Match report from derby in Paraguay!

Match report from derby in Paraguay!

Our friends from Unterwegs-in-Sachen-Fussball attended this derby in Paraguay. Here is their report and photos from the match.

Primera División (Paraguay)
Club Cerro Porteño – Club Olimpia 1:3 (1:2)
Estadio Defensores del Chaco
Attendance: 30’000 (15’000 per club)

Photos, Video & Text: Flo

Honestly I have to admit that without the derby between Cerro and Olimpia last Sunday I would have never made it to Asunción in Paraguay. South America’s second poorest country is far from being known as a touristic highlight. In fact, most of its tourists come from the neighboring countries due to the remarkably low prices for mobilephones and other electronic devices.

The capital Asunción is no exception from that and the sights of the city can be seen within one afternoon. However, now that I’ve been there I would still recommend a few days in the city: The people there are amazingly friendly, everything is cheap, the city is fairly safe compared to a lot of other cities in Latin America and the derby (that to be said already) is not that bad either.

The two clubs contesting the country’s súper clásico are Club Cerro Porteño and Club Olimpia.

Cerro is the people’s club, having its roots in the lower class of the country. The club colours red and blue are based on the political forces that were opposing each other in the year of the club’s foundation 1912, the Partido Colorado (red) and the Partido Liberal (blue). The founders chose both colours as a sign of peace and friendship. The name of the club has its roots in the battle of the Paraguayan army, who beat the forces of Buenos Aires (the Porteños) on a rock (Cerro) nearby the city.

Olimpia, founded in 1902, is the country’s oldest football club and is considered the club of the upper class. Olimpia is the only Paraguayan Club that ever managed to win an international title, including three Copa Libertadores victories and the winning of the world cup in 1979. The club colours are black and white.

Of the 413 games the two rivals played against each other, each of them managed to win 145. Regarding national championships, Olimpia is 39:31 in the lead.
Before last Sunday’s derby, Cerro was ranked first with Olimpia being only one point behind. The game was played in the Paraguay’s biggest stadium, the Estadio Defensores del Chaco, with both sides occupying half of stadium.

The time before kick-off was by far the most intense of the whole game. In front of the stadium, Cerro fans were not only fighting among themselves but also with the police, who had to use rubber bullets and water cannons to regain control over the situation. Inside the stadium, the songs were getting louder and louder the closer the kick-off got.

When both teams finally entered the pitch, Olimpia presented two huge flags showing the club crest and the titles that the club had won. Cerro presented a banner, a huge red-blue checked flag as well as lots of flags, confetti and balloons. South America at its best.

However, as soon as the game started, most of the fans sat down and only most of the fans behind the goals remained standing and even fewer continued to support the two teams. Besides the goals and the moments after the goals, the game on and off the pitch during the 90 minutes can be described as rather boring. In the end, Olimpia won 3-1, claiming the first place of the table. However, as soon as the referee blew the final whistle, both sides seemed to wake up and started singing again, battling each other in large numbers and over several minutes.

Summing up, it was an interesting, exciting and absolutely recommendable derby, that was only interrupted by the 90 minutes during which the game was played.

Photos:

VIDEO:

Source: www.uisf.de