1906 Alumni v South Africa football match

1906 Alumni v South Africa football match Paillette aterrizando sportiva.jpg 250 British football clubs tours to South America The venue of the match, pictured in 1910 Alumni 1 South Africa 0 24 June 1906 Sociedad Sportiva Buenos Aires Guillermo Jordán 12,000 The 1906 Alumni v South Africa was a friendly football match played between Argentine club Alumni and the South Africa national team (then affiliated with English "The Football Association"). The match was part of the South Africa tour to South America in 1906.Hernández, S. (2002). British Clubs in Argentina and Uruguay (1904-1929). Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://www.rsssf.org/tablesb/britclubs-rioplata.html The match, won by Alumni 1–0 with a goal by Alfredo Brown, is notable for having been the first victory of an Argentine football team over a British-related side.García Rozada, N. (2006, June 24) La primera hazaña. La Nación. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://web.archive.org/web/20170412144642/http://www.lanacion.com.ar/817467-la-primera-hazanaA cien años de un triunfazo on Clarín, 2006 Alumni was also the only South American team that could defeat the British side, which won 11 out of 12 matches played. Venue left vertical 200 Alumni v sudafrica 1906.jpg Alumni sudafrica publico tribuna.jpg A large crowd of 12,000 people attended the match The match was held in the Sociedad Sportiva Argentina venue, sited in the Palermo neighborhood, next to Hipódromo Argentino. Apart from football, the venue held a large variety of sport events in several disciplines, such as athletics, auto racing, aviation, aerostatics, aeronautics, boxing, bicycle racing, motorcycle racing, polo, rugby union, trot, sulky races, show jumping, among others."La Sportiva" on Viejos Estadios website Sociedad Sportiva had also hosted football matches in 1905 when another English team, Nottingham Forest, toured Argentina to play a series of friendly matches. On August 15, 1905, the Argentina and Uruguay national teams played the first edition of Copa Lipton at SSA. In 1924 the Ministry of War led by Agustín P. Justo expropriated the lands and transferred them to the National Army.La Sociedad Sportiva Argentina y su terreno, historia de una disputa by Rodrigo Daskal on Historia Política On those lands, it would be built Campo Argentino de Polo, the main polo stadium of Argentina. Background British football clubs tours to South America 400 Alumni team v southafrica 1906.jpg Alumni team for the match South_african_fa_1906.jpg South Africa British teams were considered the best in the world by then, and some of them served as inspiration to establish football clubs in Argentina and Uruguay, helped by the immigration of British citizens that had arrived to work for British companies (mostly in railway construction). Belgrano A.C., Rosario A.C., Alumni, and Quilmes (in Argentina) were some examples of clubs established by British immigrants to South America.Iwanzcuk (1992), p. October 2026Plaza Jewell, el club donde nació el deporte rosarino, cumple hoy 145 años, La Capital, 27 Mar 2012 Southampton and Nottingham Forest had previously made trips to the River Plate in 1904 and 1905 respectably. The British sides were able to beat the amateur Argentines without ease, including Alumni, in twelve consecutive matches. In some cases, the influence of British clubs on Argentine football extended to the colours adopted by some clubs. Arístides Langone, president of Club Atlético Independiente, was so impressed by the Nottingham Forest squad that beat local Alumni by 6–0 that he suggested to change the jersey colours from white and blue to red. The request was approved and Independiente adopted the colour that would later become an identity mark for the club, being known as El Rojo (The Red).Independiente y Nottingham Forest unidos para siempre https://web.archive.org/web/20180622140224/https://www.ole.com.ar/independiente/Independiente-Nottingham-Forest-unidos-siempre_0_324567670.html 2018-06-22 on Olé, 27 Aug 2010Wilson (2016), p. 10 An amateur South African national team, conformed by seven Southafricans and eight British, men organized a tour of the Argentine, Uruguayan, and Brazillian nations in 1906; they disputed their first game on 22 June in the city of Rosario, Argentina versus a side of University students, crushing them 014.Ibid.Ciullini, P. (2016). South American Trip of South African Football Association 1906. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/safa-satrip06.html Next up was Alumni, the most succesful Argentine team at the time, who crowned theirselves as champions out of five of the last six league championshipsGorgazzi, O. J. (1995). Argentina - List of champions and Runners-Up. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://www.rsssf.org/tablesa/argchamp.html and was victorious in their first three matches of the 1906 season.Gorgazzi, O. J. (2004). Argentina 1906. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://www.rsssf.org/tablesa/arg1906.html Match thumb|Part of the attack that led to the only goal of the match, scored by Alumni. Watched by a crowd of over a 10,000, referee Guillermo A. Jordán kicked off a match that gave Alumni an early issue; forward Ernesto Brown had to exit the match in the fifteenth minute due to a great leg ache that he had been suffering for more than a week. The Southafrican side accepted for Brown to be replaced by his brother, Juan, and the match continued with both teams with eleven players. All of the first half was dominated from the tourist team as the Argentines were forced to play a defensive style of football. However, in the second half, Alumni, known for their use of the 235 tactic,Wilson (2008), p. 12 started to attack more; and in the 61st minute, Guillermo Weiss launched an attack where he dribbled past various opponents and would manage to pass it to Alfredo Brown, who scored after shooting at the W.G. Brown's left post. Alumni was able to hold on to this result, giving Argentina their first win against a non-Southamerican team. A pitch invasion occured followed after the ending of the match, where spectators celebrated and carried the victorius players off the field.Wilson (2016), p. 11 Match details 24 June 1906 Friendly match Alumni ARG 1–0 Report SAF 1902 A. Brown 61 Sociedad Sportiva Buenos Aires 12,000 ARG Guillermo Jordán _red_stripes _redstripes2 _red_stripes _2_white_stripes ffffff ffffff ffffff 000000 000000 Alumni _collar_buttons _2_white_stripes ffffff ffffff ffffff 000000 000000 South Africa GK José Buruca LaforiaDF Carlos Carr BrownDF Jorge BrownMF Andrés MackMF Carlos BuchananMF Patricio BrowneFW Guillermo WeissFW Alfredo BrownFW Ernesto Brown 10px 15FW Carlos LettFW Eliseo BrownSubstitutes:DF Juan D. Brown 15 GK W.G. Brown DF H. HeeleyDF J. RobisonMF W. SchmidtMF J. B. BinckesMF T. ChalmersFW J. Mc IntyreFW R. TylerFW R. P. ThorneFW W. Mason FW Gerald Hartigan Aftermath 350 Alumni caricatura jimenez.jpg Cartoon depicting the Alumni team with the title "Those who defeated South Africa" published in Caras y Caretas magazine Medalla alumni vs sudafrica a jorge brown.png Medal awarded to Alumni players after the match For our national football, the Alumni vs Sudaprica match constitutes a triumph and its memory will remain for a long time in the memory of all, serving as an example and stimulus for the future La Nación, 25 Jun 1906 The alumni's triumph in foot ball marks the beginning of a new era for the Republic. Caras y Caretas no. 404 The victory over South Africa, considered the first significative win of an Argentine team, was largely celebrated by fans and media in Argentina and helped local football to increase interest for a sport which was still under development.El Match de Foot Ball: Triunfo de Alumni. (1906, June 30). Caras Y Caretas. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/hd/es/viewer?id=7e94baf1-826f-44c3-ade3-514f9b53d884 At the moment of the match, Alumni was the most successful team in Argentina, with a total of 8 titles won by then. The club had consolidated as a natural successor to Lomas A.C. (the most winning team in the XIX century with 5 championships won within 6 seasonsA 130 años del primer partido oficial del fútbol argentino: Lomas Athletic, el legendario campeón del siglo 19 on TN.com.ar and considered the first big of Argentine football),Lomas marcó el rumbo on Clarín, 14 Jul 2001El club (historia) on lomasac.com.ar and would keep their status until the team retired from competitions in 1911.Alumni A.C., El Eterno Campeón by Jorge Gallego at the CIHF"Alumni: en el nombre del fútbol" on Clarín, 21 April 2003EL ALUMNI ATHLETIC CLUB at the BAEHS (archived)La historia de Belgrano y Alumni, los finalistas del torneo de rugby by Hernando De Cillia and Jorge Ciccodicola on Página/12, 26 Oct 2024Alumni, Cuna de Campeones y Escuela de Hidalguía by Ernesto Escobar Bavio – Editorial Difusión, Buenos Aires (Published 1953) The Alumni's win gained more relevance for the fact that South Africa played a total of 12 matches in South America, winning 11 with 60 goals scored and only 7 conceded.Gira Sudamericana de Sudáfrica 1906 https://web.archive.org/web/20211121020318/http://www.futbolnostalgia.com/girasdf.htm 21 November 2021 on Fútbol Nostalgia website being Alumni the only team that could beat them. Nevertheless, the South Africans would take revenge on 22 July, defeating Alumni 2–0. References Bibliography Wilson, J. (2016). Angels with Dirty Faces: How Argentinian Soccer Defined a Nation and Changed the Game Forever. Unites States: PublicAffairs. Wilson, J. (2008). Inverting the Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics. United Kingdom: Orion. Iwanczuk, J. (1992). Historia del Fútbol Amateur en la Argentina. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Centro para la Investigación de la Historia del Fútbol. Category:1906 in Argentine football Category:Alumni Athletic Club matches Category:South Africa national soccer team matches Category:Football competitions in Buenos Aires