1959 South American Championship (Ecuador)

The 1959 South American Championship held in Ecuador was an extra South American Championship for the year. The tournament was contested between five teams; Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Peru did not participate, whilst Brazil attended with a team from Pernambuco. Uruguay won their 10th South American title.

1959 South American Championship
Tournament details
Host countryEcuador
Dates5–25 December
Teams5 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions Uruguay (10th title)
Runners-up Argentina
Third place Brazil
Fourth place Ecuador
Tournament statistics
Matches played10
Goals scored40 (4 per match)
Top scorer(s)Argentina José Sanfilippo
(6 goals)
1963

Format

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The format was the same as other tournaments; it was a round-robin tournament, awarding two points for a win, one for a draw, and nothing for a defeat. The team with the most points at the end was declared the tournament winner.

Venues

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Guayaquil
Estadio Modelo
Capacity: 42,000
 

Squads

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Standings

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Uruguay 4 3 1 0 13 1 +12 7
  Argentina 4 2 1 1 9 9 0 5
  Brazil 4 2 0 2 7 10 −3 4
  Ecuador 4 1 1 2 5 9 −4 3
  Paraguay 4 0 1 3 6 11 −5 1

Matches

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Brazil  3–2  Paraguay
Paulo   25', 39', 55' Parodi   72', 90'
Attendance: 35,000

Uruguay  4–0  Ecuador
Silveira   1' (pen.)
Escalada   28'
Bergara   46'
Pérez   52'

Argentina  4–2  Paraguay
Sanfilippo   8', 57', 89' (pen.)
Pizzuti   81'
Insfrán   30'
Cabral   90'
Attendance: 15,000

Uruguay  3–0  Brazil
Escalada   49'
Bergara   67'
Sasía   75'

Ecuador  1–1  Argentina
Raffo   20' Sosa   62'

Uruguay  5–0  Argentina
Silveira   9' (pen.), 55' (pen.)
Bergara   15', 64'
Sasía   25'

Brazil  3–1  Ecuador
Paulo   23'
Geraldo   42'
Zé de Mello   45'
Raffo   12'
Attendance: 55,000

Argentina  4–1  Brazil
García   2'
Sanfilippo   27', 89', 90'
Geraldo   64'
Attendance: 42,000

Paraguay  1–1  Uruguay
Parodi   32' Sasía   88'

Ecuador  3–1  Paraguay
Spencer   16'
Balseca   25'
Cañarte   74'
Gómez   5' (o.g.)

Result

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 1959 South American Championship champions 
 
Uruguay

10th title

Goalscorers

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José Sanfilippo, top scorer

With six goals, José Sanfilippo of Argentina is the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 40 goals were scored by 21 different players, with only one of them credited as own goal.

6 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goal

Controversy

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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 Argentina's tournament concluded, the dissenting nations decided to organize their own Copa America tournament to run parallel to the one hosted by Argentina. This second tournament, known as the "Copa del Atlántico", took place in Brazil from May 30 to June 15, 1959, with Brazil as the winners.

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.

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