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)

Format

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

Guayaquil
Estadio Modelo
Capacity: 42,000

Squads

Standings

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Uruguay 4310131+127
 Argentina 42119905
 Brazil 4202710−34
 Ecuador 411259−43
 Paraguay 4013611−51

Matches

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'
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: José Luis Praddaude (Argentina)

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'
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: José Luis Praddaude (Argentina)

Ecuador 1–1 Argentina
Raffo 20' Sosa 62'
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: José Gomes Sobrinho (Brazil)

Uruguay 5–0 Argentina
Silveira 9' (pen.), 55' (pen.)
Bergara 15', 64'
Sasía 25'
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: José Gomes Sobrinho (Brazil)

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'
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: José Luis Praddaude (Argentina)

Ecuador 3–1 Paraguay
Spencer 16'
Balseca 25'
Cañarte 74'
Gómez 5' (o.g.)
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: José Gomes Sobrinho (Brazil)

Result

 1959 South American Championship champions 

Uruguay

10th title

Goalscorers

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
  • Ecuador Rómulo Gómez (playing against Paraguay)

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 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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