ABSTRACT
This chapter is about the relationship between politics and soccer in Argentina. Even though a hundred years have passed since some of Argentina's first football clubs were founded by left-wingers, the country's soccer-socialists are still organizing. In Argentina, football is divided along political lines: if people are a Boca Juniors fan, they are likely to be a working-class Peronist; if people follow River Plate, they tend to be a middle-class radical, Argentina's other main political grouping. The chapter provides information on the personal politics of specific players, the historical connections between particular teams and specific political orientations, and the ways that the government uses sports for political purposes. In Argentina, Rosario is renowned for developing two great traditions: attacking football and radical politics. The chapter suggests that traditional divisions among workers can be overcome through sports and through the creation of new forms of association that sports can foster.
