning more trophies than any other surviving team. They won 9 to Independiente's 2.
Racing Club's dominance extended into the 1950's where they became the first team in the professional era to win three consecutive championships .
In 1964 Independiente became the first Argentine team to win the Copa Libertadores.
In 1967 Racing Club became the first Argentine club to win the Copa Intercontinental, this achievement marked the end of Racing Club's supremacy.
Between 1972 and 1975 Independiente won an unprecedented 4 consecutive Copa Libertadores titles.
In 1984 Independiente won their 7th Copa Libertadores, earning them the nickname "King of Cups".
In 2001 Racing Club won the Apertura, it was their first league title in 35 years.
The most recent title earned by either of the two clubs was the Apertura 2002, won by Independiente.
Stadiums
The two stadiums are only a few hundred metres apart, Independiente play at the Estadio Libertadores de America commonly known as "Doble Visera", it was opened on March 4, 1928. Racing Club play at the Estadio Juan Domingo Peron commonly known as "El Cilindro", it was opened on September 3, 1950.
Statistics
Head-to-head
Matches record as of October 17, 2007
national league obtained from Universo Futbol. International tournaments obtained from RSSSF. Amateur tournaments obtained from ClarinTitles by club
Independiente highlights
On November 3, 1940 Independiente beat Racing 7-0, the biggest winning margin in the history of the derby.
On August 20, 1961 Independiente secured a 4-0 home win, unfotunately it was not enough to stop Racing club from eventually winning the championship.
On December 17, 1967 on the last day of the Nacional Independiente beat the visiting Racing Club team 4-0 with 2 goals from Luis Artime to win the championship.
The last round of fixtures during the Metropolitano 1970 saw River Plate beat Union de Santa Fe 6-0 to give them a chance of stealing the championship for Independiente. On July 27 Independiente travelled to El Cilindro eventually winning the game 3-2 to give them the championship by the narrowest of margins, they finished level on points with River, both teams with a +18 goal difference, Independiente had scored 43 goals to River's 42.
On March 24, 1974 Independiente beat Racing 4-1 with a hat-trick from Ricardo Bochini, the only one he scored in 714 games for the club.
On May 19, 1974 during the Metropolitano 1974 Independiente won 5-1 at El Cilindro. They repeated the 5-1 away win little more than one year later on March 2, 1975 in the Metropolitano 1975.
On December 22, 1983 in the last game of the Metropolitano Independiente knew that a win would see them crowned champions what's more the visiting Racing team had already been relegated from the Primera for the first time in the professional era of Argentine football. Independiente won 2-0 with goals from Ricardo Giusti and Enzo Trossero to win the championship.
On August 19, 2002 Independiente won 4-1 at River Plate Stadium on their way to winning the Apertura 2002 championship.
On September 11, 2005 Independiente won 4-0 at the Doble Visera, with a hat-trick from Nicolas Frutos.
Independiente are currently enjoying a 6 match unbeaten run, winning 3 out of the last 6.
Racing highlights
On May 31, 1931 the teams were due to meet for the first round of fixtures of the professional era of Argentine football. Racing asked to postpone the game and Independiente accepted. This meant that the first game between the two took place on September 27 at Racing Club's ground the eventual score was 7-4 to Racing, it still stands as the highest scoring game between the two.
On September 15, 1963 Racing secured a 4-0 away win, unfortunately for them Independiente recovered to win the championship virtually mirroring the events of 1961.
On November 20, 1966 Racing Club were crowned as champions, one week later they played Independiente, the game finished 3-3, but Racing were still champions.
On September 21, 1975 during the Nacional Racing won 5-4 in el Cilindro with Alberto Jorge scoring 4 goals, three from the penalty spot. Jorge is the only player to score 4 in the Avellaneda derby and this was the last time that Racing were given 3 penalties in a game.
In 1992 Racing Club and Independiente met in the Supercopa Sudamericana, Racing Club won their home leg 2-1 and on October 8, 1992 held Independiente to a 0-0 draw to win on aggregate. It is the only time the two have met in international competition.
On August 26, 2001 in the 2nd round of fixtures Racing Club's Gabriel Loeschbor scored in the last minute of the game to earn a 1-1 draw. At the end of the Apertura 2001 Racing won the championship by one point.
A history of violence
1961
The 26 November 1961 saw the most violent game between the two clubs, the referee was forced to suspend the game for 6 minutes due to fighting amongst the players. The referee eventually sent off 4 players from each team. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.
2006
On August 13, 2006 the Avellaneda derby was abandoned after violence between the fans escalated out of control. Independiente were winning 2-0 in Libertadores de America when rioting started in the away stands. The Racing fans then started to attack the police, the game was eventually abandoned by referee Horacio Elizondo.
In the aftermath the Argentine Football Association decided to take drastic action, this included banning all away fans in the top four divisions of Argentine football and banning Racing from their home ground. The three points from the game were eventually awarded to Independiente
Players for both clubs
This is a non-exhaustive list of players to have played for both clubs.
Roque Avallay
Agustin Balbuena
Gabriel Calderon
Nestor Clausen
Beto Carranza
Emmanuel Culio
Osvaldo Escudero
Carlos Fren
Esteban Fuertes
Claudio Graf
Miguel Angel Luduena
Osvaldo Miranda
Hilario Navarro
Jose Omar Pastoriza
Hugo Perez
Norberto Raffo
Marcelo Saralegui
Jose Serrizuela
External links
Clarin article about the derby
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Avellaneda derby