The Torneo Internacional Nocturno Rioplatense () was a friendly non-confederative association football club competition contested by teams from Argentina and Uruguay.Argentina – List of friendly Tournaments by Mariano Buren on the RSSSSF
The Internacional Nocturno was part of several tournaments contested by Argentine and Uruguayan clubs only (such as Tie Cup, Copa de Honor Cousenier, Copa Aldao, and Copa Escobar-Gerona, among others). It was held on four occasions during the summer recess of official competitions in Argentina and Uruguay between 1936 and 1944.Torneo Internacional Nocturno Rioplatense by Pablo Ciullini on the RSSSF
Torneo Internacional Nocturno was a predecessor of Argentine Torneos de Verano, first held in 1968 and always played during January and February in Argentina,Torneo de verano: Alberto J. Armando vio el negocio en 1968 by José Luis Ponsico on Nacional y Popular web (archived, 2 Feb 2017) by Jose luis Ponsico with Uruguayan (and also clubs from other countries) being invited to them.Torneos de Verano (Argentina) 1968-2004 on the RSSSF by Christian Ale
Format Participating teams played each other in a single round-robin system. The team with most points at the end of the tournament was crowned champion. That system changed in 1944 when participants were divided into two groups of five teams each, where the first of each zone qualified to play a final that decided a champion.
Participating teams Clubs that contested the International Nocturno over the years were Independiente, Racing, San Lorenzo, Newell's Old Boys, Peñarol, Nacional (all editions), Rosario Central (1936, 1938, 1944), Boca Juniors (1936, 1938, 1943), River Plate (1936, 1938, 1944), Estudiantes (LP) (1938, 1944), and Huracán (1943, 1944)
Notable players Although being a friendly competition, participating clubs attended the Torneo Internacional Nocturno with their senior squads so some of most notable footballers of Argentina and Uruguay of those times played in the tournament.
Some of those players were Francisco Varallo, Mario Boyé, Ernesto Lazzatti (Boca Juniors); Raimundo Orsi, Arsenio Erico, Vicente de la Mata, Antonio Sastre (Independiente), Bernabé Ferreyra, Carlos Peucelle, José Manuel Moreno, Angel Labruna (River Plate), Roque Máspoli, Severino Varela (Peñarol), Atilio García, Roberto Porta (Nacional), Rinaldo Martino (San Loernzo), René Pontoni (Newell's), Waldino Aguirre (Rosario Central), Manuel Pelegrina, Ricardo Infante (Estudiantes LP), and Emilio Baldonedo (Huracán).Torneo Internacional Nocturno Rioplatense - match details on the RSSSF
Notable matches The match where Nacional beat Estudiantes de La Plata 2–1 played on 19 February 1938 in La Plata remains one of the most violent matches in the history of South American football, and a clear example of the strong Rioplatense rivalry. Media that covered the match stated: "a victory from Nacional had to be avoided in any way, and we feared for the Uruguayan supporters' safety" (Uruguayan newspaper El Diario). On the other hand, Argentine magazine El Gráfico wrote: "Saturday at La Plata there were two fights, 50% to the ball, 50% to the rival players. Nobody was safe, even the referee was on the verge of being beaten".El Campeonato Nocturno Rioplatense, un torneo que tuvo su rica historia by Martín Perez - Feb 19, 2020 on Salimo.uy
It was revealed that there were armed persons at the stadium, and some of those people would have shown their guns near the lockers during the halftime. After being noticed of that, Nacional captain Ricardo Faccio encouraged his teammates to win the match "for us and for our families". Atilio García scored two goals (the second one with his shirt covered on his own blood after he had been injured) for the final win over Estudiantes. Because of that, the match (attended by 20,000) remained on records as "the match of the blooded shirts".Contra Estudiantes: Hazaña, desazón y trampa on El Observador by Juan J. Díaz – 23 May 2018
Beyond the violence, the Huracán 8–1 Peñarol (with a hat-trick by Norberto "Tucho" Méndez) on February 25, 1943,Temporada 1943 on Globopedia was the all-time largest win of the tournament.
Editions
1936 Pos. Club Pts Pl W D L Gf Gc Dif1º Independiente1385302410142º San Lorenzo128521221753º Rosario Central108422201734º River Plate98332191905º Newell's Old Boys88242121206º Nacional68143710-47º Peñarol682241821-38º Boca Juniors581341420-69º Racing381161728-11
1938
Pos. Club Pts Pl W D L Gf Gc Dif1º Nacional14970216882º San Lorenzo129603282173º Boca Juniors119513251694º Newell's Old Boys109423241955º Independiente99414221756º Racing99414211657º Rosario Central893241520-58º Peñarol793152331-89º River Plate793151321-810º Estudiantes (LP)391171533-18
Top scorers Player Club Goals Atilio García Nacional Arsenio Erico Independiente Luis Rongo River Plate
1943
Pos. Club Pts Pl W D L Gf Gc Dif1º Newell's Old Boys117511191362º Boca Juniors9741215693º Independiente87403222024º Nacional773131718-15º Huracán67304201826º Peñarol672231521-67º Racing572141520-58º San Lorenzo472051422-8
1944 Group A Pos. Club Pts Pl W D L Gf Gc Dif1º River Plate 542111275 First position playoff1º Nacional 54211642 First position playoff3º Huracán44121101004º San Lorenzo44202813-55º Peñarol2402235-2
Group B Pos. Club Pts M W D L Gf Gc Dif1º Rosario Central54211541 Qualified to the final2º Estudiantes (LP)442029903º Newell's Old Boys441218804º Independiente4420259-45º Racing Club34112673
Group A first place playoff
Team 1 Team 2 Res. Venue City River Plate Nacional San Lorenzo Stadium Buenos Aires
Final Team 1 Team 2 Res. Venue City River Plate Rosario Central San Lorenzo Stadium Buenos Aires
List of champions YearChampion Runner-upScore 1936 Independiente San Lorenzo 1938 Nacional "Torneo Rioplatense Nocturno 1938" on Pueblo Tricolor (blogsite) San Lorenzo 1943 Newell's Old Boys "Newell's campeón del Torneo Internacional Nocturno 1943" by Leonardo Volpe on Historia del Fútbol Rosarino, 28 Feb 2011 Boca Juniors 1944 River Plate Rosario Central
See also Torneos de Verano (Argentina)
Notes
References