1959 South American Championship (Argentina)

1959 South American Championship (Argentina)
The South American Championship 1959 was a football tournament held in Argentina, and won by Argentina with Brazil as runner-up. Colombia and Ecuador withdrew from the tournament. Pelé from Brazil was named best player of the tournament and was the top scorer with 8 goals.
Venues
Squads
Final round
Result
Goalscorers
With eight goals, Pelé of Brazil is the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 86 goals were scored by 36 different players, with only one of them credited as own goal.
8 goals
Pelé
6 goals
José Aveiro
5 goals
Paulo Valentim
Miguel Angel Loayza
4 goals
Rubén Héctor Sosa
3 goals
Juan José Pizzuti
Oreste Corbatta
Raúl Belén
Didi
Cayetano Ré
Héctor Demarco
José Sasía
Vladas Douksas
2 goals
Pedro Eugenio Callá
Pedro Waldemar Manfredini
Máximo Alcócer
Juan Soto Mura
Leonel Sánchez
Mario Soto
Silvio Parodi
Juan Joya
Juan Seminario
Carlos Borges
Guillermo Escalada
1 goal
Vladislao Cap
Ausberto García
Ricardo Alcón
Chinesinho
Luis Hernán Álvarez
Mario Moreno
Tovar
Ildefonso Sanabria
Óscar Gómez Sánchez
Domingo Pérez
Víctor Guaglianone
Own goal
Víctor Benítez (playing against Argentina)
Controversy
Originally, the 1959 Copa America was scheduled to be hosted by Ecuador. However, due to financial difficulties and infrastructure challenges, Ecuador withdrew as the host nation just a few months before the tournament was set to begin. This sudden withdrawal left CONMEBOL in a difficult situation to find a replacement host at such short notice.
In response to Ecuador's withdrawal, Argentina volunteered to step in as the new host for the tournament. The Argentine Football Association (AFA) had the necessary resources and infrastructure to organize the event. Consequently, Argentina was granted the hosting rights, and the tournament was scheduled to take place in Buenos Aires.
However, a disagreement arose among some South American nations regarding the legitimacy of Argentina being granted the hosting rights without a proper bidding process. A group of countries, including Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile, refused to participate in the tournament hosted by Argentina and organized their own competition called the "Copa del Atlántico", in response.
Meanwhile, Argentina went ahead with its plans and organized the Copa America as scheduled, inviting other CONMEBOL member nations to participate. The tournament took place from March 7 to April 4, 1959, and was won by Argentina.
After the initial Copa America tournament held in Argentina from March to April 1959, there was indeed a second Copa America held in Ecuador later that year. The second tournament took place in Guayaquil and Quito, Ecuador, from December 5 to 25, 1959.
The decision to hold a second Copa America in Ecuador was made to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Eloy Alfaro, a prominent Ecuadorian political figure. The tournament was officially named the "Copa del Centenario de la Batalla de Quito" (Centenary Cup of the Battle of Quito) to honor this occasion. Uruguay emerged as champions, securing their 10th title in the tournament's history.
Team of the Tournament
References
External links
South American Championship 1959 at RSSSF
1959, Argentina
Championship (Argentina), 1959
1959
Football in Buenos Aires
1959 in Argentine football
March 1959 sports events in South America
April 1959 sports events in South America
Sports competitions in Buenos Aires
1950s in Buenos Aires