Copa America Day 5 - Kimberley in Mar del Plata

It was my hope to visit Kimberley in Mar del Plata on this trip. But my schedule was too tight.

In World Cup 1978, Estadio José Maria Minella in Mar del Plata was one of 6 stadiums used for matches.
At this Copa America, there is no match in Mar del Plata.

On June 10, 1978 France met Hungary in a meaningless game as both had lost to Argentina and Italy.
The match took place in Mar del Plata and because the Argentine TV equipment at the game was only in black and white, one could not tell the difference between the two teams on B&W TV.

So France borrowed the kit from a local club. It was the only time in the history of the World Cup that a team did not wear their own kit to play a match.

Didier Six of France vs Hungary

For this trip, I searched on the internet for this shirt but it was impossible. The next best thing was a pennant.

But it was listed on ebay Argentina and the seller only shipped to an address in Argentina.

So I contacted my friend Silvia in Buenos Aires and asked her to buy the pennant for me and sent it to me in Zurich. She did and I received the pennant earlier this year.

So today, my first day back in Buenos Aires, I went to see Silvia at her shop. Every time I am in BA, I come here and spend a fortune to add to my museum collection of soccer stamps

It was no difference this time. I had a blast looking for new soccer stamps from Argentina, Brasil, and Uruguay. For Copa America 2011, the post office in Argentina released these nice sets of stamps.



  It was a fun hour spent in the shop of Silvia. I thanked her again for her help to get me the famous green and white pennant.

Before I left, I posed for a photo with Silvia and her son Fernando (who was fascinated with Vietnam and told me I am the first Vietnamese to arrive in Argentina)

and that Mar del Plata club who lent the kit to France?

Their name is Club Atletico Kimberley.