The Beautiful Game

Futbol, or Soccer as its called in the States, is not just a game here in Paraguay. People here take their teams and the games VERY seriously.

Paraguay has a pretty decent team in the international field. They have qualified for the last 4 World Cups ('98, '02, '06, '10). They have also won Paraguay's one and only Olympic medal, a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

One thing Paraguayans take just as serious as their love for their international team, if not more so, is their love for their club teams. Its also not like in the states where a majority of people like the teams that are based out of their home towns. The most popular league in Paraguay is called Primera Divison and it has 12 teams, 8 of which are based out of the capital Asuncion. Families and households will be fiercely divided sometimes based on which team they support. As Peace Corps Volunteers your club is usually decided for you, and usually during training. My host sister, from my family during training, told me one day as we were hanging out, "Just so you know you support Olimpia, you have no choice." So there you have it I am an Olimpista.

The two most popular teams in this division are without a doubt, Olimpia and Cerro Porteño.

The rivalry of those two teams is more intense then the rivalries of the Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees, Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Redskins vs. Dallas Cowboys all the put together.

 

This past weekend Cerro and Olimpia played in an Apertura (Opening Championship - there is also a Clausura, Closing Championship) Honestly, I'm not quite sure what that means yet, but I know it was a big deal.

All the Club games are played on a cable channel that most families don't have on their TV (which I find a little strange), because of that on game days you will see people gathered around any and every TV that has the game on.

Sorry its a little blurry - took this from a car as we were driving by, but you get the idea.

Olimpia fans - Black and White are their colors

It was an intense game to say the least. By the end of the first half there had been 2 straight red cards (one for each team) and at least 6 or 7 yellow cards, to be honest I lost count. Towards the end of the game they were playing 9 v 10 (usually 11 v 11) due to all the fouls and cards.

In the end, sadly, Cerro was the victor with a 2-1 finish. There were fireworks going off all night and caravans of people driving around town blasting the official song of Cerro.

As an Olimpia fan I can say Cerro may of won the battle but we are still winning the war. They have 29 overall championships and we have 39.

Olimpia Pride ♥