South American futbol is a style all its own and many of the world's top teams, players, and fans are found on the continent.
With the World Cup in full swing now, many are realizing just how passionate many South American countries are about soccer, or futbol. It is a passion for a sport as great as any other sport in any other place on the planet.
It's hard to ignore the hoopla that surrounds every, say, Brazil game when Samba dancers, music, drums, and beautiful women flood the stadiums and even the cities where the games are held. Even their practice facility in Switzerland was filled with as many as 45,000 onlookers at times.
Several South American teams are playing in the World Cup. Perennial favorites Brazil and Argentina have pushed on through to the third round, while Ecuador and Paraguay fell a bit sooner.
For nearly every country futbol is the number one sport and each has its own league. Many of the best players head to Europe to play, although many of the homegrown teams could compete anywhere. Teams such as Boca Juniors in Argentina have worldwide followings and wild fans are found at every game. The best leagues can be found in Brazil and Argentina. However, even the lesser-known leagues in places such as Colombia or Peru the fans pack in the stadiums
My first real taste of South American futbol was Easter Sunday of 2005. I was in Quito, Ecuador where Ecuador squared off against Paraguay in a World Cup qualifying match in one of the highest altitude stadiums in the world. We arrived at the stadium several hours before the game as many do there. However, few were prepared for the hours and hours of rain that poured over us from about the time we arrived to well into the game. The field was a sloppy mess and the style of play and score (5-2 Ecuador) mirrored it. Having no real loyalty to either team (other than Ecuador simply because it was the home team) I must say I was miserable. The home fans on the other hand were absolutely crazy about the game, screaming and jumping and chanting (and drinking) the entire time.
