A CONVERSATION WITH SR. MACRAE
— Leopoldo Sant'Anna | 29/12/1925 —

Today, in the afternoon, with the renowned Argentine sportsman, Mr. Julio Raul Macrae, representative of C. A. All Boys, on the Board of the Argentine Association, we spoke briefly about facts related to local football and our stay in Buenos Aires.

He told us:

Macrae: With regard to the famous split that has been hindering the progress of our sport for a long time, I am suspicious to speak to you, since I am a party to the dispute, that is, I belong to one of the entities, the Argentine Football Association. However, more or less, I can inform you that our entity has not been conducive to an honorable merger for both parties. "Amateurs", however, does not want to reach an agreement, at least that is what has happened so far. Not long ago, in April, the intendant Noel, by the entities in dispute, was appointed referee, however, he authorized the realization of a game between an Argentine combined with the Uruguayan Federation, which came to violate the international regulation, something that the amateurists wanted to give part of our association to the International Confederation, based in Amsterdam. We, however, reacted, preventing the match from being consummated... The Association disqualified all the players who took part in that game. Hence, the termination of the agreement. Let us state that Dr. Noel was taken into his act by allowing the game in question because he is not up to speed on football matters.

— What about the organization of your entities?

Macrae: The two are well organized.

— And technically?

Macrae: There is equality of forces.

— Is the current chosen one of the Association its exponent?

Macrae: I think so, especially the defence. It's the best we can come up with.

— So the Rosarinos aren't needed?

Macrae: Not in theory. They are elements as good as those of Buenos Aires. Inside the best are Diaz, goalkeeper; Cochrane, left back. Both accompanied Boca in Europe. Sosa, Francia, Miguel, Libonati, who were in Brazil, and others. It was Sosa who played as a centre-forward against the Olympians, scoring the winning goal. He's a great player.

— What is your impression of our team?

Macrae: It has a colossal attacking line and a very weak defense, with the exception of Floriano and Clodoaldo.

— What did you think of the meeting with the Argentines?

Macrae: I was certain that we would win, but the match did not correspond to its result. I expected more firmness from the Brazilians. The defeat was due exclusively to the shortness of stamina of the visitors. In the second phase all of them were completely debilitated.

— Who are the best men on the Argentine team?

Macrae: Sánchez, the Santa Fe right inside forward, was the best man on the pitch. He, with his calculated passes, made Tarasconi shine. It was his debut in international games, hence his great merit.

— And Seoane?

Macrae: He played regularly. He has a tendency towards individual play. He has been the best player for close to two years. He was a tremendous inside left. With Orsi, at Independiente, he formed the best wing we had. He was formidable!

In one season, in 1922 if I'm not mistaken, when Independiente won the title of champion, of the 116 goals conquered, Seoane scored close to 100! Currently, the great player belongs to Porvenir.

And more interesting things about local sport, the distinguished sportsman told us, but there was enough to satisfy the reader's curiosity.