Far From the World Cup, the Essence of Argentine Soccer Expands Its Reach

The potrero system works like this: Teams arrange a five-on-five match, compete for a pot, typically around $1,000 put up by the players or sponsors, and the winner takes all. In general, a team organizes a potrero night, which features four or five games starting at 11 p.m. and finishing around 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. Over time, the players have gotten to know each other and many of them might play for a different team every week, depending on which club is short a player.

The games never seem to lack an audience and it is common to see children, even toddlers, playing on the field during halftime of a match, even in early morning hours. The potrero games have become an hourslong social event.

A recent potrero match for Matijasevic started at 7 a.m. and, by the time all the games and cleanup finished, 24 hours had passed.

Susana Andrade Acuña, the ticket seller at every El Ciclón de Burzaco event, has watched players grow up.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/27/sports/soccer/world-cup-argentina-street-soccer.html