Huracán, un club de barrio (ESP - ENG)

In Argentine soccer, there are several clubs whose achievements and conquests transcend the borders of the country, clubs such as Boca Juniors, River Plate, Independiente de Avellaneda, and Racing Club de Avellaneda are well-known and respected throughout the world, just longstanding rivals of the two first and also the next two.

There are others of course, Estudiantes de la Plata and Vélez Sarsfield have won the Copa Libertadores de América on several occasions, and also both the formerly called Intercontinental that was disputed between the champion of America and the champion of Europe. That cup has already been forgotten, although for many years it was the most important tournament at the club level, today it has been replaced by a mini tournament where champions from other leagues participate, generally less competitive and in general, with a few rare exceptions. , the champion of America and the champion of the Champions League (UEFA) reach the final, that is, everything has changed so that basically everything remains the same, but with more money.

Of course in Argentina there are many other first-division teams that are not as well known in the rest of the world just because their achievements and stories are more local.

The first four teams that I mentioned (Boca, River, Independiente, and Racing) form together with San Lorenzo what is called "the five greats of Argentina", curiously San Lorenzo despite being a member of that exclusive clan, is the least It has transcended borders because its many championships won are almost exclusively local, very few victories in international cups mean that its name is not recognized abroad and others of less economic power, with fewer supporters, even with fewer tournaments won, such as Estudiantes and Vélez. , they are recognized more thanks, precisely, to those international triumphs.

Just as there are great rivalries between Boca and River and Racing and Independiente, most of the country's teams have their own usual rival, such is the case of San Lorenzo whose lifelong rival has been and is Huracán.

Huracán is a club that developed in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Parque Patricios, it was founded in 1903 in the Pompeya neighborhood under the nice name of "green hope", but a few years later they moved permanently to Parque Patricios and adopted the name Huracán, in honor of the hot air balloon that the national hero of aviation, Jorge Newbery, used in 1909 to fly through three countries, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, the balloon was called that way.

On Saturday I was there and because I moved by subway because I didn't have my private car at that time, I walked past the club's stadium, I was going to help my son in the preparations for his move, I lived in a complex of buildings just behind the stadium and taking advantage of the walk, I dedicated myself to taking pictures of the whole place.

There are a large number of murals in tribute to various former footballers of the club who are legends for the huge number of supporters that the club has in the area, there are many such as one dedicated precisely to Jorge Newbery who was not a player, but if his feat inspired the name and legend of Huracán.

The stadium is very lovely and of large proportions, it is many years old and could use some updating, mainly in the facilities for the fans, but in this country where the economy is going backward instead of going forwards, it is tough to have the necessary funds to face projects of such magnitude.

A great fan of Huracán was Ringo Bonavena, a likable and charismatic heavyweight boxer who is remembered for having given Mohamed Ali a great fight when he was in his prime, had him on the verge of being knocked out, but his impetus and desire to achieve a historic victory they played a trick on him and in the last round of 15, totally exhausted, he was knocked out.
Bonavena is also remembered in the neighborhood and there is a photograph that I publish of a cultural and sports house that bears his name and the image drawn of him at the entrance, it is only two blocks from the stadium.

One of the posters mentions "the burning", the club is called by its own fans the burning and that alludes to the fact that in the early years of the 19th century, around 1810-1820, on the property where there is now a beautiful complex of buildings, schools, parks, and a shopping center, right in front of the place where the stadium was built a long time later, it was a place where the garbage produced by the inhabitants of the city was burned. Curiosities that cause the supporters themselves to add nicknames and forms of identification to their clubs. This made me remember that the fans of my favorite team, Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, call the club "los triperos". Maybe one day I'll tell that story.

I know that in England it is very likely that many Tottenham Hotspur fans do remember the Atlético Huracán club, they bought a pair of midfielders whose names are Villa and Ardiles, great players who gave Tottenham great satisfaction, both were part of a great team that Huracán had in the 1970s and that they were part of the national team that won the 1978 World Cup. In 1981 Villa and Ardiles won the 100th edition of the FA Cup together with their Tottenham teammates.