In football the Rioplatense rivalry, whether in internationals between Argentina and Uruguay or in club fixtures, is one of the oldest and most intense.
The first known meeting between Uruguayan and Argentinian footballers was actually contested by 22 Britons.
English (and Scottish) influence in the game on both sides of the River Plate persisted well into the 20th century. In the 1880s football in both states was an almost exclusively British affair. The game in question was billed as Buenos Aires vs. Montevideo. It took place on August 15th 1889 at Montevideo's La Blanqueada.
The Uruguayan team was organized by the Montevideo Cricket Club, and consisted of members of that club along with players from Montevideo Rowing Club. Buenos Aires' players came exclusively from Buenos Aires F.C.
Montevideo XI | Buenos Aires XI | ||
Donovan | G | Carmichael | |
H.C. Alexander | FB | Crowe | |
C. Jefferies | FB | Paton | |
R. Marshbank | HB | M. MacAdam | |
C.E. Jewell | HB | Moser | |
A. Davie | HB | Phillips | |
Scoones | F | Guy | |
F.B. Faran | F | Morgan | |
W. L Poole | F | Hughes | |
R. Harris | F | Alexander | |
R.Penfold | F | Tudor | |
Alexander and Guy put Buenos Aires 2-0 up by half time. Scoones pulled one back for Montevideo before Hughes completed the visitors' 3-1 win.