While Arsenal sinks into misery after Don Julio's death, several clubs linked to the current AFA president are thriving in Argentine football
Something similar happens with Deportivo Riestra, a team owned by Víctor Stinfale, a man very close to the AFA boss. From being a Primera D team in 2014, it had a meteoric rise in Argentine soccer until its arrival in Primera in 2023, with episodes that are just as or even more scandalous than those of Barracas.
In addition, just like the president's club, it is one of the best in its group in the Clausura and is very close to entering the play-off spot for the Copa Libertadores.
Meanwhile, there are other Primera clubs that have his support. Sarmiento de Junín and Independiente Rivadavia de Mendoza are some examples of institutions that have benefited with remarkable promotions during this period, often surrounded by suspicions due to controversial refereeing and tailored regulations.
However, his influence doesn't stop there, since the phenomenon is repeated in lower divisions. Camioneros, the club of the Moyano union, loyal soldiers of Tapia, achieved a double consecutive promotion that catapulted it to B Metropolitana.
In the same logic, Deportivo Madryn, politically linked to the city's mayor, dreams of playing in Primera División after qualifying for the final for the first promotion which, if achieved, would confirm how local politics can open doors in national soccer.
The contrast is inevitable: while some rise with the help of power, others sink without that safety net. Argentine soccer, ultimately, is not only played on the field, but also in the halls of AFA and in political offices.
Recent history of Argentine soccer seems to confirm a repeated pattern: clubs linked to political or managerial power rise and succeed, while those that lose support sink into the lower divisions.
The case of Arsenal de Sarandí is the most eloquent. Founded in the 1950s, but only becoming a protagonist in recent decades, the club experienced its golden era under Julio Humberto Grondona, eternal president of AFA and historic leader of the Viaducto team.
Under his influence, Arsenal achieved unthinkable milestones: champion of the 2007 Copa Sudamericana, winner of the 2012 Clausura and the 2013 Copa Argentina, among other achievements that made it a rarity in Argentine soccer. However, after Grondona's death in 2014, the protection disappeared. In just a few years, it suffered two almost consecutive relegations: from Primera to B Nacional and, recently, to B Metropolitana. The fall was as abrupt as its rise had been.
Meanwhile, the era of Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia at the helm of AFA brought a new power map, which is even more blatant. Historically relegated teams or those with little weight on the national stage found the fast track to the elite.
Barracas Central is perhaps the clearest example. El Guapo has direct family ties, Chiqui was president of the club, currently his son Matías Tapia holds his position and Iván, his other son, is a first team player. In sporting terms, it achieved promotion to Primera in a questionable manner, rising from B Metropolitana to B Nacional in 2019 and then to the top division in 2021 with many controversies along the way.
To make matters worse, today it is one of the leaders of its group in the Torneo Clausura and is entering the qualification for the Copa Sudamericana in the Annual Table.
