These articles reveal the surprise that many sports writers felt when Argentina lost to Bolivia by a score of 2-0. Yet, sports writers were already wary of the fortunes of the national team in the wake of high-profile transfers from various national…
Like many Argentine teams in the 1950s, Boca Juniors promised its fans that players would sweat for the colors of their club and show more "heart" and "grit." Winning mattered above all, both for fans and for club officials.
Of note is that press coverage in 1958 heralded the return of Labruna to the national team one week before the team left for Sweden as a desperate attempt to fix a flawed team. However, Labruna featured here, in 1957, as a player whose contributions…
This deciding match for who would go to Sweden turned violent after Argentina took the lead. Several players were expelled, and Goles lays the blame squarely on the visiting Bolivian side for resorting to violence to avoid an embarassing score line.
Sívori's comments about Russian football subscribe to the prevailing notion in Argentina that others require excessive training because they are not as naturally skilled at soccer as Argentinians.
One of the recurring criticisms in the press after the debacle of the 1958 World Cup was the fear of losing that took hold among players. But here, in 1957, we see this same theme of "derrotismo" appear. Goles acknowledges that losing is part of the…
Drawing on stereotypes, of sorts, Goles describes Soviet players as disciplined and well-trained but unimaginative and predicatble when it comes to their playing style.
The transfers of Sívori, Angelillo, and Maschio, among others, raises serious concerns for Fioravanti. He believes that club officials have become obsessed with selling young talent at the expense of the national team (and Argentine fútbol as a…
This article is a perfect example of how star players had become major celebrities in Argentina. But the difference here is that the detials of the private life of Sívori, now playing in Italy, receives as much attention as local players. In the…
Goles joins the chorus of other sports publications in lamenting the decline in the quality of fútbol in 1957, as well as the lack of new talent to replace those who have left the country.
Goles accuses AFA of ignoring the various problems afecting Argentine fútbol: the exods of talented players, the decline of quality fútbol, the fiscal mismanagement at clubs, the lack of stadium safety, etc.