Estadio Jose Maria Minella

The Estadio Jose Maria Minella is a stadium in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is owned and administrated by the Municipality of General Pueyrredon. Inaugurated for the 1978 FIFA World Cup hosted by Argentina, the stadium is currently used by local clubs Alvarado and Aldosivi to play their home matches.

The stadium is named after renowned football player and manager Jose Maria Minella, a native of Mar del Plata and regarded as one of the most notable footballers of that city.

History

Argentina was chosen as the host 1978 World Cup of the nation by FIFA in London, England on 6 July 1966, and Mar del Plata, as one of the most touristic cities in the country, was selected as a venue. The stadium has the distinction of being the southernmost stadium to host a World Cup match. The organizing committee, under supervision of the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina since 1976, decided to build a new stadium on the same spot as 40 years earlier it had been the Mar del Plata hippodrome. The construction began in 1975 and the stadium was opened on May 21, 1978 with a friendly match between a team formed by players from Mar del Plata and another one with players from Tandil.

The sports journalist Mario Trucco proposed the name to honour Jose Maria Minella, a renowned former midfielder from Mar del Plata, who played during the 1930s and 1940s for River Plate and the Argentina national football team, and later manager of River Plate team from 1945 to 1959 in what became one of the team's most successful eras.

During the 1978 World Cup Mar del Plata hosted six Fifa World Cup matches, three Group 1 and three Group 3 matches.

As the city of Mar del Plata is a very important tourist destination and the biggest seaside beach resort in Argentina, since its construction this stadium has been the main host of the many annual Summer Tournaments. Prior to the construction of Minella stadium, the main venue of the city was General San Martin Stadium, with capacity for 15,000 spec

This page also has a version in other languages :  Хосе Мария Минелья Стадион (russian)