When David Simpson was born on the 9th day of November in the year 1861, in Roxburghshire Scotland even he could not have known the impact he would have on club football in Argentina.
He had completed an apprenticeship with the Civil engineers and architects Carfrae and Belfrage in Edinburgh. For 23 years he was the resident engineer on the Eastern section of the Edinburgh Suburban Railway.
Soon he was poached by the Argentinians for the development of its railways, a system that was emblematic of the vast waves of European Immigration incoming into the country.
In Simpson’s case he left Scotland to take up the appointment as chief assistant resident engineer on the Buenos Aires and Valparaiso Transandine Railway. In 1896 he was appointed Chief Engineer of the Buenos Aires Western Railway, becoming in 1897, Acting Manager, and in 1898, General Manager.
Before returning to the UK in 1907 he was integral to the foundation of Club Ferro Carril Oeste – often simply known as Ferro Carril Oeste or ‘Ferro’.
The club was founded as Club Atlético del Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires on 28 July 1904 by around 95 employees of the Buenos Aires Western Railway. One of those employees was David Simpson.
The home stadium of the club is Estadio Arquitecto Ricardo Etcheverry or the ‘Temple of Wood’. Opened in 1905 it has a current capacity of 24,442 and it is surrounded by a densely populated neighborhood of nearly 180,000 inhabitants.
The neighborhood’s growth was linked to the construction of the surrounding Western Railway which was the first laid out rail route in Buenos Aires and inaugurated in 1857. The stadium the club hosted several football matched in 1907 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first railway line in Argentina
Despite being a century old club – with a long tradition of participation in the top league of Argentinian football – these days the club competes in the second tier of Argentine soccer. It does though retain its position as one of the most traditional and historical clubs in Argentina and continues to have a rivalry with Velez Sarsfield in the so-called ‘Classic West’ fixture.
The stadium was named after another Architect – Ricardo Etcheverry in 1995.
This renaming was done in tribute to a man who was vice president of the Club for over 30 years.
Naturally given the ageing structures within the stadium, a number of efforts have been made to redevelop it into a more modern structure. Projects have been planned to completely remodel the stadium and transform its structure into one of solid cement with embedded viewing areas.
As it is the stadium retains its ramshackle feel of terracing, wooden stands and wider sporting infrastructures – it remains a true ‘temple’ of football. Open to the elements whether during the Argentine winter or the scorching heat of the South American summer the stadium is colorful, homely and a fitting home for the sporting club.
All in all, the stadium sits in splendid contrast to the grandeur and extravagance of the La Bombonera.
The wooden benches shake when fans jump and down. The ramshackle exteriors covered in messages to club legends has barely changed since the 19th century.
A stadium that still stands as a testament to a skilled yet humble man from rural Southern Scotland.
