José Amalfitani Stadium

Estadio José Amalfitani
El Fortín
Full name Estadio José Amalfitani
Location 9200 Juan B. Justo Avenue
Buenos Aires, Argentina[1]
Coordinates 34°38′7.35″S 58°31′14.56″W / 34.6353750°S 58.5207111°W / -34.6353750; -58.5207111
Owner Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield
Capacity 49,540[1]
Field size 105 x 70 m
Surface Grass
Scoreboard Yes
Construction
Built 1947-51
Opened April 22, 1951
Expanded 1978
Tenants

Vélez Sársfield 1943–

Jaguares 2016-

The Estadio José Amalfitani is a stadium located in the Liniers neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, near Liniers railway station.[1] The venue is the home of the Argentine Primera División club Vélez Sársfield and is also known as El Fortín de Liniers or Vélez Sarsfield.[2]

The original, temporary stadium was built between 1941 and 1943 in wood, and the current facility was built in cement between 1947 and 1951.[1] It was renovated and enlarged 26 years later in preparation for the 1978 FIFA World Cup. The stadium has a capacity of 49,540 spectators, although it does not provide seating for all of them like most Argentine stadia.

The José Amalfitani Stadium is also the national stadium for the Argentina national rugby union team (Los Pumas). Although the team plays test matches throughout the country, their highest-profile tests are usually held here. The newly formed Argentine Super Rugby team, Jaguares, are playing its home games at the stadium.

Early History

Stands and fans in 2007.

Before buying the terrain to build the stadium, Vélez Sársfield played their home matches on rented grounds in the neighboring Villa Luro section. The original grounds earned the nickname El Fortín in 1932, for the team's strength playing at home.

After suffering relegation from the Argentine Primera División in 1940, Vélez was sacked from the Villa Luro ground they were renting. Three years later, in 1941, the club obtained the terrain of the current stadium, property of the Buenos Aires Western Railway. The ground was a swamp of the Maldonado Stream, where construction was difficult. However, the club's president José Amalfitani led the construction of the first stadium at the site, which was inaugurated on April 11, 1943. The new stadium used the same wood stands from the old Villa Luro stadium, and was inaugurated in a 2–2 draw with River Plate. Vélez striker Juan José Ferraro scored the first goal in the stadium's history (the others were scored by Ángel Fernández for Vélez and Adolfo Pedernera twice for River). The current stadium was inaugurated on April 22, 1951.

The stadium was renamed in honor of José Amalfitani on December 7, 1968. The following year, a modern lighting system by Siemens was installed, and the first of the upper stand sections was completed.

1978 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was refurbished for the 1978 FIFA World Cup with the completion of press boxes and another section of upper stands, and hosted three games in the group stages.[3]

Date Round Group Team 1 Vs. Team 2
June 3 13 Austria2–1 Spain
June 7 13 Austria1–0 Sweden
June 11 13 Spain1–0 Sweden

International Friendly Matches

Date Local Result Visit
22 April 1974  Argentina 2-1  Romania
5 May 1982  Argentina 2-1  Bulgaria
23 June 1983  Argentina 1-0  Chile
25 September 1984  Argentina 1-1  Mexico
16 December 1987  Argentina 1-0  Germany
13 March 1991  Argentina 0-0  Mexico
27 March 1991  Argentina 3-3  Brazil
21 December 1994  Argentina 1-0  Romania
10 March 1998  Argentina 2-0  Bulgaria

Concerts

The Stadium has hosted many international concerts since its opening.It hosts events of up to 50,000 spectators.

Artist Date Tour
Queen February 28,March 1 and 8,1981 The Game Tour
Yes February 1, 2 and 8,1984 9012Live Tour
Tears for Fears January 23, 1990 Seeds of Love
Bon Jovi February 1, 1990 New Jersey Syndicate Tour
Erasure March 31, 1990 Wild! Tour
Roxette May 2 and 3, 1992 Join The Joyride! World Tour
Nirvana October 30, 1992 Nevermind Tour
Joe Cocker November 7, 1992
Duran Duran April 30, 1993 1993-1994 The Dilate Your Mind Tour
Metallica May 7 and 8, 1993 Nowhere Else to Roam
Carlos Santana May 29, 1993 1993 South American & Central American Tour
Peter Gabriel October 2, 1993 Secret World Tour
Bon Jovi November 12, 13 and 14, 1993 I'll Sleep When I'm Dead Tour
Luis MiguelNovember 19, 1993Aries Tour
Aerosmith January 17, 1994 Get a Grip Tour
INXS March 4, 1994 Dirty Honeymoon Tour
Sting March 25, 1994 Ten Summoner's Tales Tour
Depeche ModeApril 8, 1994Exotic Tour/Summer Tour '94
Whitney Houston April 16 and 17, 1994 The Bodyguard World Tour
RamonesMay 14, 1994 20th Anniversary Tour
Luis MiguelNovember 11& 12, 1994Segundo Romance Tour
TestamentJune 16, 1995 Low
Marilyn Manson September 11, 1997 Dead to the World Tour
Luis MiguelNovember 14, 15 & 16, 1997Romances Tour
Iron Maiden December 12, 1998 Virtual XI World Tour
Luis MiguelNovember 5, 6 & 7, 1999Amarte Es Un Placer Tour
Queens of the Stone Age January 13, 2001 Rated R
Iron Maiden January 13, 2001 Brave New World Tour
Red Hot Chili Peppers January 24, 2001 Red Hot Chili Peppers 2001 Tour
Roger Waters March 7, 2002 In the Flesh Tour
Luis MiguelNovember 24 and 25, 2002Mis Romances Tour
Luis MiguelDecember 5, 6 & 7, 200333 Tour
Iron Maiden January 11, 2004 Dance of Death World Tour
Luis MiguelNovember 10, 11 & 12, 2005México En La Piel Tour
Shakira November 24 and 25, 2006 Oral Fixation Tour
The Killers November 2, 2007 Sam's Town Tour
Bob Dylan March 15, 2008 Never Ending Tour 2008
Rod Stewart April 11, 2008 Rocks His Greatest Hits Tour
Queen + Paul Rodgers November 21, 2008 Rock the Cosmos Tour
Luis MiguelNovember 27, 28, 29 & 30, 2008Cómplices Tour
Peter Gabriel March 22, 2009 Small Place
Guns & Roses March 22, 2010 Chinese Democracy Tour
Linkin Park October 7, 2010 A Thousand Suns Tour
Luis MiguelNovember 25, 26, 27 & 28, 2010Luis Miguel Tour
Iron Maiden April 8, 2011 The Final Frontier World Tour
Rod Stewart October 22, 2011 Heart & Soul Tour
Elton John March 2, 2013 40th Anniversary of the Rocket Man
Nickelback September 26, 2013 Here and Now Tour
Bon Jovi September 26, 2013 Because We Can: The Tour
Stevie Wonder December 12, 2013
One Direction May 3 and 4, 2014 Where We Are Tour (One Direction)
No Te Va Gustar April 11, 2015
KISS April 16, 2015 The KISS 40th Anniversary World Tour
Chayanne April 25, 2015 En Todo Estaré Tour

Rugby

The Estadio José Amalfitani is the home ground for the Jaguares, the Argentine Super Rugby franchise. The ground regularly hosts tests of the Argentina national rugby union team (Los Pumas).

When South Africa visited Argentina in November 2005 at Vélez Sársfield, they faced strong Pumas side. The Pumas took a 20–16 lead into the half-time break, before fading in the second half and losing 34–23.

In the 2006 mid-year tests, the second test against Wales, at Vélez Sársfield, saw the Pumas win 45–27, Argentina's largest win ever over Wales. Los Pumas next hosted the world's top team, the All Blacks at Vélez Sársfield. The All Blacks survived a Pumas assault in the final minutes to hang on to win 25–19 and to deny Argentina a huge upset.

Los Pumas began their final preparation for the 2007 Rugby World Cup with a summer two-test series against visiting Ireland, including a 16–0 win at Vélez Sársfield.[4]

Main Test Mach

31 May 1986
Argentina  15 - 13  France
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires

7 June 1986
Argentina  9 - 22  France
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires

18 June 1988
Argentina  15 - 18  France
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Owen Doyle Republic of Ireland)

25 June 1988
Argentina  18 - 6  France
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Owen Doyle Republic of Ireland)

31 October 1987
Argentina  19 - 19  Australia
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires

7 November 1987
Argentina  27 - 19  Australia
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires

24 June 1989
Argentina  21 - 16  Italy
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires

28 July 1990
Argentina  15 - 13  England
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Keith Lawrence New Zealand)

4 August 1990
Argentina  12 - 25  England
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Keith Lawrence New Zealand)

6 July 1991
Argentina  14 - 28  New Zealand
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Brian Stirling Republic of Ireland)

13 July 1991
Argentina  6 - 36  New Zealand
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Brian Stirling Republic of Ireland)

4 July 1992
Argentina  12 - 27  France
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires

11 July 1992
Argentina  9 - 33  France
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires

13 June 1998
Argentina  18 - 35  France
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires

20 June 1998
Argentina  12 - 37  France
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires

15 June 2002
Argentina  28 - 27  France
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Peter Marshall Australia)

22 June 2002
Argentina  18 - 26  England
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Alain Rolland Republic of Ireland)

14 June 2003
Argentina  10 - 6  France
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Steve Lander England)

20 June 2003
Argentina  33 - 32  France
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Andrew Ciole Australia)

4 December 2004
Argentina  7 - 39  South Africa
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Chris White England)

5 November 2005
Argentina  23 - 34  South Africa
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Alan Spreadbury England)

17 June 2006
Argentina  45 - 27  Wales
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Dave Pearson England)

24 June 2006
Argentina  19 - 25  New Zealand
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Nigel Whitehouse Wales)

2 June 2007
Argentina  16 - 0  Ireland
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Kelvin Deaker New Zealand)

14 June 2008
Argentina  14 - 26  Scotland
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Alain Rolland Republic of Ireland)

26 June 2010
Argentina  41 - 13  France
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Stuart Dickinson Australia)

15 June 2013
Argentina  26 - 51  England
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Nigel Owens Wales)

15 August 2015
Argentina  12 - 26  South Africa
Vélez Sársfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: (Glen Jackson New Zealand)

Gallery

See also

Media related to Estadio José Amalfitani at Wikimedia Commons

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Estadio José Amalfitani" (in Spanish). Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  2. "ESTADIO JOSÉ AMALFITANI". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  3. "Estadio José Amalfitani". The Stadium Guide.
  4. "Argentina 16–0 Ireland". BBC. 2 June 2007. Archived from the original on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2007.
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