Club Atlético Huracán is an Argentine sports club located in the Parque Patricios neighborhood of Buenos Aires. The club is most notable for its football team that plays at the home stadium of the Estadio Tomás Adolfo Ducó.
The area around this club was like many others in BA at this time of year. Atlético Huracán nestles into an area filled with houses, local shops, friendly stray dogs and rather worn out looking garages.
Overhead the sun was hot – on this particular day it was 35c but felt much warmer. The blue sky a deeper shade of blue; deeper than anything you can see in the northern hemisphere.
One local asked me what I was doing here spending money come to visit Huracán: “don’t you know nobody around here has got any money its a poor country“.
Huracán was founded on 1908 in the Nueva Pompeya neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It doesn’t so much feel poor just rundown and of better day much like anywhere else in the Argentine capital.
The club’s nickname Globo, literally means ‘balloon’ and makes reference to the Huracán (“Hurricane”) balloon that was flown by Jorge Newbery in 1909.
Jorge Alejandro Newbery was later a patron of the club but was better known as a great Argentine aviator and engineer.
Since its establishment the club have been highly successful winning five Primera División championships and most recently the 2014 Argentine Supercopa.
Home for the club is the Estadio Tomás Adolfo Ducó located in the Parque Patricios neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. It currently has a capacity of 48,314.
Its foundations were laid in 1941 when the cornerstone was laid but it was not until 1947 that the first match was played when Huracan defeated Boca Juniors. However, the stadium did not officially open until the 11th of November 1949 with a friendly between Huracán and Peñarol.
The stadium was named after Tomas Adolfo Duco the main who was the driving force behind its construction.
Such is its architectural beauty and intricate exterior brick facade it was declared by the Argentine government as a historical and structural heritage site of the City of Buenos Aires in 2007.
It reminded me of Arsenal’s Highbury Stadium – grand, with wonderfully solid concrete shapes, styles and exteriors that, although worn down, would not feel or look out of place in the center of the Argentine capital or the 1950’s.
Huracán are currently competing in the 2015 Copa Sudamericana tournament, the 14th edition of South America’s secondary club football tournament that is organized by CONMEBOL. The winner will qualify for the 2016 Copa Libertadores.
River Plate were the defending champions but were eliminated by Huracán in the semi finals gaining the club a two legged final match against the Columbians of Independiente Santa Fe.
Outside the home ground of Huracán are a wide range of murals dedicated to the heroes of the past, a feature notable at so many Buenos Aires clubs. Some of the greatest ever players are featured – Ardiles, Carlos Babington, Roque Avallay, Alfio Basile and Alfredo Di Stefano.
Amongst those immortalized in colorful image and words near the stadium are Argentine national team greats Norberto Mendez and Herminio Masantonio.
The stadium of Huracán is located in the south of what is a sprawling city. It can be reached via metro (subte) line H. and by disembarking at the Caseros station which lies a short 10-minute walk from the stadium.