The South American teams that are named like the European ones

It is said that the English invented football, but that it was the Argentinians who invented the passion for football. Trying to push the envelope a bit, one could argue that the passion for football was born in South America since even today it is to this continent that we connect the rhetorical image of passion for football in its purest form, a love that sometimes turns into violence or into something more akin to a religion. Yet traces of European influence on South American football are easily traceable, just by reading the names of some teams.

Arsenal Fútbol Club - Argentina

Impossible to confuse. The name of Arsenal Fútbol Club de Sarandì is a tribute from the founders of the Argentine club to Arsenal, one of the most important and famous teams in London. No real justification exists: legend has it that just like the London club, Arsenal Sarandì was also founded near a military arsenal depot. Same name, but different colors: no red and white but space for red and blue, the colors of Racing and Independiente: the social colors of the two teams from Avellaneda, the city adjacent to Sarandì. A gesture to not antagonize either of the two fan bases already rivals with each other: after all, we are still in Argentina.

Liverpool Fútbol Club - Uruguay

There are two versions related to the reason why a Uruguayan team bears the name of an English team, or to be more precise, the same name declined in a Latin American style. The most credible is linked to a lightning strike, the one that a group of Capuchin Franciscan friars had upon the arrival of some European teams in Uruguay at the beginning of the 1900s, and in particular, of course, for Liverpool. The second version requires a massive dose of trust, as the name would derive from chance and more specifically from what prompted the Catholic priest José Freire to point a finger at the globe to indicate the city of Liverpool, namely the site of the largest coal port in the United Kingdom. That Liverpool was also the most recurring name on the boats arriving in Uruguay from England is just a coincidence, indeed.

Everton de Viña del Mar - Chile

There's no fantasy, mysticism, or romanticism here. Just pure pragmatism as confirmed by both sides. In 1909, Everton embarked together with Tottenham for a series of friendly matches they played in South America. The Chilean press gave great prominence to the matches played between Buenos Aires, Montevideo, and Rosario, attracting the attention of some boys who, when it came time to choose the name of the team they were about to found, opted for the name Everton. Fast forward to 2010 and the two teams face each other in a friendly at Goodison Park since over the years a relationship has developed thanks to the Ruleteros Society, the association whose purpose is to unite the fan bases of the two Evertons into one group.

Barcelona Sporting Club - Ecuador

So far we have dealt with cases where the name is a direct tribute to a team but then the social colors and logos differ from the original. Not in this case, not in this case the name of the club and the logo are identical to the reference team. We are talking about the Barcelona Sporting Club, an Ecuadorian team based in Guayaquil that takes the name and emblem of the most famous Fútbol Club Barcelona. However, there is a valid justification. In Guayaquil, at the end of the 1800s, one of the most important Catalan communities in the world was established and Don Eutimio Pérez Arumi, the man who on May 1, 1925 coordinated the foundation of the club by hosting the first meeting of the members at his home, was indeed originally from Barcelona. Only the social colors differ from the Spanish team, no blaugrana but yellow-red: obviously in homage to the flag of Catalonia.