Page 176 - 368603 LP250721 AWY AWY AWY Book (238pp A5)

Forties or Fifties. Back in the 1930's when the Argentinian soccer game was all amateur, Sunderland Club did very well winning the national league as well as the equivalent of the League Cup three times in a row. Having achieved this feat they were allowed to keep the cup and today it resides with many others in a cabinet at the side of the restaurant.
Nowadays the club only has teams for boys aged from four to twelve but they've continued to supply top Argentinian sides including River Plate. They also have a women's basketball team and you can take Tae Kwon Doe classes there. The focus of the club is now very much on tango, with which it's always been connected, and former world tango champions Maria Bogado and Sebastien Giminez were students of their classes, which are held several times a week. Horacio was keen to show us all of the club's facilities, even the upgraded women's toilets in one of the two upstairs suites. These sizeable rooms are hired out for private functions and bring in the bulk of the club's current finances.
Horacio's office was a treasure trove of Argentina's history and he showed us photos of himself with many famous people who'd been regular visitors including former presidents De La Rua and Alfonsin as well as Spanish singer Joan Manuel Sarrat. He had a fading document framed on his wall and it was signed by President Juan Peron himself to give the club protection from police raids. No Argentinian tale would be complete without a mention of Evita and he
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