A little over two decades ago, in 2001, an advertisement for a well-known soft drink brought Yupanqui onto the national and world stage. The blurb, which lasted about 45 seconds, showed the team entering the field and only a handful of fans in the stands. “Yupanqui, the team with the fewest fans in Argentine football“. Even the creatives showed that it was a team linked to a single category.” Yupanqui, head of the D “, said a graffiti on one of the bridges in the neighborhood of Villa Lugano in Buenos Aires.
The point is that Yupanqui has just won the First D Closing Tournament (the last category of Argentine football) and will play the final for promotion and title with Spanish centerwinner of the Opening. Neither played in the AFA First Division C. Two finals will be played, Saturday 8 and 15 October, and one of the two will achieve the greatest success in its history.
Centro Español, based in Villa Sarmiento, Ramos Mejía, was founded on May 24, 1934 and joined the AFA in 1959. It had a field in the 1960s but lost land in the early 1970s. He was one of the nomads of the category, playing at home on different fields. He currently does it in Ituzaingó.
Yupanqui is based in Villa Lugano, was founded on 12 October 1935 and joined the AFA in 1974. She has always played in D, when she was fourth category until 1985 and fifth category from the 1986/87 season. He almost always played at Savio 80, a club that has its stadiums in Lugano 1 and 2. On 24 May this year he inaugurated his Ciudad Evita stadium, which is located in the well-known La Matanza district.
This Monday, Yupanqui drew 2-2 with Cambaceres in Ensenada, reaching 20 points, just like his classic Atlético Lugano, which beat Central Ballester 3-2. Since the position in the table does not define the title, there is no playoff match and the related regulations, i.e. goal difference, have been applied. ‘Yupa’ closed with +8 and Lugano, +6. The Clausura tournament was very balanced with Sportivo Barracas and Cambaceres in third and fourth place with 19 points.
The most curious thing is that Spanish center, winner of the Apertura with 19 points (5 wins, 4 draws and one defeat), finished last and winless in the Clausura. In 10 games he only added four points, the product of 4 draws. I lost the other 6.
The tournament had another peculiarity: neither was the best of the year. In the accumulated ranking of 2022, Defensores de Cambaceres finished first with 35 points and Sportivo Barracas with 34. Yupanqui was third with 32 and Centro Español eighth, among eleven teams, with 23.
The first leg will be played on Saturday 8 at Ituzaingó, the field where Centro Español is at home, while on Saturday 15 the definition will be at the brand new Yupanqui field. Unless the AFA defines other scenarios.
Source: Clarin
