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Read down for an insight into sport in Argentina.
It is said that sport came to Argentina through the port of Buenos Aires, brought first by British sailors, who played football on vacant lots near the port watched by curious locals who would later make it their national passion.
Football is out on its own, both in terms of participation and as a spectator sport, with the country being passionately divided between fans of Boca Juniors and River Plate.
In second place come two sports which attract far more fans than players: boxing and motor-racing. Although there are now few Argentine boxing champions and world title fights are rarely held here, there is a big TV audience for most title fights abroad. Despite the lack of local world-class drivers, the legend of Juan Manuel Fangio is still very much alive and the Argentine Formula One Grand Prix each April is one of the main events of the year in Buenos Aires, even if there are no Argentine drivers.
Tennis is played mostly among the upper-middle classes but the world tournaments attract many TV fans, since Argentines Sabatini and Nalbandian have soared to fame.
Basketball and volleyball are both popular participation sports among young people, with strong teams in many sizeable towns, and basketball attracts big TV audiences since Argentine players play for teams in the States.
Though the best polo in the world is played in Argentina, it's only accessible to an elite class, due to its cost. Though it is played throughout the country and all year round, the top Argentine players, who now play all over the world, return only for the high handicap season between September and November. This consists of three main tournaments, played on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, followed by the Argentine Open, which takes place in Palermo's Hurlingham Club, the 'cathedral of polo'.
Golf can be played all year round in the northern half of the country, though it's a purely upper middle class game in Argentina, and half the courses are in Gran Buenos Aires, with famous courses at Mar del Plata and Llao Llao in Bariloche.
Argentina's rugby team, the Pumas, remain strong, though the sport is played little outside the expensive private schools.
Argentina's native sports include the squash-like paleta pilota, and pato (duck), a cross between polo and basketball. Originally played between large bands of gauchos on horseback using a duck in a basket as a ball, it was at one point prohibited for being dangerous. Today, with proper rules, teams of four horsemen and a football with handles instead of a duck in a basket, it is one sport which is unique to Argentina.
