Estadio Sportivo Barracas

Sportivo Barracas was a multi-use stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, property of Club Sportivo Barracas. The stadium was first opened to the public on October 30, 1913, and in the 1920s and 1930s it was one of the most important stadiums in Argentina, mostly used for football matches. It held 30,000 spectators and was used as a venue for the South American Championship 1921 and South American Championship 1925.

The historic Gol Olimpico

The stadium holds an important anecdotal fact in its history, related to the match that took place between Argentina and Uruguay on October 2, 1924. In June of that year, Uruguay had attained the Olympic football crown at Paris, which at that moment was a kind of unofficial world title, since the World Cup was not be played until 1930. The rivalry between Argentina and Uruguay was already an important one, so the match generated much expectancy. After the Uruguayan title, two matches were to be played between Uruguay and Argentina. The first one was in Montevideo and finished 1–1. The second one in Buenos Aires was to be played on September 28, but there were so many people at the stadium that day that the field itself was occupied by supporters. The Uruguayans asked for the suspension of the match and a perimeter to separate people from players on the next encounter, which was finally played on October 2, 1924.

That day, before playing the match, the Uruguayans celebrated their Olympic title by circumvalating the field, something described then as la vuelta de los olímpicos (the round of the Olympic ones), lately just vuelta olímpica (Olympic round). Argentina won that match 2–1 (Onzari 1–0 at 15’, Cea 1–1 at 29’, and Tarasconi 2–1 at 53’), but it was Onzari’s goal which was to be remembered, because it was converted directly from a corner kick. The International Board had specifically modified the football rules on this point on June 14, 1924, allowing goals to be scored like that. Since then, a goal like Onzari’s is referred as a Gol olímpico or Olympic goal in almost all Latin America, and even some parts of Europe. It is the first time that an Olympic goal is called that way, and is also the debut of the expression vuelta olímpica in Latin America.^[1] Onzari was at that moment playing for Huracán.

The field was also used in 1925 for the first boxing fight in open space of Luis Ángel Firpo.

References

1. "El gol olímpico cumple 80", Clarín, 2004-10-02