The Copa Centenario was an official tournament among Argentina's First Division Football clubs, organized by AFA (Argentine Football Association) in 1993/1994 in order to celebrate its 100th anniversary.^[1] The winner of this tournament was the Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata ("El Lobo", "The Wolf"), who defeated River Plate ("El Millonario", "The Millonaire") in the final match.

Modelled on the Italian Cup, or the Spanish Copa del Rey, all the squads of Argentine First Division who participated in the 92-93 season (except for Talleres and San Martín de Tucumán), played home and away matches with their classic rivals ('derby matches') during the first phase. Afterwards, they played two other rounds (Winners' and Losers' bracket), following a system of "double elimination".

Gimnasia was the winner on the Winners' bracket, while River Plate won the Losers' bracket. The final match was played on January 1994 at Gimnasia's Stadium, located in La Plata's main park, "The Bosque". Gimnasia needed to win the match to become the champion, while River Plate had to defeat "The Wolf" in two opportunities, as River had accessed to the final by winning the Losers' Round. However, an additional match became unnecessary, as Gimnasia defeated River by 3-1, thereby winning the only edition of the Copa Centenario. This Cup constitutes until today one of the two official titles that Gimnasia y Esgrima has won in the Argentine top-tier competitions, the other one being the 1929 First Division Championship. These conquests are celebrated with the "Two Stars" often displayed on the team's jerseys.

As winners of the Centenario Cup, Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata had the privilege to play the Sanwa Bank Cup against the First Division Champion of Japan, the Verdy Kawasaki. That game finished in a 2-2 draw, and it was decided on penalties, Verdy Kawasaki being the winners.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• (Spanish) (English) Official site
• The Centennial Cup in RSSSF
• Campeones de la Primera División del Fútbol Argentino
• (Spanish) Argentine Football History