The day Mercedes, the oldest soccer club in America, got its first D score

There are older than mercedes club and it is not Gymnastics and Fencing La Plata not either Quilmes Athletic Club. This is the grocery store of Cacho Di Catarina, founded in 1830 on the banks of the Luján River and one block from the Municipal Park where the stadium of League of Mercedina. There is no club with current football training in Argentina or on the continent older than that black and white. Its history began in 1875 and, no matter how detailed the accounts, it is the dean of america. On Saturday, 147 years and two days after its founding, won his first point in First Dthe last step of the tournaments organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA) for direct affiliate clubs, acquired the status two months ago.

Teacher and master of his league, Mercedes won 19 titles and as a result played the tournament several times Federal C and reaches as well Argentina B. That’s the path for those who play AFA tournaments based on their affiliation with local leagues, and they -who have been nucleated in the Federal Council- are launching teams that can land in the Second Division -now First National– Argentine soccer.

Direct affiliated, any D team with three consecutive promotions can end up third in the elite. For the dream promotion, Mercedes had to wait: she entered the competition on the condition that, regardless of her position at the end of the race, will not change the category.

After losing to Muñiz’s debut as a guest 4-1, it’s time to play against his men in the new category. To premiere at home its status as an AFA-affiliated club, something that has been banned for 42 years, until 2017 when royal pillar, an unknown club founded for the occasion, succeeded. In April, Mercedes followed. Both, under the management of Claudio Tapia in front of the parent company of the ball.

The weather is different. It doesn’t look like a against the Promotion. Lots of people and there is a fence separating the entrances to the stalls and the dressing room sector. Famous has no restrictions, the venue is the park where two hours before there were barbecues and picnics on blankets on the lawn.

At the corner the flags are sold for 800 pesos for the big and 300 for the small. Those who come by car, park and there is no street owner asking for money in return. In a shady corner there was a group — rude to speak of the barra brava- who were waving their flags and drums and waiting to get into the same line as the others.

“There used to be two groups. The chetos and the barderos. Now they are all together ”, explained a policeman who, stationed inside the playing field, looked more at the stands than at the game. “I just lived here, I stopped chetos”, he acknowledges and whispers the songs.

Being close to Mercedes is everything. “I used to play here, but I was injured and I had to leave”, explained both the police and many: “The goalkeeper is my friend”. There were forty policemen assigned to the party. During the regional tournament, operatives barely added between 10 and 15.

The headboard behind the arch overlooks the park. At the elbow there are people and in the adjacent sector no one enters. There is still little room left in the stalls. There are up to a handful of championships the highest authority of the First Division: Mariano Elizondowho led the category when the elite were super league.

He is a neighbor of Mercedes, but also should not miss the milestone that represents his history at the club. “Not only did I make inferiors, but I also played in First of Mercedes, of course”, he reveals to Clarion the best kept secret.

They said, the Minister of the Interior is coming, Peter’s Wado. “She just lives nearby. Every day a helicopter comes to look for him and every day it brings him back, ”said one. There is a flag written on it. “Thank you Wado,” he said without further clarification. The AFA received more than 30 applications for affiliation, but Mercedes was left in the only place.

Apparently, the gratitude is because De Pedro was a huge influence on the success. “No, I don’t think he’s coming, he doesn’t like football,” said another. “Last week we were preparing the boys so that they wouldn’t shrink, which didn’t matter if a minister was watching the game with the spectators.

Is Wado from Pedro? question to a member of the Deportivo Paraguayo coaching staff, free on the first date and a guest at Mercedes.

The battle

In the first half, the Mercedino team dominated. It’s more solid than the rival, a category champion club and that, along with the current one, He has been in D for 52 seasons.

In the second stage, the visit lost its balance. Mercedes lost 1-0 to her men who were unmoved, continuing to breathe as if it were worthless.

Everything was headed for defeat, but something happened that changed progress. A collision of heads left two players on the floor. Nahuel Menseguez He rejected the ball with his head turned and hit the back of his temple’s neck Elijah Mabuhay, the former scored a goal. From the ground up, the author of the sole purpose answered the inconsistencies.

The ambulance entered and transferred him to Blas Dubarri Hospital. Meanwhile, the game has been suspended. Both teams trained on the field while waiting for the doctor and the medical vehicle to resume the fight.

The restart benefited Mercedes: The Paraguayo had no more changes due to the combination of windows and ended with 10, as Lieve was left under observation. After the stop, the locals resumed the attitude of the first half.

That was the draw. This is a punishment. The energy that the public has before it is released, will be felt. It was a kind of silence and quiet whisper. the archer Ezekiel Portillo tells Ignatius Rodriguez -who looks like a third year high school boy- who will miss it. That he was good at kicking, that he didn’t waste the shot. He says it in a different way, more concretely, so that he can understand it. “Don’t shit yourself, eh”, was the last he heard before starting his career.

The shot touched the net and the stadium erupted. With a shout of purpose, Mercedes technical director Walter Díaz, who turned away from the execution and closed his eyes, realized he had entered. “Where to kick this kid? I said,” he admits thinking before the auction.

This is the first goal in First D with a public celebration. That is, a few minutes after the referee marked the middle of the field, the first point was added to a tournament directly organized by the AFA, without any intermediaries. It’s something like a Big Bang.

Another final whistle for Paraguayo. A bitter one, because three points of a studied game are escaped. For Mercedes, on the other hand, the beginning of a sort of after.

First of all, the road to the changing rooms is long. Like fans, football players have to leave the stadium: the showers are in the clubhouse 200 meters from the pitch. They leave a file and by the way, photos. Selfies with friends, family, fans. It’s not like a post game, it’s more like a town fair. Good, sure.

Mercedes. special messengers.